Working and winter
And something about time
I’ve been working from home all this week. A water main broke due to some nearby construction and ended up flooding the complex that includes my office tower. It is nice to get some more time with the cat and not have to worry about the commute or the million small rituals of office life, but there are things about my job that I need or prefer to be in the office to do, and I do miss seeing other people. I’ve been trying to take advantage of this unexpected development by doing a little cleaning and work on the main website, as well as watching some old TV shows to help pass the time.
It’s also been giving me a bit more perspective on my body’s schedule. I can say for sure that I can no longer handle staying up as late as I used to; maybe it’s because I regularly wake up at 6 AM on a weekday morning, or it could be the medication I take, but the days of me staying up until 2 to watch the new SNL episode live are long gone. It’s also a lot easier for me to articulate my feelings in the morning than at the end of the day. Unfortunately, there are never enough hours in a day anymore, at least where my body’s concerned.
It’s hard to stay in the moment. I’m always thinking of things I want to write about, the dreams I keep having, and worries about the untold future. It’s not that the here and now is dreadful, but it’s been giving way to memories of other places and people, and global news always gives me concern for the future.
As a stress management measure, I’ve been cutting down on Twitter; I still use it for SNL updates/conversation and the occasional check-in on the dumpster fire that is American politics, but the community aspect that I enjoyed isn’t really there anymore, ever since that petulant billionaire who’s desperate to be seen as cool bought it. I am on Threads and Bluesky but not particularly engaged (or engaging) on either.
Winter’s coming. It’s colder and darker outside, and I’m prone to seasonal depression so the SAD lamp is already out. I’m dreading the days when ice and snow will be everywhere. I’m usually pretty cautious about walking outside during the winter, but the threat of a slip is always lurking. Last night I had wanted to head out to get a new bus pass after work, but the presence of black ice on the ground made me change my plans.
Halifax streets tend to bottleneck during rush hour, and it’s not too uncommon for it to get worse during the winter, especially if there’s an accident on one of the two bridges across the harbour. There have been times when a bus ride that should only be 25 minutes tops stretched out for much longer, particularly last winter when the bus I was on was stuck on the same three block stretch between Robie and Gottingen streets for more than three hours. The presence of an old crush also didn’t help with the discomfort.
I only have three weeks of work left before I go up to my parents’ house in New Brunswick for Christmas. Time flies. I don’t anticipate doing much on my visit aside from cuddling multiple cats and dogs (this of course includes Autumn, who normally accompanies me on the trip), nor do I expect to have any New Years’ plans.
One of the albums I bought at the record fair in October was Pretenders II; I was pretty pleased about that. I usually just buy whatever catches my eye when I go to these events and it’s helped me build up a decent vinyl collection. Figured this would be a good song to close on.