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PATRONS!
The weather is supposed to be super nice this weekend before dropping to below zero next week in an attempt to kill every bit of spring and hope that I have left inside me.
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Can you tell that I'm actually in a good mood? I was curled up in a ball crying on the floor at midnight last night, but I exhausted myself, got a good sleep, and despite the underlying anxiety, things are ok today.
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A longtime reader, colleague, friend updated me recently:
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"I've been in touch with more people than usual...the sense of solidarity is... touching. Moving. Those words don't seem quite adequate. It's proven to me that the net we somewhat take for granted actually IS there, and it's stronger than we thought...We may be waving to each other from different clifftops across gulfs in impassable territory, but we're waving, and somehow that does a lot to calm my frazzled psyche."
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Maybe I'm revolting
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We are starting to write words about post-pandemic societies and ideal worlds. Thinking thoughts about not wasting this horrifying opportunity and finding ways to throw the final blow to the neoliberal, capitalist system that has people dying in the streets. Folks are keeping an eye on many different things, and I hope those of us who have a voice are strong enough to use them.
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I know it's hard, but don't be complacent now. We can show solidarity and compassion, while continuing to do our work. Take care of yourselves, of course, but don't sit back and wait for it all to be over.
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Technology can and is helping the world right now. We need to be vigilant to keep that Orwellian* future at bay. There are swaths of people, technologists, staying home and riding their keyboards in an effort to help. They are organizing aid, building apps, helping families connect.
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*I reread Ray Bradbury's the Pedestrian, and have a different dystopia in mind.
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This week, I spoke briefly about solidarity between open source and non-profits in a recording for the upcoming Red Hat Summit. It was a last minute thing, and I wish I had prepared a bit more. I acted like things were normal, smiled too much, and didn't let my inner revolutionary out.
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Maybe I'm vision impaired
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Yesterday was a bad day, actually.
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At the beginning of the week, I enjoyed reading about Fauci, whose balanced demeanor is probably exactly what any government needs. Later, of course, I was reminded that hope at the moment is hard to find. My emotions are all over the map this week. If yours are too, here's some good, calm advice.
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I had a migraine about three weeks ago, I've had auras ever since. I read When the Body Says No: the Cost of Hidden Stress last year, and I feel comfortable with this self-diagnosis: My "broken" brain combined with the pandemic mixed with usual work-related stressors have caused "persistent auras without infarction".
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Even on fairly ok days (like today), the stress is underneath.
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Maybe I need help?
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I thoroughly enjoyed the Oatmeal's new series on being an artist.It was a bit of light in an otherwise fairly dark week.
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What about you? How are you? Can I help you somehow?
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