human kind cannot bear very much reality
Sunday, 22 March 2020 09:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
freckles_and_doubtYou know, modern life is completely surreal. The intersection of our stupidly huge global population and our stupidly pervasive communications tech means that at present normal social media interaction is basically holding a global pandemic up in the air for us to scrutinise its nethers, whether we want to or not. Really, human sanity is better served by not being able to make intimate anatomical dissections of the progress of a merry virus across the globe. I don't think our brains are equipped to handle all that awareness and implication. Or in fact, the inescapable realisation that a worryingly high proportion of global powers are in the chocolate teapot category of usefulness in addressing all this.
And it's such a stupid pandemic. I mean, it's like living in a very badly scripted B-movie apocalypse, its narrative drive is shot and its political figures have badly-characterised motivations and its timing is all off, who the hell thought this was a compelling story? It's the "meh" of viruses, a good bubonic plague would at least have genre patterns we could recognise and comprehend, and therefore feel somehow prepared to face. This loose, drifty thing is very difficult to grasp, if you're in the fortunate position of being someone who's not in a risk category: you're taking all the precautions at one remove, rather than trying to avert a clear and present threat to yourself.
We are still in the early stages here, the country's not on lockdown or anything, but they've closed schools and banned gatherings of over 100 people. The university sent their students home a week ago, I am working from home, and given that I was on leave for a week before that, have effectively been at home for two weeks. I have sent the nice cleaning lady home on full pay to cut down on possible transmission for both of us. The cats are enjoying my presence, and I am less exhausted and, weirdly, more upbeat, than I have been in months. Turns out being at home and not talking to anyone much for weeks at a time really does it for me - in fact, the tendency of my family and friends to check in occasionally by WhatsApp, while welcome, is giving me tiny micro-homicidal reactions whenever the phone beeps. I have made chocolate cake and put a lamb stew in the crockpot and unearthed three hitherto unsuspected bottles of Allesveloren port in the back of my booze cabinet, so that's the week sorted.
Escaping from reality is an essential aspect of surviving a pandemic: I am halfway throught the first Witcher videogame and the fourth Witcher novel, thoroughly enjoying them, and the fanfic is delightful. I have started a new Stardew Valley game on my shiny new Ipad, and there is an approximately metre-high stack of unwatched dvds next to the tv. Which I may ignore in favour of keeping the theme going by watching the Witcher on Netflix. My usual fridge/freezer/cupboard status ("could feed self for two weeks or party of six for four days without need for leaving premises") is approximately doubled. With the trifling drawback that I am facing a possible shutdown without supplies of either baking powder or fresh garlic, both of which were unaccountably available in the shops this morning, I think I am reasonably poised to sit this out.
I hope you are all fine, and uninfected, and as upbeat as possible under the surreality of the circumstances.
And it's such a stupid pandemic. I mean, it's like living in a very badly scripted B-movie apocalypse, its narrative drive is shot and its political figures have badly-characterised motivations and its timing is all off, who the hell thought this was a compelling story? It's the "meh" of viruses, a good bubonic plague would at least have genre patterns we could recognise and comprehend, and therefore feel somehow prepared to face. This loose, drifty thing is very difficult to grasp, if you're in the fortunate position of being someone who's not in a risk category: you're taking all the precautions at one remove, rather than trying to avert a clear and present threat to yourself.
We are still in the early stages here, the country's not on lockdown or anything, but they've closed schools and banned gatherings of over 100 people. The university sent their students home a week ago, I am working from home, and given that I was on leave for a week before that, have effectively been at home for two weeks. I have sent the nice cleaning lady home on full pay to cut down on possible transmission for both of us. The cats are enjoying my presence, and I am less exhausted and, weirdly, more upbeat, than I have been in months. Turns out being at home and not talking to anyone much for weeks at a time really does it for me - in fact, the tendency of my family and friends to check in occasionally by WhatsApp, while welcome, is giving me tiny micro-homicidal reactions whenever the phone beeps. I have made chocolate cake and put a lamb stew in the crockpot and unearthed three hitherto unsuspected bottles of Allesveloren port in the back of my booze cabinet, so that's the week sorted.
Escaping from reality is an essential aspect of surviving a pandemic: I am halfway throught the first Witcher videogame and the fourth Witcher novel, thoroughly enjoying them, and the fanfic is delightful. I have started a new Stardew Valley game on my shiny new Ipad, and there is an approximately metre-high stack of unwatched dvds next to the tv. Which I may ignore in favour of keeping the theme going by watching the Witcher on Netflix. My usual fridge/freezer/cupboard status ("could feed self for two weeks or party of six for four days without need for leaving premises") is approximately doubled. With the trifling drawback that I am facing a possible shutdown without supplies of either baking powder or fresh garlic, both of which were unaccountably available in the shops this morning, I think I am reasonably poised to sit this out.
I hope you are all fine, and uninfected, and as upbeat as possible under the surreality of the circumstances.
no subject
Date: Sunday, 22 March 2020 06:26 pm (UTC)Perfectly phrased. As someone who once aspired to epidemiology, I find the sudden nether-scrutiny both charming and distressing. Everyone suddenly has an opinion on transmissivity and log scales. The opinions are...not always correct.
Chocolate cake and lamb stew sound amazing. I am glad you have good food to go with Witcher watching. (I haven't played the game but did enjoy the show, though the first episode didn't make much sense to me on first viewing.)
no subject
Date: Monday, 23 March 2020 06:05 am (UTC)I haven't watched the Witcher series yet, but Teh Internets have led me to suppose it's based far more on the books than on the games, and the books are surprisingly dense, challenging reads with a lot of flashback and timehopping and framing narration. Also, a self-conscious set of games with fairy-tale and heroic genre expectations which make my simple narrative-fondling heart very, very happy. Which is a long-winded way of saying that a hopelessly confusing first episode sounds about right, the books tend to be disorienting as well, and he introduces characters madly and with a fine disregard for the reader's ability to keep up. Which I rather enjoy in a writer, frankly. Baffled but intrigued as a readerly stance keeps the blood pumping ;>.