Tag: Virus

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Life

Sushi

It’s our eldest daughter’s birthday today. Somehow she is 20 years old. I still think of her as the unsure 7 year old that walked through our door thirteen years ago, after two years wading through the endless red tape of the adoption process. We have found a sushi place that delivers, so have splashed out – I can’t remember the last time we had food delivered to the house.

In other news, the country looks like it’s heading back into lockdown – driven mostly by legions of idiots that don’t seem to be able to follow simple instructions from the government. The same people are complaining that the government are clueless morons. I’ve thought more than once about quietly pointing out that three quarters of those complaining voted for those they are complaining about. I doubt that would go down very well.

Sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut, and watch the deck of the ship you’re standing on get set alight by those around you. Of course it’s not everybody. The vast majority are similarly furious. It’s the old story – a small minority ruin almost everything for almost everybody.

Oh. I’ve gone back to using the Bullet Journal, after playing with a Filofax for a few weeks. It turns out if you’re working from home all the time, you don’t really need to plan anything that far ahead – but having a day-to-day record of what you did, along with thoughts and ideas is pretty useful.

Anyway. Coffee. I need a coffee. And some music. And some sushi.

Categories
Life

I’m Coming Too

I meant to write something late last night. I got as far as writing “it’s half past midnight”, but somehow didn’t get any further.

My mental batteries are drained. I’ve been working on software development projects for the last week. It’s not easy to switch off – you turn over problems in the back of your mind late at night – or at least I do.

I need to get out of the house tomorrow – perhaps an early morning run. Anything really.

The world around us is slowly locking down again – caused by the legions of idiots that surround us. My other half forgot to take her lunch to work this morning, so I wandered up to the school via a service station that has a bakery on-site. While standing in the socially distanced queue with my mask on, I noticed the elderly man in front of me was not wearing a mask. There were signs everywhere instructing everybody to wear masks. He took no notice.

The internet connection is still dropping out all the time at home – we have had little or no internet for a week now. I’m relying on my work phone acting as a hot-spot to check email. There is a call open with our internet service provider, but no news so far. The kids are going out of their mind – deprived of YouTube and Tiktok.

Tomorrow may be all about books, cups of tea, and board games. If the weather is nice, perhaps a long walk away from everybody and everything – well, apart from the kids. I’m pretty sure if I announced “I’m going for a walk – I need some space for a bit”, at least two of them would shout “I’m coming too”…

Categories
Life

Priorities

I just got back from a walk through the warm evening air to the supermarket and back. It was intended as a mental health walk of sorts – I’ve been going increasingly stir crazy working from home. Of course then “people” intervened to ruin it, but I’ll get back to that.

While wandering around the supermarket, picking up all the exciting things – lightbulbs, dishwashing sponges, deodorant, and so on – I happened upon all the “back to school” things that are now being sold at a huge discount. I came home with two stationery sets I don’t really need – filled with notebooks, rulers, pens, pencils, and so on. I showed my other half, and she rolled her eyes.

“But they were on offer!”

I laughed at myself, and remembered a girl I used to work with – who once commented that her Mum would buy dog food if it was on offer, and they didn’t even have a dog.

I also bought nice coffee. If I’m going to be hunched over this desk for days on end, I’m going to damn well have nice coffee to give me higher quality shakes.

In other news we received some bad news tonight – a friend of my Dad – a fellow flight simulator enthusiast that he has virtually flown with countless times, made friends with, and visited for meals and nights out – died unexpectedly. He was a virtual air traffic controller for many of the flights my daughter has taken part in – I told her a little while after she came home from college tonight. Everything seems very sombre now.

While walking into town, I thought about those that knew the guy that passed away – and if they might be changed by it. None of us is here forever – there’s a saying about not getting a second go at this life business, isn’t there.

I suppose this brings me neatly to the ass-hats that ruined my quiet walk to the supermarket. While waiting at the checkout, 2 metres away from the next customer, an older gentleman walked up right behind me, well within the markings on the floor. While being quietly annoyed with him, the middle-aged women at the checkout couldn’t find her bank card, so pulled her face covering off to tell the girl on the checkout that she was looking for it – and didn’t put her mask back on.

What is it with older people not caring about the lockdown rules? Is it any surprise that a second wave is sweeping the world? I keep reading about people going on foreign holidays, and wondering “WHAT THE F*CK?”. Nobody seems to have any understanding at all about combinatorial explosion, or the potentially devastating consequences of not know you were spreading anything for the several week gestation period of the virus.

Why are people so frustrating?

Anyway.

Deep breaths.

I’ve switched back to writing in a text editor. I’m rocking Windows Notepad, and saving the text files into OneDrive. It requires very little effort indeed. Not having the daily car-crash news from the US a tab click away helps keep me on track.

p.s. Miss 16 loved her first day at college.