This time next week I’ll already be back from a two-nights trip to London. I’ll probably be in front of the TV watching the election coverage, because a few hours earlier the polling stations will have closed and the results will be coming in. I’m dreading that night to be honest. There is so much going on here these days and so much is going in the wrong direction, in my eyes. Also the USA? WTF?!?!?
Work is again quite busy and will be busy next week as well. I will probably continue to feel (slighty) overwhelmed and out of my depths. But I will also try to keep working on NOT feeling that way all the time. I don’t really have anything more meaningful to say or comment on at the moment. My life is so boring. There hopefully will be bit more content here next week, after I’ve come back from London. A part of me wants to pack doing a lot of things in my Friday afternoon / evening and Saturday morning and is afraid I’d be wasting precious time if I don’t do those things. The other part of me feels knackered just thinking about doing anything than taking it easy and getting rest before the two events Saturday. I will probably change my mind about what to do a dozen times next week.
My favourite musical “Operation Mincemeat” had it’s Broadway debut last night. A first preview show with the original cast (three of five also wrote the whole thing) and the masses of footage on my social media about it made me so happy.
The song the crowd is singing at the stage door? I had a custom made bracelet from a lyric long before there was news of a Broadway transfer.
One of my favourite lines from “Operation Mincemeat – A New Musical”
This post was supposed to be titled “Hard Numbers” and I had wanted to copy / be inspired by a section in one of the many newsletters I get these days, in which small tidbits of information are tied to said number. But I didn’t start typing this post early enough today and now I can’t be bothered to focus on the minutiae of my day. Maybe I’ll try to do my London recap post that way.
The “old” media – established newspapers, public service broadcasting – are still not paying enough attention to the Coup going on in the US, I think. I try to keep up through newsletters and some social media, without getting to overwhelmed by it all. Similar with the election / general campaigning / motions in parliament / public discourse here in Germany at the moment. I also try to keep up with reading a liberal and a conversative Sunday paper and finally make a dent in the ton of bookmarked articles.
Catching up on the news
In the past I have rarely watched candidates debate on TV, because I was so fed up by the stock phrases and all. In 20 minutes the first of a few TV debates between the chancellor and his challenger will start and I will tune in after all. For a while anyway, until I might just have enough.
I wanted to share happy thoughts though and am now almost running out of time.
I plan to be be back in Paris for a few days in July to finally, finally see Brandi Carlile live on stage. Wooohooo! I admit I haven’t listened to her all that much in the past 8 – 10 years, but she’s always been on my radar. About 20 years ago I was a huge fan of the TV show “Grey’s Anatomy” which had a great soundtrack in the early seasons. I got to know some of Brandi’s songs through that and I loved her music.
In 2010 I had bought a ticket to see her in Cologne in May. A few weeks before that date the vulcano erupted on Iceland which led to lots of air traffic across the Atlantic being shut down for a while, which then led to the cancellation of that tour. Brandi has been back in the UK and Scandinavia since then, but it never really worked out for me. She will be in Berlin and Amsterdam as well, which would be closer than Paris, but those dates won’t work for me. So I booked the ticket for Paris and will spend a few days. Now that I have an idea of the city again. I can’t wait.
2025 might be the year where I choose to do… better. I’m trying to anyway. Be more mindful and take better care of myself and others. Well myself first. On the plane they tell you to put the oxygen mask on yourself first for a reason, right?
Monday morning after a(nother) crappy night of sleep and after the mandatory look what’s on my professional and personal schedule for the week I decided – a bit on a whim – to take Friday (today) off!
One of the best decisions I made this year so far. Of course, I had plans to get lots of things done and as always I only got to one third of them. But I took good care of myself, which was part of the point in taking the day off as well. Sleeping in. Taking it easy. Running errands. Spend lots of time reading my weekly newspaper.
Using a “staying focused” app to help me stay focused (and off social media)
Staying off social media and mostly also the news for the better part of 24 hours. Checked my mails once or twice to see if there was something urgent. Of course there wasn’t. Still haven’t checked any social media since 7 PM last night. I will need to log into Instagram to share this post later, but I’m determined to not spend too much time on it then either.
With what has been going on in German parliament this week I was afraid I might have to wade into talking about politics here again even though I was determined not to. Other people can do that much more eloquently. I’m glad that today “German Bundestag rejects immigration bill pushed by conservatives and far right” Even though some damage has already been done with the votes on Wednesday, at least for now there won’t be a first bill through parliament by votes of the far right (aka fascists!).
Wednesday evening I had been looking for anti – fascist demonstration happening around here, which I could go to in support. I had found one (today at 5 PM in a neighbouring town) that fit my full schedule and had been determined to go or even help out with setting it up, as there was a call for organisational support on their website. I had been so determined to go and do that. I had taken the day off. For other reasons, but needs must and all, right?
Thursday morning, I woke up already quite knackered and gave up any idea of any offer of support and probably of even just attending. Selfcare, priorities, the oxygen mask and all that. In the end I really didn’t go to that today and that definitely was the right decision, because it would have stressed me out too much and the point of taking the day off was to rest and recharge.
At the moment I just can’t do it all. And I’m sensible enough to not try to do it anyway. Give myself a break and sometimes take a bit of time to just rest.
One of the many helpful recommendations I got from either a podcast or a newsletter recently was to start the morning with reading a few pages in a real book before starting reading the news or scrolling through social media. I admit I sometimes start my morning with my current fiction in bed anyway, but this goes further. I don’t keep my phone near my bed so it’s purposeful decision to not scroll through my phone with my 2nd coffee – (first one usually during my almost daily mediation) – but read a proper book before that for a few minutes. At the moment I’m often not in the right mindset for two non-fictions I started a while ago: one from the self-help category, one political/historical/social documentary stuff. I knew I’d probably not be in the right mindset for those early in the morning either. I had a good look at my varied unread non-fiction shelf, and lots are about political/historical/social issues, which I knew would be too heavy for early in the morning. Or too enraging which isn’t a good mindset to start the day in either.
In the end I opted for a “The Atlas of the Invisible”, a book about maps and data and cartography “that will change the way we see the world”. And I’m so glad I did, because it’s awesome.
Stunning cover, right?So many interesting topics and beautiful maps
In the very twisted way my mind sometimes works, I could “thank” Trump for that choice of book. When he had signed his tons of executive orders (was that really just a week ago?) in classic “flood the zone with shit” style, I fell for the trap and got enraged about two orders I had a closer look at: Renaming the Gulf of Mexico and Denali. I always had a thing for maps, I took A level Geography, I studied Town and Regional Planning, which is sort of Geography adjacent. I could not believe he’d actually go there, and I was getting enraged about the stupidity and arrogance and disregard for other people / nations / the world these orders so clearly showed.
For that one morning last week I let these two orders distract myself from the much worse and much horrible policies other executive orders on that day stood for. And have been set in motion since then. Making lives worse for trans people. For anyone not white, for all minorities. For so many federal employees. For… you name it.
I’ll try to do better. Keep my eyes on the ball and stay in the fight so to speak, while at the same time remember taking care of myself so I can stay in the fight. Pick my battles.
