In which I realise how much I'd geared my life to being on the move
Friday, April 3rd, 2020 01:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tamaranthSome days, now that the world has changed, I wear shoes. Mostly I don't.
I have switched handbags. I don't need something secure that I can easily carry, while leaving a hand free, in public places: no, I need my old messenger bag with all the pockets, so I can drag pens / notebooks / Chromebook / medication / phone / headphones from sofa to desk to garden and back.
I'm using technology very differently. Public transport apps have been removed from my phone's home screen. Chargers and power banks remain in my dust-collecting werk bag. Meawhile, there is a plethora of streaming culture, which is awesome! but, to be honest, feels overwhelming: and I'm still not very good at passively watching things on my own. The only film / TV I have watched in the last few weeks is 'Jurassic World' (first seen in cinema, back when cinemas roamed the earth: I craved dinosaurs) when I was feeling too vacuous to do anything else. Oh, and I have vaguely participated in a Twitter watchalong of 'Sapphire and Steel' (the railway station one), except for not actually interacting with the commentary thread.
My best technological change: I have acquired a SodaStream, so I don't have to lug heavy bottles of fizzy water from the plague-infested outdoors. (Please do not mention grocery deliveries, they are not happening.)
Recently-installed apps include:
- WhatsApp, partly because my werk colleagues wanted somewhere outside werk to catch up, partly because it puts all my nearest, dearest and relatives in one place. Previously I had refused to install it, because OMG yet another way in which people can contact me whether I like it or not ...
- Sims FreePlay, to which I have turned before in times of unsettledness. It's just like having a life, except less risky and with better weather.
- Covid19 symptom tracker, which despite its drawbacks on the security front is a good and useful thing.
- Heavens Above, so I can watch the space station at the same time as my friends, and feel connected.
- Plague Inc, for illusory feelings of control (and actually a pretty good model of how various forms of disease spread).
And fabulous browser-based FraidyCat, which allows me to view blogs, Twitter, Instagram, etc on a single page (organised by how often I want to check them). Sadly it doesn't do Facebook, but it means I can keep an eye on close friends' online activity, if any.
I am soooo glad I have a kitty (an actual one, not an app with a cat icon). I've been rethinking an old grudge vis-a-vis my current situation: it would be so much harder to cope, right now, without cat and garden.
That's me, rambling on. How are you?
I have switched handbags. I don't need something secure that I can easily carry, while leaving a hand free, in public places: no, I need my old messenger bag with all the pockets, so I can drag pens / notebooks / Chromebook / medication / phone / headphones from sofa to desk to garden and back.
I'm using technology very differently. Public transport apps have been removed from my phone's home screen. Chargers and power banks remain in my dust-collecting werk bag. Meawhile, there is a plethora of streaming culture, which is awesome! but, to be honest, feels overwhelming: and I'm still not very good at passively watching things on my own. The only film / TV I have watched in the last few weeks is 'Jurassic World' (first seen in cinema, back when cinemas roamed the earth: I craved dinosaurs) when I was feeling too vacuous to do anything else. Oh, and I have vaguely participated in a Twitter watchalong of 'Sapphire and Steel' (the railway station one), except for not actually interacting with the commentary thread.
My best technological change: I have acquired a SodaStream, so I don't have to lug heavy bottles of fizzy water from the plague-infested outdoors. (Please do not mention grocery deliveries, they are not happening.)
Recently-installed apps include:
- WhatsApp, partly because my werk colleagues wanted somewhere outside werk to catch up, partly because it puts all my nearest, dearest and relatives in one place. Previously I had refused to install it, because OMG yet another way in which people can contact me whether I like it or not ...
- Sims FreePlay, to which I have turned before in times of unsettledness. It's just like having a life, except less risky and with better weather.
- Covid19 symptom tracker, which despite its drawbacks on the security front is a good and useful thing.
- Heavens Above, so I can watch the space station at the same time as my friends, and feel connected.
- Plague Inc, for illusory feelings of control (and actually a pretty good model of how various forms of disease spread).
And fabulous browser-based FraidyCat, which allows me to view blogs, Twitter, Instagram, etc on a single page (organised by how often I want to check them). Sadly it doesn't do Facebook, but it means I can keep an eye on close friends' online activity, if any.
I am soooo glad I have a kitty (an actual one, not an app with a cat icon). I've been rethinking an old grudge vis-a-vis my current situation: it would be so much harder to cope, right now, without cat and garden.
That's me, rambling on. How are you?
no subject
Date: Friday, April 3rd, 2020 01:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, April 5th, 2020 06:45 pm (UTC)I am almost entirely fine. I'm miffed at not being able to go and visit places at weekends, and queuing for the supermarket is a pain, but I could get used to permanent homeworking (whilst acknowledging the privilege of having a job I can do from home and a home set up that allows me to do so). D is doing ok - his work involves Govt help for small businesses, so there's obviously a lot of crisis-related Stuff (some good, most bad), and he's more affected by not being able to go to places, but he is loving permanent homeworking even more than me.
I am wearing shoes once a day, as I'm taking a lunchtime walk to compensate for the loss of the walking part of my commute (it was that or the exercise bike).
My biggest technological change: video conferencing. I have discovered Zoom for socialising, and have taken the masking tape off my work laptop's camera so I can participate in work Teams meetings. Never thought that would happen!
The cats seem pleased with having all-day company, especially the newly instigated twice-daily play sessions.
I am extremely grateful for having a reasonable sized, reasonably private garden. If they stop outdoor exercise, as keeps being threatened, it will be an utter godsend.
no subject
Date: Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 04:02 pm (UTC)