What Was I Saying?
Hello from Narnia, Wonderland, Oz, my office...
"What're ya gonna do wit dat website, ghellie?"
That was not me doing a terrible job of writing in Irish dialect. It was my transcription of Alice doing a terrible job of speaking with an Irish accent.
"I didn't sound like Colin Farrell?"
"No, babygirl, you sound like Sam Rockwell. Did you finally watch Seven Psychopaths?"
"And now I want a Shih Tzu."
I sighed. Everybody wants a Shih Tzu after they see that movie.
"I warn you. It will need a puppy cut in our climate. Also, they, um, they're...I don't know. It's like having a tiny, grouchy senior citizen follow you around all day."
"Yeah, but Niklas Lidstrom was twenty when he died."
True. And his other collar is still hanging on the towel rack in the bathroom. Like so many things, it's something that feels like the life clock stopped and everything froze.
Funny. I've been sheltering in place for over a year and looking back, I didn't accomplish everything on my to-do list. I had the time. I had the resources. As time wore on and the news got worse and thirty-nine friends, former classmates, and colleagues died and people seemed to get meaner and...and... I felt logy all the time. It was bone-deep and unshakeable. When the body count passed the double-digit mark, I was no longer able to cry. Feeling sad felt like trying to emote through a sleeping bag. I reached a point where I was approximating emotion.
I needed to do something. Anything. I started eating healthier again. The 5Ks I planned on running/walking in 2020 turned into the virtual races I've taken on this year. I've started writing and drawing again. The clearing out of stuff (Argh! The STUFF!) has recommenced. All of these were things that screeched to a halt when a friend in the U.K. told me in February '20 to prepare to hunker down for a long time. All I needed to do was kickstart myself.
To be clear, we are still sheltering in place. It seems like every time we as a people take a step or two forward, someone, somewhere wants to take a step back. Yes, I am worried about this. Every infection presents an opportunity for mutation. If enough of those happen, it obliterates the progress the scientific community has made so far. So we're sitting tight for now.
And I have this website.
What am I going to do with it?
Housekeeping for a start. There are landing pages to be built, half completed projects, and I need to prepare for some projects I've put off for a while. I have my work cut out for me.
In the meantime, I hope everyone is taking care of themselves. If you need help, please, please, please reach out. The past year has taken a toll on everyone. I promise you're not alone.
Below are some internet happy places if you just need to breathe in the good, breathe out the bad:
Miranda Hart on Youtube
Canterbury Cathedral
Morning Prayer with Dean Robert & Many Cute Animals
Canon Emma on Julian of Norwich/What we can learn from her wrt lockdown.
The Honest Guys
Until next time, be well and be kind.
"What're ya gonna do wit dat website, ghellie?"
That was not me doing a terrible job of writing in Irish dialect. It was my transcription of Alice doing a terrible job of speaking with an Irish accent.
"I didn't sound like Colin Farrell?"
"No, babygirl, you sound like Sam Rockwell. Did you finally watch Seven Psychopaths?"
"And now I want a Shih Tzu."
I sighed. Everybody wants a Shih Tzu after they see that movie.
"I warn you. It will need a puppy cut in our climate. Also, they, um, they're...I don't know. It's like having a tiny, grouchy senior citizen follow you around all day."
"Yeah, but Niklas Lidstrom was twenty when he died."
True. And his other collar is still hanging on the towel rack in the bathroom. Like so many things, it's something that feels like the life clock stopped and everything froze.
Funny. I've been sheltering in place for over a year and looking back, I didn't accomplish everything on my to-do list. I had the time. I had the resources. As time wore on and the news got worse and thirty-nine friends, former classmates, and colleagues died and people seemed to get meaner and...and... I felt logy all the time. It was bone-deep and unshakeable. When the body count passed the double-digit mark, I was no longer able to cry. Feeling sad felt like trying to emote through a sleeping bag. I reached a point where I was approximating emotion.
I needed to do something. Anything. I started eating healthier again. The 5Ks I planned on running/walking in 2020 turned into the virtual races I've taken on this year. I've started writing and drawing again. The clearing out of stuff (Argh! The STUFF!) has recommenced. All of these were things that screeched to a halt when a friend in the U.K. told me in February '20 to prepare to hunker down for a long time. All I needed to do was kickstart myself.
To be clear, we are still sheltering in place. It seems like every time we as a people take a step or two forward, someone, somewhere wants to take a step back. Yes, I am worried about this. Every infection presents an opportunity for mutation. If enough of those happen, it obliterates the progress the scientific community has made so far. So we're sitting tight for now.
And I have this website.
What am I going to do with it?
Housekeeping for a start. There are landing pages to be built, half completed projects, and I need to prepare for some projects I've put off for a while. I have my work cut out for me.
In the meantime, I hope everyone is taking care of themselves. If you need help, please, please, please reach out. The past year has taken a toll on everyone. I promise you're not alone.
Below are some internet happy places if you just need to breathe in the good, breathe out the bad:
Miranda Hart on Youtube
Canterbury Cathedral
Morning Prayer with Dean Robert & Many Cute Animals
Canon Emma on Julian of Norwich/What we can learn from her wrt lockdown.
The Honest Guys
Until next time, be well and be kind.
What's New @ Zen Dixie
So far...
4.12.21 Them: A Review
3.24.21 Guns 'n' Scrunchies
3.9.21 Review: Coming 2 America This Ain't No Disco, It Ain't Wakanda...
3.8.21 Our libraries as expressions of who we were, who we are, and what we wish for the future.
3.5.21 Front Page Blog: What Was I Saying?
1.25.21 Front Page Blog: Reach Out. It Could Save A Life.
12.29.20 Front Page Blog: Asking For A Friend
12.27.20 Front Page Blog: And So This Is Christmas...
12.21.20 Front Page Blog: An Open Letter to PR People About Reviews
12.12.20 Front Page Blog: The Next Best Thing
12.7.2020 Front Page Blog: A Call For Compassion
11.29.20 Front Page Blog: Making Do
And more to come!
*****
4.12.21 Them: A Review
3.24.21 Guns 'n' Scrunchies
3.9.21 Review: Coming 2 America This Ain't No Disco, It Ain't Wakanda...
3.8.21 Our libraries as expressions of who we were, who we are, and what we wish for the future.
3.5.21 Front Page Blog: What Was I Saying?
1.25.21 Front Page Blog: Reach Out. It Could Save A Life.
12.29.20 Front Page Blog: Asking For A Friend
12.27.20 Front Page Blog: And So This Is Christmas...
12.21.20 Front Page Blog: An Open Letter to PR People About Reviews
12.12.20 Front Page Blog: The Next Best Thing
12.7.2020 Front Page Blog: A Call For Compassion
11.29.20 Front Page Blog: Making Do
And more to come!
*****
Comments? Concerns? Suggestions? Brickbats? Contact me here!