I’m officially not in my early thirties anymore, and it’s fine. I’m in good health—which is great, considering the reality of 2020. I’m surrounded by the love of a wonderful wife and the best daughter a father can wish for.
It’s super busy at work, now that I manage the whole roadmap of our monolingual lexical datasets—2005’s Franz is like “wooooah, do you really do that job?!?“—and I can still do a better job at finding more time to incorporate all my lifestyle activities in my routines. Jiu-jitsu looks like a distant memory, and who knows when we’ll be able to roll again. Picking up one of my basses and playing, recording, or practicing for real—as opposed to just noodling—doesn’t happen frequently enough. You’d think staying home, without travelling, without commuting, gives you the time to level up with certain things—e.g. producing music—but time’s not the issue: you need headspace, and good luck with that.
Most of the time, when I’m not working, I only find myself doing activities with a very low access bar, e.g. watching my favourite YouTube channels or switching on the PS4 for the occasional FIFA game.
At home, we’re not watching any movie or TV show that demands full attention. We’re not looking for complex experiences or stories that make you think. No edgy shows. No dramas. We’re exhausting Netflix’s food and interior design catalogue. It’s a system!
But it’s all OK. It’s how this year is going, and I’m not too worried. I’ve got no control on how things are going, and I can only stay safe, help my people stay safe, follow the guidelines, and trust science. Better times will come.