After being trapped indoors most of the day at work, we picked our daughter up from daycare and rather than heading home, sat by the lakeshore and enjoyed icecream instead. We used to live close to where we sat and we spent quite a lot of time around this area, but it is changing a lot now, as they are in the process of rejuvenating and building a suburb of apartments for thousands of people.
I am glad we moved when we did. One of the benefits of living in an established area of detached homes is, there aren't going to be any major changes to the immediate population anytime soon. Although after just a week on the market, the house next to us sold. I was well priced, but needs a lot of work to get it into decent shape. I hope they are decent people.
At the lake, also took some pictures (unfortunately, I only had my phone) of the water lapping at the shore and as you can see, it isn't exactly clear. It is yellow because it is thick with pollen which has fallen to the surface of the very large lake and then been pushed by the tides to gather in trap points. It looked pretty cool, like liquid plastic.
My allergies have been really bad this season, but I am hoping it will start easing up in the next week or two. I rarely take pain killers, but my coughing has been so bad that my neck and back are in pretty bad shape and I have popped some pills to deaden the pain for when I am training. I also take antihistamines, which make me very tired.
Getting old sucks.
But there is more to it than just getting old. For the last year I have been mostly working from home (like many others) without decent equipment. It was technically very easy for the company I work for and even my own business to "go remote", as in Finland internet conditions are fast and stable and I work in IT and consultancy, but most people don't have the right kind of office equipment. Making do for a couple months isn't the end of the world, but as this extends further and further, it starts to get quite damaging on the body.
Not only on the body though, as there has been additional mental pressure too, as most people aren't used to working from home constantly, as well as spending all of their free time in lockdowns. I know quite a few people who are suffering because they feel that they can never get away from the office, even on weekends and holidays. Life becomes all work and no play.
This has been even a little more pronounced around my home perhaps, as we have had a renovation going on the entire time, with constant dust, noise and disruption, day, night and most weekends, as the tradies come and go at all hours, as well as us doing a lot of the work when we can, which is after our normal days and after our daughter goes to bed. The benefit of this is that we are doing all of the work for ourselves and once complete, we will hopefully have a place that we enjoy and can sit down and relax in, forgetting the work and money that went into it, and all the problems along the way.
To this end, this weekend we are going to take Smallsteps shopping for some new shoes for the summer as she is fast growing out of those she has and, spend some time out of the house as a family. Even a few hours away can make a difference and renew the energy levels a bit, but the last weeks have taken their toll on me personally, and I hope that I can get more of a rest in the summer vacation time I will take in July.
One of my saving graces and has been for years, is ending the day with some writing to clear my head before bed. It helps me sleep much better and now that it is part of my routine, it feels weird to not do it. I should probably start earlier however, as it is already approaching two in the morning and I will get up again at around half past six. I normally stick around for an hour after posting in case I get comments that come in, but some nights, I just post and run, with tonight being one of those nights, I think.
The funny thing is, I will generally still check for comments as I get into bed from my phone, but I don't like answering comments on the phone usually, as they end up shorter and less structured. There is a difference in the way I write if it is on the Pc or on the phone and, I far prefer the communication style of the full keyboard, as it feels more conversational. From the phone, it feels like I am looking for ways to cut corners, so I don't have to type on the touchscreen any more than I must. This is not what I want to do normally though, as it feels like I am shortchanging people who took the time to reply, so often I will add a short comment or two on comments that only require that, but leave the other comments for the next day. It isn't always easy to get back to them all at the moment, but I have been trying to "binge reply" when I find some time during the day or early evening.
I take all of this pretty seriously, even tough I am not an overly serious personality. I am not sure if others do, but I still have the "if it's a job worth doing" mindset, so put in the effort where I believe there is value. Value is pretty much always subjective, as preference plays a role in the evaluation process. Part of respecting myself and my time, is respecting what I do enough, to do it well. And if I don't care to put the effort in, it is unlikely that anyone else is going to value it much either.
Mixing pollen in water, doesn't make honey.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
