How Are You Doing?

[jjpor]

 I realise I've not been very active at all, either here or in Doctor Who fandom generally, for the past...well, longer than I care to recall, to be honest.  We can discuss my feelings on the Chibnall Era (which is what I choose to call it because, no, I don't like it much, but it isn't anything to do with Jodie Whittaker or the Thirteenth Doctor) some other time.  There are more important things going on at the moment.

This is, I think it is fair to say, a pretty strange, scary time for pretty much the entire world and everybody in it.  I'd wager those of us who indulged in dystopian fantasies about what might happen if X or Y won a particular election, or if a particular referendum mandate was indeed seen through to its bitter end, didn't quite expect anything like this to happen.  Myself, I'm managing to get by both work-wise and personally, and keep myself and those I care about as healthy and safe as I can.  However, I realise that depending on your personal circumstances that could be a lot easier said than done.

So, I don't know, I just thought I'd post something here and just ask how people are doing, and offer my good vibes and best wishes to all of you.  It's been a while, but I hope all of you are keeping as well as can be in the circumstances, and if you'd like to offer your greetings (from a safe social distance, of course), I'd be very glad to hear from you.

Comments

[persiflage_1]

Hello stranger!

Me and mine are currently all safe and well. I am not enjoying my unprecedented holiday from work as much as I might since I'm not getting paid (boss won't pay me until the Govt's employee retention scheme gets going - and that might not happen before the end of April, so things for me are fraught).

I'm doing my best to stay positive-ish, however. Or at least to hold the gloom at bay.

Stay safe and well.

[jjpor]

Thank you - you too.

I'm lucky enough to have a job I can do from a laptop, so at least I'm still getting paid, but I appreciate that an awful lot of people are in a much worse situation in that regard. The govt really need to pull their finger out and get that scheme up and running, but this shower don't do detail (or much at all), do they?

But it's really good to hear from you. I'm glad you're okay at the moment and managing to stay positive-ish, because that isn't an easy thing to do at the moment.

[persiflage_1]

Yeah, my sister's working from home for Avon and Somerset Police (on the admin side). She's struggling a bit with the isolation, although, apparently several of her colleagues got wind of this and emailed, IM'd, or texted her today, and she said that helped. My mum's more or less housebound anyway these days thanks to Parkinson's Disease, but my brother is there with her, and only goes out for fresh bread and milk, and such like things.

The Govt really doesn't do detail or thinking at all. Useless shower.

I'm glad to have heard from you, too!

[jjpor]

Yes, I think keeping in touch with people however you can is very important, because isolation and lack of contact does start to weigh heavily after a while. You like to think you're a quite self-sufficient person, until it isn't a matter of choice anymore. It does make me a lot more empathetic towards people who spend their lives alone all of the time.

I think it's also true what people have been saying about working from home, that it's important to have some sort of routine, or at the very least a structure to the day. I think that makes things a lot easier too.

[persiflage_1]

It's true that routine and structure are very important for people who are working from home.

But don't forget - you're not actually *working from home*. You are *at home, working, during a global crisis*. That is not the same thing at all and I think it's foolish for anyone to assume it is. During a normal WFH scenario you don't also have to worry about maintaining necessary supplies, or whether any of your friends or family is about to fall dangerously ill, or whether people will comply with social distancing rules if you do have to go outside, or what the tally of the dead is going to be on this particular day, or whether our useless Government is going to pull its collective finger out and do its goddamn job! We are in a disaster scenario, and we have to allow ourselves the mental space to deal with that f*ckwittery every single day ON TOP of actually trying to get any work done while at home.

[jjpor]

That's definitely very true. And I think it's important for the people who are in that position to bear that in mind and make sure that their priority is the people it is in their power to help through this, and the self care that is necessary to make sure they are themselves in a position to provide that help. That's definitely my priority.

[persiflage_1]

Good. Self care is more important now than it's ever been before.

[jjpor]

I'm in full agreement with you on that. :)

[thisbluespirit]

Me and mine are currently all safe and well. I am not enjoying my unprecedented holiday from work as much as I might since I'm not getting paid (boss won't pay me until the Govt's employee retention scheme gets going

I was wondering about that and meaning to ask, knowing your boss's usual lovable habits. *eyerolls* And then I didn't because I thought if it was bad you might prefer not to have to think about it! I'm sorry - I hope the gov't stuff comes through sooner than that. *hugs*

[persiflage_1]

Thanks. I hope it does too, but I'm not exactly holding my breath on that score.

[thisbluespirit]

Noo, I think you might die of oxygen starvation if you attempted that! ♥

[persiflage_1]

Eggs-actly!