Summer looks different this year. However, the team at Hoffman is finding new ways to enjoy summer amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether it be staying home and learning a new hobby or taking a road trip to the great outdoors — our Hoffmanites are doing it right (and safe).
Chauncey Rasmussen
I have been spending my afternoons, late nights and weekends playing with the two project cars I currently own (I just sold a 1968 Mustang as well.) I have a 1946 Chevy truck that I am building from scratch. I started with only the cab (area you sit in) and have made all the other parts and pieces from other cars and bare metal. It sports a custom tubular frame (rusty now, but still solid) and a 4 ½” chop on the roof to make it more aerodynamic, and just look cooler. I aim to eventually have it done in a traditional vintage hotrod style. I have a small machine and metal working shop in the garage at the house that I rent, and it has allowed me to carry out more projects in the last few years than I had imagined! I have also been doing a lot of work on my other car, a 1972 Chevy C10 pickup. Currently I have been upgrading the engine with modern amenities like fuel injection, air conditioning, modern suspension and all sorts of other “go fast” fun parts. Overall the automotive bug, or rather addiction, has been keeping me fairly busy. Since sheltering in place, I have been able to get more work done than usual. I enjoy taking the truck out on the weekends for cruises down the coast, or to junkyards, and swap meets (when COVID-19 is over) on the hunt for rare parts, and more projects.
Matthew Medlin
I’m in the process of moving out! The first pic is of my room, it might be fun to call out the absurdly tall pull-up bar for quarantine workouts, and the second is the sheer AMOUNT of Nikes that my roommate brought in yesterday! Perks of living with a sneaker head!
Shereen Masoud-Jointe
As a mixed media artist and Arabic calligrapher, I’ve been using all this at-home quarantine time to work on digitizing my art. Specifically, I’m working on my “Queers Were Here” visibility series, a collection of portraits and stories from queer and trans Muslims from the U.S. and internationally.
Justin Gillespie
I recently decided I want to become a certified wilderness survival expert. Currently in the research phase on what that involves. We also started family movie nights where my wife, son and I take turns picking a movie to watch. It’s been fun introducing him to some of our favorite movies from our childhood — Back to the Future, The Last Starfighter, Flight of the Navigator as well as watching all the Star Wars and Marvel movies; and exploring his picks. There’s been lots of Disney and perhaps my favorite of his random finds, Timmy Failure which is about a boy who wants to be a PI and his partner is a polar bear.
Kiana Cacchione
I’ve spent my quarantine cooking, eating Tacovore and going on nightly walks on the Portland waterfront. Currently on the path to perfecting my pasta making skills. It’s a work in progress …
Matthew Burrows
In addition to my attempts at doing my own writing on the side and playing too many video games, I’m happy to report quarantine has not slowed down my shared obsession with my friends for our Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I’m the Dungeon Master, so my time boils down to planning and running sessions, making creatures as part projects and collecting dice as if they actually had jewel-level monetary value.
Melissa Lewelling
This is not a hobby per se, but I did get to go whale watching.
Haley Dowell
I’m a sucker for those short and sweet cooking videos from the likes of Tasty, BuzzFeed and so on. During quarantine I made it a goal of mine to make some of the recipes I’ve saved. Some recipes turned out great, like my apple crumble and pizookie, and then others could have been better. Let’s just say gnocchi is harder to make than I thought.
Sarah Collins
At the beginning of the U.S. shutdown, I read a story about an old woman who quarantined with her family as a young child. She explained how anything tangible from that time of her life was incredibly special because it brought back such unique memories. Since then, I made it my mission to break out my Polaroid and take as many photos as possible. I’ve captured the various hobbies we’ve focused on (yoga, Perler beads, board games, etc.) but also us in masks, some of the fancy meals we’ve cooked — anything to help us remember how weird of a year 2020 has been.
Samantha Spitz
During quarantine, I have done a lot of hiking and camping with my roommates. It is refreshing to spend some time outside with nature (following social distance protocols) after being cooped up inside. I always look forward to these outdoor adventures because they have led to some of the most breathtaking views. We recently went camping in Big Sur and were blessed to witness this incredible sunset.
Mikaela Farasyn
My quarantine has been full of trying new things! From candle making to painting— I’m dedicated to gaining some new hobbies and learning a few things along the way. In addition to this, my silver lining of 2020 is that I got engaged to my fiancé! With this, we’ve spent our free time wedding planning and virtually celebrating with friends and family
Brooklynn Loiselle
During quarantine, I have tried to find at least one “activity” to look forward to. It can be watching a show on Netflix or a FaceTime call with friends. This past week, my roommate and I ordered a pizza to-go and attended a local drive-in showing of Kung Fu Panda. We loved going to the drive-in, because it switched up our normal routine of watching a movie in the living room. It was also a safely-organized outing that made us remember that it’s summertime! Here is a photo of me (and our PIZZA) in our car, which was 6 feet apart from any other people.
Dakota Floyd
My quarantine hobby is jumping back into my passion of photography. I took a bunch of time creating a website to showcase my photos and started getting back into my photography Instagram. Having a little extra time has helped me jump back into learning different photographing techniques and editing skills. I’ve been taking photos since 2015, but never really started to share anything until last year. It’s led to a lot of fun events, like the San Jose Earthquakes Amateur photography night and connecting with other photographers.
Kayla Harper
My hobbies include going on walks with my baby and watching shows/movies on Netflix once he is finally asleep.
