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Purple Train
Mar. 22nd, 2020 09:19 pmThe first weekend of what is likely to be many of isolation has come and gone, and it has been rather mixed. Having had to cancel this Saturday's Leeds Meet earlier in the week due to coronavirus, by Thursday we were plotting running something on Discord instead. This went exceptionally well, with around sixty furs signing up. Wolfie and I were there from 12 noon all the way through to 7pm, predominantly enjoying playing Jackbox games with friends. It was definitely a good way to pass the time and it was reassuring hearing their voices again, although for me nothing quite makes up for face-to-face contact. Alas, this is looking incredibly unlikely over the coming months and I hope that things won't get even more draconian. The thought of being completely confined to the house, rather than being allowed to go for a walk outside at least, is not doing my mental state any favours even though the degree of self-isolating around Pudsey is woefully inefficient as to what's actually needed. Still, walking around the town last night was a genuine pleasure, the best I've ever done for a Saturday night, largely as all the pubs were shut and there no raucuous pissed people causing nonsense.
We intend to do the Discord events until the Leeds Meets return, supplanting them with both the Coffee Meets and the Main Meets. We may even do more impromptu things as well and try and develop an online community. Hopefully all of this will pass soon, but I fear that we may be here for the long haul. I am someone who tries and deals with my mental issues by having something to look forward to, and with things being cancelled, this is becoming something which is incredibly hard to deal with. I have already accepted that it is unlikely I'll get to see my grandfather for his 91st birthday in two weeks' time, and considering he has just been in hospital having had two separate bleeds on the brain, I am concerned whether I'll see him again at all. Added to this is that our Hamburg and Berlin trip over Easter is also most likely cancelled, while ConFuzzled is looking unlikely too. I understand the reasons for this and why it's important to reduce social contact wherever necessary, but it doesn't make it any less galling.
We were invited to Arcais's birthday party last night, which kept frequently changing due to the changing circumstances. It was initailly going to be karaoke after the Meet, but with the Meet cancelled, the plan changed to pizza and karaoke. With the news that all bars were to be closed from Friday evening, it then became a house gathering, which was predominantly board game related. This really isn't my scene and coupled with fears over my job (the cancellation of all sport is not great for a company that predominently works in sports journalism), my mood tanked considerably last night, so I wasn't really up for it. I hope we can go round and see her at some point soon though, not least because we both have presents to exchange with one another.
Aside from this, I am just trying to keep myself sane. I've made a couple of purchases of things I had been meaning to get for a while, reasoning that no bars and no travel will see me reduce my expendure significantly. I am also determined to do at least one hour of guitar practice a day, while I have decided to focus on hitting 10,000 daily steps too. With the gym closed, this will be hard, but speaking to colleagues and parents on the phone will definitely help while the improving weather and lighter nights will also force me out. I just hope that we will still be allowed to walk around the streets and that the current laws don't become more draconian. Ultimately though, this whole situation is close to my personal hell: no sport, job under threat, everyone talking about video games (Animal Crossing and Doom), an invisible enemy that's killing us, key supplies not in the shops, the inability to travel and Boris Johnson of all people is Prime Minister.
Wolfie and I are now both working from home indefinitely, which means the dynamic is odd. I am not sure I can live on top of Wolfie 24/7, while the monotony of being in the same place is going to get tough. Last week, we only ended up working three days as we were off Monday and Tuesday - next week is the first five day affair and I am not looking forward to it. Still, I guess we just have to see how it goes in these uncertain times and try and make the best of them. As I say, I am already committed to guitar and I am trying my best to remain fit, as well as doing what I can to cheer people up on social media. It'll be hard but we'll get through it. I guess we have to.
We intend to do the Discord events until the Leeds Meets return, supplanting them with both the Coffee Meets and the Main Meets. We may even do more impromptu things as well and try and develop an online community. Hopefully all of this will pass soon, but I fear that we may be here for the long haul. I am someone who tries and deals with my mental issues by having something to look forward to, and with things being cancelled, this is becoming something which is incredibly hard to deal with. I have already accepted that it is unlikely I'll get to see my grandfather for his 91st birthday in two weeks' time, and considering he has just been in hospital having had two separate bleeds on the brain, I am concerned whether I'll see him again at all. Added to this is that our Hamburg and Berlin trip over Easter is also most likely cancelled, while ConFuzzled is looking unlikely too. I understand the reasons for this and why it's important to reduce social contact wherever necessary, but it doesn't make it any less galling.
We were invited to Arcais's birthday party last night, which kept frequently changing due to the changing circumstances. It was initailly going to be karaoke after the Meet, but with the Meet cancelled, the plan changed to pizza and karaoke. With the news that all bars were to be closed from Friday evening, it then became a house gathering, which was predominantly board game related. This really isn't my scene and coupled with fears over my job (the cancellation of all sport is not great for a company that predominently works in sports journalism), my mood tanked considerably last night, so I wasn't really up for it. I hope we can go round and see her at some point soon though, not least because we both have presents to exchange with one another.
Aside from this, I am just trying to keep myself sane. I've made a couple of purchases of things I had been meaning to get for a while, reasoning that no bars and no travel will see me reduce my expendure significantly. I am also determined to do at least one hour of guitar practice a day, while I have decided to focus on hitting 10,000 daily steps too. With the gym closed, this will be hard, but speaking to colleagues and parents on the phone will definitely help while the improving weather and lighter nights will also force me out. I just hope that we will still be allowed to walk around the streets and that the current laws don't become more draconian. Ultimately though, this whole situation is close to my personal hell: no sport, job under threat, everyone talking about video games (Animal Crossing and Doom), an invisible enemy that's killing us, key supplies not in the shops, the inability to travel and Boris Johnson of all people is Prime Minister.
Wolfie and I are now both working from home indefinitely, which means the dynamic is odd. I am not sure I can live on top of Wolfie 24/7, while the monotony of being in the same place is going to get tough. Last week, we only ended up working three days as we were off Monday and Tuesday - next week is the first five day affair and I am not looking forward to it. Still, I guess we just have to see how it goes in these uncertain times and try and make the best of them. As I say, I am already committed to guitar and I am trying my best to remain fit, as well as doing what I can to cheer people up on social media. It'll be hard but we'll get through it. I guess we have to.
