I’m scrambling to think of anything I’ve done, but there are a few:
What have you done? Tell us in the comments.
Where else do you get advice from the government suggesting virtual sex? Maybe only in Argentina!
Want to read the rest? Read it here.
This morning the BA Times featured a very informative interview with Alberto Fernandez, President of Argentina.
Let me say that if I had had a vote, I would not have voted for this man or his party. However, like many others, I have been very impressed by his handling of the Coronavirus situation here in Argentina. We all bitch and moan about quarantine, but there’s no arguing with the numbers — we are doing much better than many other countries, probably largely due to quarantine.
In this interview he talks about a wide range of things, and in a very conversational tone. He talks about other politicians in Argentina’s past, but interestingly not much about his Vice-President, Cristina Kirchner Fernandez (no relation), who was President for eight years before the last government of Mauricio Macri. Cristina brought corruption to new levels and she should be in jail. Instead, she is Vice-President, and I think it’s fair to say it was largely due to her supporters that this government won. If she wasn’t in the picture, I would feel even more positive about this government. Ah yes, Argentina!
It’s a long interview and you may not want to read it all, but skimming the headings will give you an idea which parts you might want to read. I hope many people outside Argentina will read it, because the rest of the world knows little or nothing about my adopted country. Here’s the link.
And if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll try to answer them in a future post.
I’m not one to complain much about the physical isolation, being quite content to do some work, read a lot and chat with my friends on WhatsApp and Zoom. But this morning’s news was definitely not welcome.
As of this Monday, all those over 70 in Buenos Aires will require a permit to go out of their homes. The only exception is going to the doctor or to get medicine. Nothing else. No grocery shopping. No dog walking. Nothing.
The good news is that there are lots of mechanisms in place to help — volunteers doing shopping and walking dogs etc. And even under normal circumstances, in Buenos Aires you can get pretty much everything delivered, and the delivery services are all working. So it’s not the end of the world, and I’m not worried about the practical side of it. But psychologically… well, that’s a different story.
When I read the report this morning I was still in bed. I stayed where I was and cried for a bit. But then I decided to snap out of it, do my meditation and exercises and get on with it.
After all, I can still do my work — and am fortunate to have work, I love my apartment and don’t feel at all cooped up in it, and one of these days I’ll get back to my art. As someone posted on FaceBook, “Our forefathers were called to war. We are being called to sit our the couch. We can do this.”
I hope the seniors lockdown won’t last too long — but you won’t hear me bitching about it any more.
Yesterday there was a knock at my apartment door — very unusual if I haven’t let anyone in downstairs. Looking through the peephole I saw the portero (our word for the superintendent of the building).
I opened up and he presented me with this mask. I think his wife made them, although I didn’t quite understand that part. He explained that I should fold up a tissue and put it over my mouth first and then the mask. I don’t know if he was giving them to everyone, or just folks of my vintage. In any case, I was very grateful.
Masks have now been made mandatory in Buenos Aires (not sure about the rest of the country) any time we go outside. The government has also asked us to make our own, leaving the real ones for medical and emergency people. I’m all in with that.
I posted a picture a couple of weeks ago of me in my black “terrorist” face mask. I won’t feel as conspicuous going into the supermarket wearing this one, thanks to my lovely, generous portero.
Have you ever heard some sort of “new” disease, syndrome or condition, read the symptoms and realized you had it? That happened to me this week when I read about productivity shame! I definitely have that, and so do many of my friends. Maybe you do too.
When the pandemic first started and we were just beginning to spend more time at home, although maybe not yet actually locked down, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to do all those things I wanted to do but never normally had the time. Cleaning out cupboards — maybe finding those three favourite winter sweaters I haven’t seen for months and which I suspect I threw out inadvertently, getting back to my painting and sketching, maybe even ripping out that top I knitted and never liked so that I could knit something else. (Why don’t I keep a supply of yarn on hand for when a pandemic happens to strike?)
Not to mention, of course, the things related to my business — that ever growing list of shoulds.
But somehow this free time hasn’t translated into getting things done. Quite the opposite, in fact. I can’t count the times I’ve sat on my couch thinking, “I could get out my painting things now, and then they will be ready for me to do something tonight,” — and then carrying on watching old Stephen Fry programs on YouTube.
My writing projects are not much further ahead than before, and my good ideas to try one day are still in the same file, buried deep in my computer where I’m unlikely to ever find them.
Do I feel bad about this? Sometimes. I try to cut myself some slack, but I do feel guilty — and kind of stupid. Some of my friends admit to the same feelings.
Well, lo and behold, this condition has a name: productivity shame! Apparently so many of us suffer from it that it threatens to become a pandemic all on its its own! I don’t know about you, but when I know other people are suffering similar problems to my own, it doesn’t worry me so much. So now, whenever I feel bad about not getting it all done, I’ll just comfort myself by saying it’s just productivity shame — and this too shall pass.
What I Actually Did Do
Well, I guess I did more than I thought. I’ll remember that next time I feel a wave of productivity shame coming on.
We’ve all been deluged with jokes and videos through these crazy times. Here are a few of the ones I particularly enjoyed.
I think this is my favourite!
Well I finally figured out a set-up that works for recording my audiobook — and here it is! This is my “recording studio”, made by hanging a duvet around the pull-down rail in my walk-in closet. The second photo is a peek inside, the space where I’ll actually do the recording.
The theory is that the thick padding behind me will baffle the sound and take away any echo — necessary because my place has high ceilings.
Now that it’s all in place, I plan to start recording tomorrow and finish it by the end of the week. Then I have to do some technical tweaks before it’s ready to upload. I’m glad I bought the program on how to do this, because I have no idea what all the tweaks mean. I’ll just follow the “hit this button and set this number to xxx” instructions and hope for the best.
I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
There isn’t much more, other than what I’ve posted about. Surely I can do better than that! This week I plan to do some other things around the house that I never usually get time for.
What about you? Have you accomplished anything interesting this past week? Let us know in the comments.
Stay well.