Nine Snowboots
Social Distancing Diaries: May 6
I made it outside on a nice day for a change; I had to pick up a few groceries this evening, and it was actually pretty warm. I even did a few chores around the house in the meantime. Not all of them, though; that would still require me to be a little more focused than I actually am these days.
Social Distancing Diaries - April 29
I'm feeling tired this evening. I had to make a run for a few groceries and cat treats, and I just want to lay in bed and do very little for the rest of the night.
Social Distancing Diaries: April 26
I was feeling pretty scattered and drained on Thursday and Friday. Part of it was everything that was going on here and in the world, part of it was the cumulative effect of several nights where I just couldn’t fall asleep quickly, even with the CPAP machine.
Social Distancing Diaries: April 22
I’m sitting at my laptop on a Wednesday night after taking a nap that lasted a little longer than it should have. I had a dream involving a trip to Winnipeg (which was much bigger and nicer than I remembered), watching an SNL episode that was completely different than the real thing, and trying to escape from a house where I inadvertently crashed a party. Fun times.
Social Distancing Diaries: April 19
Before we begin, I don’t really have the words to say anything about the tragedy that just happened in Nova Scotia other than that it was awful.
Social Distancing Diaries: April 15
It’s hard to know what to write here these days. There really isn’t a whole lot distinguishing one day from another aside from whether I have to work or not, or days where I run errands.
Social Distancing Diaries: April 11
I posted a question on my different social media pages to check in with people on my friends lists the other day, and a few people who responded asked how I was doing. I find it a little easier and more convenient to write it all here and just share the link everywhere.
Social Distancing Diaries: April 8
John Prine died yesterday. I knew he was ill with COVID-19 and that it was pretty bad, but the news was still a blow.
Social Distancing Diaries: April 4
My birthday went well, all things considered. A lot of people took the time to send greetings over Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, I spoke with my family on the phone for a little bit, I ordered dinner in from Swiss Chalet, and had the cheesecake I bought on Wednesday.
Social Distancing Diaries: April 1
My birthday is tomorrow; I turn 38. I remember reading something when I was a kid about something next occurring in 2020 and thinking that was a long way away, and expecting my life to be more or less what a typical child’s version of their adult self would be
Social Distancing Diaries: March 25
I hope everyone reading this is doing alright. I know this self-isolation hasn’t been too big an adjustment from my regular lifestyle, but I see a lot of my friends are going a little bit shack-wacky and feeling lonely, disconnected and anxious. If you’re reading this and feeling this way, your feelings are valid and I see you.
Social Distancing Diaries: March 21
It’s the first Saturday since I started working from home. So far, it hasn’t been too much of an adjustment; I tended to hide in my cubicle in the office, though occasionally I would venture out to the kitchen or to the pod where a few of my colleagues would station. It’s not particularly lonely either, though for the time being, I’m choosing to step back my social media usage. As I said before, this blog is where I’m doing my main reaching out, so if people want find out how I’m doing, keep checking this space.
If anyone needs me, you know where to find me
I was originally going to post an update next week, but it looks like I’m going to be stuck in the apartment for the most part until further notice. I was getting pretty overwhelmed by my Facebook and Twitter feeds, especially since the algorithms have been prioritizing content related to the pandemic, so for the time being I’m limiting my time on them (I deleted both from my phone) and am going to post on here every few days just so people don’t worry about me.
Doing what I can
Writing is hard.
Writing is particularly hard when you’re lost in your own head. It’s hard to get much of anything done in that state, but to have to put a coherent string of words together is particularly challenging, especially when you purport to represent your inner self in your writing.
Some scattered thoughts
It’s my Wednesday to post again; there are a few more cohesive posts I would like to make later on, but for now, here’s what’s going on in my life.
A bad case of "not wanting to do anything if I don't absolutely have to"
Why does January feel like an eternity this year? I know it always seems to drag, but this year it really seems like New Years Day was four months ago instead of four weeks.
The mid-January blahs
Two weeks into 2020. I’m exhausted.
It’s not just the news cycle, even if everything about Australia, Iran, Trump, Putin, and the Democratic primaries made these two weeks seem like years in themselves. Winter’s always triggered my depression and this year is no different; it also doesn’t help that I caught a bit of a cold last week.
Lessons of 2019
It’s the first day of the new year, and I’ve been seeing a lot of people reflect on the previous 365 days on social media. I thought I would do something similar, but I don’t want to do a straight recap of what I did last year; you can read my old posts if you want to get an idea of a lot of what I’ve been doing, and some threads I need to wait and see how they turn out before I write about them here. Instead, I thought I’d try to come up with a small list of things I learned from my experiences in the past year.
Self-care during the holidays
I’m going to be going to my parents’ place in Miramichi for the holidays, and it’s something I both look forward to and dread. As good as it is to visit my family (as well as all their pets), there are so many things happening that I usually feel overwhelmed and stressed after a few days, and the combination of staying in a small house with four other adults and a general lack of privacy wears me out fairly quickly. When I was younger, the Christmas season was more exciting, but as an adult I just want to get through them as quickly as possible.
Through trial and error, I’ve found a few strategies that help me get through my visits.