A week of two halves. It started very productively and then on Wednesday I was knocked flat with some sort of illness which took about three days to get over (including one sleeping most of the day on Thursday). I find the hardest aspect of being unwell is the inability to do anything at all – not even read or listen to a podcast or radio. It reminded me of how I’ve felt in the aftermath of a migraine. Thankfully, it only laid me low for a few days.
Funnily enough feeling ill coincided with the arrival of some dismal, rainy weather which doubtlessly contributes to the sense of dejection at the moment. Even the Christmas lights and the “warmth” evoked by shops windows and festive music isn’t lifting the mood. (Bah humbug Chistmas! I have SO little time for this period of the year anyhow.) The children were VERY excited opening the first window of their advent calendars today.
My long-term project to have more control of my digital lfe – and remove myself from the gravitational pull of big tech – took a few more steps forward this week when I managed to FINALLY work out how to manage Syncthing across devices (so I can synchronise Obsidian vaults without relying on other services), FINALLY got CalDAV functioning properly, FINALLY worked out a way of synchronising the quick capture/fleeting notes (essentially using Nextcloud Notes; though, now I have Syncthing up and running properly it would be possible to do this with just plain text files in a synchronised folder, and FINALLY moved to LibreOffice (though I don’t have really have much use for Office apps these days). I’ve already moved 90% to linux and, when it comes to it, will move to a deGoogled Android phone and tablet – though, hopefully, I can keep my current devices running into 2026 and beyond.
We had issues with our children at school this week, too. A case of our aspirations and expectations for our children not coinciding with those of the teachers (or rather the school institutions). It’s VERY difficult to communicate a different approach to learning to teachers who see school only as a vehicle for preparing for examinations and providing “support” for SEN children meaning working out ways that they can assist the child to fit the very narrow conception of education they have. I’m sure I come across as a “difficult” parent. We want our children happy, stimulated by learning and develop into thoughtful, empathetic young people. Not factory-school educated on a never-ending constant conveyor belt of tests, assessments and exams.
I’m not writing creatively as much as I want to (the week, as I said, started productively and I more-or-less nailed down a section of the thing I’m writing…) or finding I can concentrate on any one book at the moment and jumping wildly between novels and poetry and essays by Herbert Read. Comics-wise, about all I’m really reading at the moment is Gillen’s The Power Fantasy and dragging through the dull X-Men relaunch comics (which I’m going to drop for sure; come back Age of Krakoa, all is forgiven!). Perez and Wolfman’s New Teen Titans caught my eye last night so I might read the first volume again – maybe for the frst time since the 1980s.
As always, I look back on the week and – despite the sense of being constantly busy and engaged (apart from when ill) – find myself wondering where did all those days and hours go and what have I to show for it?
