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Emergency Brakes
Mar. 23rd, 2020 02:30 pmNow seems to be an excellent time to dust this off and make another run at daily journaling. This is the second week of a local "shelter in place" order here at the Burrow due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, and now that I'm through the initial shock of that lifestyle change I think I can start paying attention to building better habits with it.
Both the Husband and I are working from home, and it's been pretty cozy so far. We've converted the dining room/gaming table into our home office, and it's been nice keeping tabs on him, getting each other coffee and snacks, having random conversations. I like to think that we're also doing the work of keeping each other sane; we're both pretty anxious creatures, and that energy can bubble up in weird ways if you aren't used to seeing it. I think that's the big deal right now -- we're in such uncharted territory that it's hard to recognize exactly WHAT about this situation is so disorienting. More than likely, it's a bunch of little things.
As much as I consider myself a homebody, I definitely took freedom of movement for granted. I take frequent trips to the grocery store, or a coffee shop, or just a walk around the neighborhood to stretch the legs when I typically work from home -- and that's just one or two days out of the week. It's really different doing it every day. When I'm in a flow state that's no big deal, but at the same time it's...strange to have the desire to go outside (or anywhere) and then realize you really shouldn't.
You end up with energy you're not really sure what to do with. We fired up RingFit Adventure again late last week, and that's proven to be a good outlet for now. Because you're nearly constantly moving for, say, 15 minutes, you end up panting and sweaty in no time. I feel a lot better after workouts, even though my lower back is frequently howling in soreness by the end of it. It's definitely something I plan on sticking with.
Without the usual distractions, I suppose, you're forced into a different mindset; it's like you have to slow down because you're not zipping from event to event. I don't think anyone was expecting to have to cancel all of their plans and come up with new, home-bound routines. Maybe that's another source of the anxiety; we all have the expectation of our lives being a certain way, and it's kind of shocking how quickly -- how easily -- it can all change. Suddenly, we have to stay indoors, several of us are now worried about remaining employed, and the economy has proven to be far more volatile and fragile than any of us realized. It's sobering, really. Fully stocked stores and the ability to go about our lives were a given; now we know that nothing is so resilient.
Yet, I think that we're adjusting as a society reasonably well. There are still folks who aren't taking the pandemic seriously, which is frustrating...but what can you do? You give people the best information you can and you do your best by others, but ultimately you can't force anyone to give a shit about other people or feel that same sense of collective responsibility that you do. I think that's the...most surprising thing in my response to all of this. Mostly I'm worried about friends who are having a difficult time, not the bigger response from our government.
Here in California, the governor has been doing his best to attend the public health. Federally, I think we all knew we were on our own. This administration doesn't care about anything it can't make a profit on, or that can be spun to massage the ego of its head. Still, the depth of incompetence and greed is more than I had anticipated. I'm not angered by it -- it's just...so depressing that we've built a society that places the corrupt and selfish in positions that offer power only in service to the greater good. All of the stimulus on the table is geared towards propping up huge corporations that have been enriching a few instead of preparing for something like this. And because a billionaire used previous bailouts to buyback stock or line his pockets, thousands of people are staring down the spectre of unemployment, of losing their health insurance. It's awful.
I sincerely hope that we use this episode as a society to demand better from the people in charge. We should have been more prepared. We should be focused on citizens who don't have massive bank accounts or any savings, and who have to be in the public sphere just to make a living. But I'm not sure that'll be the case. If there's one thing I've learned over the last ten years, it's that I should never underestimate the selfishness of our society.
Both the Husband and I are working from home, and it's been pretty cozy so far. We've converted the dining room/gaming table into our home office, and it's been nice keeping tabs on him, getting each other coffee and snacks, having random conversations. I like to think that we're also doing the work of keeping each other sane; we're both pretty anxious creatures, and that energy can bubble up in weird ways if you aren't used to seeing it. I think that's the big deal right now -- we're in such uncharted territory that it's hard to recognize exactly WHAT about this situation is so disorienting. More than likely, it's a bunch of little things.
As much as I consider myself a homebody, I definitely took freedom of movement for granted. I take frequent trips to the grocery store, or a coffee shop, or just a walk around the neighborhood to stretch the legs when I typically work from home -- and that's just one or two days out of the week. It's really different doing it every day. When I'm in a flow state that's no big deal, but at the same time it's...strange to have the desire to go outside (or anywhere) and then realize you really shouldn't.
You end up with energy you're not really sure what to do with. We fired up RingFit Adventure again late last week, and that's proven to be a good outlet for now. Because you're nearly constantly moving for, say, 15 minutes, you end up panting and sweaty in no time. I feel a lot better after workouts, even though my lower back is frequently howling in soreness by the end of it. It's definitely something I plan on sticking with.
Without the usual distractions, I suppose, you're forced into a different mindset; it's like you have to slow down because you're not zipping from event to event. I don't think anyone was expecting to have to cancel all of their plans and come up with new, home-bound routines. Maybe that's another source of the anxiety; we all have the expectation of our lives being a certain way, and it's kind of shocking how quickly -- how easily -- it can all change. Suddenly, we have to stay indoors, several of us are now worried about remaining employed, and the economy has proven to be far more volatile and fragile than any of us realized. It's sobering, really. Fully stocked stores and the ability to go about our lives were a given; now we know that nothing is so resilient.
Yet, I think that we're adjusting as a society reasonably well. There are still folks who aren't taking the pandemic seriously, which is frustrating...but what can you do? You give people the best information you can and you do your best by others, but ultimately you can't force anyone to give a shit about other people or feel that same sense of collective responsibility that you do. I think that's the...most surprising thing in my response to all of this. Mostly I'm worried about friends who are having a difficult time, not the bigger response from our government.
Here in California, the governor has been doing his best to attend the public health. Federally, I think we all knew we were on our own. This administration doesn't care about anything it can't make a profit on, or that can be spun to massage the ego of its head. Still, the depth of incompetence and greed is more than I had anticipated. I'm not angered by it -- it's just...so depressing that we've built a society that places the corrupt and selfish in positions that offer power only in service to the greater good. All of the stimulus on the table is geared towards propping up huge corporations that have been enriching a few instead of preparing for something like this. And because a billionaire used previous bailouts to buyback stock or line his pockets, thousands of people are staring down the spectre of unemployment, of losing their health insurance. It's awful.
I sincerely hope that we use this episode as a society to demand better from the people in charge. We should have been more prepared. We should be focused on citizens who don't have massive bank accounts or any savings, and who have to be in the public sphere just to make a living. But I'm not sure that'll be the case. If there's one thing I've learned over the last ten years, it's that I should never underestimate the selfishness of our society.
