All the Coronavirus news these last few weeks has been disheartening, so I thought I’d write about a  few things that made me happy this week.

1. Rosario Dawson has been perfectly cast as Asohka Tano for Season 2 of The Mandalorian. Many of my friends know that Asohka is far and away my favorite character in the Star Wars universe, so I’m excited that she’ll be introduced to a wider audience as a live action character. I expect viewers will quickly come to adore Asohka as much as I do, especially when it’s Rosario bringing her to life.

2. All the fantastic art people have made available to help us get through this pandemic has really made me smile. Free concerts, free books, free zoo and museum exhibits, new music, all online and simple to access. It’s beautiful.

3. I just recorded an extra episode of the Metalheads Podcast with my friends. Doing the cast is always a blast, but being in self-quarantine I found it especially good to see my friends on screen and talk about all the things we’re passionate about. I recommend you do some video chats with your chums if you haven’t. It will make you feel better. Especially if you do it with beer.

4. There are many great restaurants in Honolulu, but finding decent pizza has been a real challenge since we moved here in October. That changed a few days ago. After receiving several local recommendations for J. Dolan’s, an Irish pub that specializes in Italian pies, I placed an order for pickup during a supply run. By the time I got home, more than half the pepperoni and jalapeno pizza was already in my belly.

5. I lent one of my all-time favorite graphic novels, On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden, to my wife’s work friend, Amanda, after she told me she had tried reading comic books in the past but for some reason didn’t stick with them. She wondered if she just didn’t really like comics. After talking to her about the things she enjoys, I handed her On a Sunbeam. The next day she read the whole story in one sitting and fell in love with it. She asked if she could borrow the book a bit longer and read it again. I told her she could keep it forever and read it whenever she wanted.

6. On Tuesday my wife, Tracy, was ordered to work from home. I really love that we can now chat whenever we want, have lunch together every day and dote on our spoiled kitty, Zoso, in the day time when he’s at his most sleepy, adorable self. But the best part of our new reality was witnessing Tracy’s sudden and euphoric realization that pants are now completely optional.