Well, it’s all happening. Pearl Jam tour postponed, all swing events on hold for the foreseeable future and everyone is “social distancing”. I won’t bother explaining what that means because you already know and you should be doing it too.
I started writing this post a couple of days ago and it already seemed super out of touch, so I’m rewriting as I go today. The thing that hasn’t changed is that I still don’t plan to focus on all the scary stuff. There’s more than enough out there already, and while I appreciate the people that are trying to be helpful, I am also doing my best not to get too bogged down in all the craziness.
On a positive note, I have already seen some amazing and heart-warming things starting to happen online. Jazz (and other) musicians have started streaming virtual shows to make up for the gigs that have been cancelled, dance instructors are offering private lessons via Skype, and dancers and community organizers are setting up groups for self-guided practice while we’re all staying home. The swing community is coming together to support each other emotionally and financially, and I am finding it very uplifting.
I can’t say for sure, but I suspect other communities are reacting the same way. Just yesterday I was watching a live stream by Colm Mac Con Iomaire, playing from his home in Ireland. Not only was his music beautiful, but it was such a unique experience to be one of 400+ people (at that time) from all over the world watching him play. As the performance streamed you could see in real time the comments coming in from people locked down in Spain and Italy, or written in Gaelic by his local fans. It was really awesome.
I mentioned briefly last week about what I was planning to do with myself in the situation where all my upcoming events were cancelled, and now that it’s here, I realize I need to fill in some gaps. Basically, I don’t want to end up spending half of every day sitting on the couch in my pyjamas drinking coffee. (And yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing right now, but if I’m also writing then it doesn’t count.)
So, from observations made over the past few months of weekends (during the 6 month break that we gave ourselves after finishing the basement), I can see where I’m going to need to work on things:
Routine
Unless we have a schedule we need to keep, we’re not great at getting going, even though we know there are chores and things we should do. We purposely haven’t been scheduling over the past few months, but our break is almost over, so that’s going to have to change.
This is something I know we need to work on and I don’t have a solution right now. I did put a reservation in for Atomic Habits at the library, which I’m hoping will have some good information in it. It’s in high demand though, so I probably won’t get it for a couple of months. If I find it particularly interesting or useful, I’ll write a post about it.
Exercise
I can’t rely on swing dancing as my main form of exercise anymore. This is especially unfortunate because I have been using dancing as my excuse for not having come up with the weekly exercise routine that was on my list of goals for this year (and last year!)
Now that it’s getting warmer and nicer out, I have been thinking about walking to work in the morning. According to Google it would take 43 minutes, which is only 13 minutes more than walking to the station and taking the bus, so it’s totally feasible. The route isn’t very scenic, but it has sidewalks for most of the way and it’s not a difficult trek.
If I start to work from home, then I’ll have to think of something else.
Dance practice
I won’t try to pawn this off as a form of exercise because I know I’m not so self-disciplined that I’ll do enough practicing to actually break a sweat. I do want to dedicate some time to working on my dancing though. This was part of my Depth Year plan anyway. (And hey, if anyone wants to revisit the idea of a Depth Year, it’s starting to seem more and more appropriate.)
The top 3 things I want to work on are:
- Reviewing and practicing the content of the Balboa workshops I’ve taken. I have tons of video recaps to use for reference.
- Learning to lead. By default, Michel will have to learn to follow, but I think he’s up for it. I’ve been talking about doing this for ages but I’d rather go through the awkward beginner phase in the privacy of my own home, so now seems like the ideal time to do it.
- Work on Blues technique using video recaps from the classes we’ve taken over the last year
House projects
Currently, we have a huge list of incomplete projects around our house that we can work on, plus both the front and back yard need lots of work. We also have all kinds of supplies in the basement to use up, so that should keep us occupied for as much of our time as we want to spend on it.
Whenever the weather is good we’ll probably focus on the outside, mainly because it’s more interesting and will have more dramatic results. The inside is mostly finishing trim and painting and stuff, which is all very boring.
It will definitely be satisfying to get the upstairs completed after all this time though. I like to think we’d be able to get it done this year, even without a global pandemic, but I’m not really sure.
Stained Glass
As mentioned last week, I’m getting closer to being set up to work on some glass. It goes hand in hand with getting the basement cleaned up, which is coming along slow and steady.
Knitting
I generally start to lose interest in this hobby as spring approaches, but I am more than halfway finished a cardigan and I intend to complete it. Fingers crossed.
Writing
This will likely continue to be just a Monday thing because that’s my only solo day at home. Theoretically with all my extra free time on the weekends, I should be able to focus on it even more because I will have ample time to dabble in all my other interests and they won’t need to bleed into Mondays.
In general, I feel I am very well-equipped to not leave the house anymore. I kind of always have been though.
Dancing In Irreverence 