Hello again
I feel like I should post just to say I'm okay. I've been lurking a bit, but had nothing much to say. February has been very hard work, at work (both jobs), thanks to all manner of things getting postponed from January due to covid. I'm not yet out the other side, but I can almost see it coming. Things I wanted to do have not been possible (I tried to get to the BL's Elizabeth and Mary Exhibition midweek, the only ticket I could book, and a combination of work and the District Line thwarted me). It has not been vintage. The storms locally have been messy (loads of big bits of tree down) but not dangerous (apart from the unlamented roof off a shoddy new build, which is still partly lying in the A24 - but they had closed the road when it started to go, so not too much risk really.)
But last night I did do a good thing - an online cookery class with Migrateful, a cookery school charity that supports migrants, many of whom don't yet have a right to work freely in the UK. You get to cook some stuff in real time alongside someone who has arrived in the UK in relatively recent years. Mine was a Syrian session, but there are lots of others. I'm a bit restricted in which cuisines I could choose (I can't do peppers and cucumbers, or anything but the wimpiest chilli) but I enjoyed it enough to want to do more. And it's just such a positive thing for people who are in somewhat tricky circumstances. They do in-person sessions too, but of course Zoom classes have become a thing we can contemplate in the pandemic, and that's something I'm quite pleased about.
That's really all I've got, unless you'd like an update on what bits of me ache after many days of meetings online... Here are a few questions from the February meme that sparked me to answer (which is meme cheating but never mind).
1. Do you think your country would change if everyone, regardless of age or any other current restriction, could vote? If yes, in what ways?
A bit. I think some recent votes of significance would have gone differently if more young people and European citizens could vote. We're not too restrictive on voting rights yet, but more are coming, which does not please me.
4. Regardless of your age, what "old person" thing(s) do you do?
Watch ITV3, say oof when I stand up (or sit down), enjoy walks with no purpose, and nap in the afternoon on weekends. Old age comes at you fast.
9. Would you rather ask for help with a difficult task, or figure it out for yourself?
If I have no idea where to start, always seek help. But if I've got a decent grounding that would potentially be enough, I do like to ponder and try things.
15. Do you text more or call more? Why?
Text. I hate interrupting people, and being interrupted.
16. Most important in a partner or best friend: intelligence or sense of humour?
An *impossible* question. I can't do without someone whose eye can be caught in a moment of shared absurdity. But I've in the past tried to make myself smaller for people who are intimidated by my kind of intelligence (book learning, you might call it), and that's awful. I need people who understand why I'd be interested in stuff I don't know, and why when watching (say) a French cop thriller I'm partly trying to work out how the judicial system works and what the regional accent sounds like vs the Big city cop voices.
19. Would you rather have all your meals prepared for you, but not have any say in the menu (outside of certain dietary restrictions e.g. allergies), or sleep eight hours every night, but not get to choose your bedtime?
A very easy question - I'd take the sleep. Cooking is fun and a good break from the rest of my life. Hopefully my 8 hours wouldn't run until 2pm, which would make work awkward, but anything from 9pm to 1am bedtime could be made to work I reckon.
But last night I did do a good thing - an online cookery class with Migrateful, a cookery school charity that supports migrants, many of whom don't yet have a right to work freely in the UK. You get to cook some stuff in real time alongside someone who has arrived in the UK in relatively recent years. Mine was a Syrian session, but there are lots of others. I'm a bit restricted in which cuisines I could choose (I can't do peppers and cucumbers, or anything but the wimpiest chilli) but I enjoyed it enough to want to do more. And it's just such a positive thing for people who are in somewhat tricky circumstances. They do in-person sessions too, but of course Zoom classes have become a thing we can contemplate in the pandemic, and that's something I'm quite pleased about.
That's really all I've got, unless you'd like an update on what bits of me ache after many days of meetings online... Here are a few questions from the February meme that sparked me to answer (which is meme cheating but never mind).
1. Do you think your country would change if everyone, regardless of age or any other current restriction, could vote? If yes, in what ways?
A bit. I think some recent votes of significance would have gone differently if more young people and European citizens could vote. We're not too restrictive on voting rights yet, but more are coming, which does not please me.
4. Regardless of your age, what "old person" thing(s) do you do?
Watch ITV3, say oof when I stand up (or sit down), enjoy walks with no purpose, and nap in the afternoon on weekends. Old age comes at you fast.
9. Would you rather ask for help with a difficult task, or figure it out for yourself?
If I have no idea where to start, always seek help. But if I've got a decent grounding that would potentially be enough, I do like to ponder and try things.
15. Do you text more or call more? Why?
Text. I hate interrupting people, and being interrupted.
16. Most important in a partner or best friend: intelligence or sense of humour?
An *impossible* question. I can't do without someone whose eye can be caught in a moment of shared absurdity. But I've in the past tried to make myself smaller for people who are intimidated by my kind of intelligence (book learning, you might call it), and that's awful. I need people who understand why I'd be interested in stuff I don't know, and why when watching (say) a French cop thriller I'm partly trying to work out how the judicial system works and what the regional accent sounds like vs the Big city cop voices.
19. Would you rather have all your meals prepared for you, but not have any say in the menu (outside of certain dietary restrictions e.g. allergies), or sleep eight hours every night, but not get to choose your bedtime?
A very easy question - I'd take the sleep. Cooking is fun and a good break from the rest of my life. Hopefully my 8 hours wouldn't run until 2pm, which would make work awkward, but anything from 9pm to 1am bedtime could be made to work I reckon.