- Nobody needs a “silver lining” take but I have to say, The Current Situation (TM) is very effective at taking my mind off my own personal stresses. I mean, one day we’ll all go back to work except a lot of jobs will be lost and probably it’ll be even harder for me to find something BUT right now, the world is in actual crisis and literally the only thing I have to do to help is exactly what I feel equipped to do, viz, just stay home (with the occasional gentle run). I feel so much calmer now. Sorry world, it’s not that I don’t care or don’t understand, but it’s out of my control.
- Okay, that’s only partly true. Sometimes I feel calm in a good way. Sometimes it’s the calm of deep despair. I can’t look away from the news but I also really can’t deal with it. The economic and social devastation is impossible to wrap my head around. Half of me thinks this will be the shock that rewrites the rules completely, which is sorely needed; half of me can’t imagine that the new rules will be any better. So I am trying to keep my head down and focus on my own tiny patch, my lovely family and the fact that we are about as secure as anyone can be. But like everyone else, my head is all over the place.
- I am very glad I don’t have a proper job right now, because getting shit done is impossible. I’m really struggling to keep a handle on the few freelance commitments I do have. Knowing that everyone else is in the same boat is only a little help.
- I did manage to submit the third-party knitting pattern I was working on, two days late (by agreement), which feels like quite a victory under the circumstances. I have another two client jobs to work on but I’ve also decided to release a learn-brioche project MKAL style, i.e. one “clue” a week, for everyone who wants a quarantine challenge. I’ll be keeping only just ahead of the public on this, I have a plan but it’s far from done, even conceptually. Shockingly unprofessional. And yet, it has to happen.
- We celebrated C’s birthday last week, without any party of course, which I have to admit was a nice break for me too. Sucks for her, but she gets it, and I think really enjoyed our cozy family time. This week is my birthday, which we’ll be celebrating with a pizza delivery – assuming the local restaurants are still doing that.
No 16 of #52recipes: spaghetti carbonara, at C’s request for her birthday dinner. Not exactly radical but I’ve only improvised before; this time I followed a Mary Berry recipe. Honestly, I liked my (less eggy) improvised versions better.
Woolly thoughts (and fuzzy logic) 
I understand the distraction problem – I’m really struggling to concentrate. But I need to – I’ve had most of my future training bookings cancelled, so finding alternative income streams is imperative. Happily my wife has a secure job, so it’s not catastrophic – but it’s certainly challenging.
Best to you and yours.
Really challenging. A lot of my friends are self-employed and very worried. I don’t mean to sound smug, a huge part of the reason I’m able to feel so secure right now is the awareness of how scary things are for so many others!