2020 was a crap year.

Welp, it's March already and I'm sitting here thinking about the last year. Because around this time in 2020, my wife and I went into lockdown and have been working from home (we're lucky and we know it) ever since. 

 That's why New Year's didn't really resonate that much - it was just another day to us.  But now that we've come full circle, I started thinking that maybe writing a little something would be nice. So, here we are, another year gone by.  Some good news - Trump got kicked out of the White House. I'm not American, but it's been so nice seeing him banned from social media. He can't dominate headlines anymore - it's almost as if no one cares what he thinks anymore. And considering how awful that orange idiot was, I'd say that's an immense improvement.

 Covid vaccines are rolling out. I know most of us would prefer being able to get them immediately, or if our own country could do its own manufacturing (thereby improving our access to them), but decades of healthcare cuts and ignoring looming problems because they'd be 'the next government's issue' has left us sorely lacking in that department.  Still, there's light on the horizon as Pfizer pumps out millions more doses for us over the next month or so.  Personally I'd prefer getting the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines - anything with more than 90% efficacy really, but I'll take whatever I can get at this point.  Which, given where I work and my risk group, will probably mean sometime in the summer.

That's okay though - I'm relatively safe and secure right now. Lockdown chafes, I'm sure everyone at this point is sick of it, but doing my part to prevent the spread of the disease and its attendant weight on the healthcare system is the least I can do. Literally the least, because all it requires is that I stay home and/or only go out when necessary and/or keep a safe distance between myself and others. Oh, and wear a mask.  I'm so used to it now I hardly notice anymore.

What else?  

I've been dealing with some health problems for the past year. Nothing to worry about, but inconvenient to say the least. I'm waiting for things to improve re: Covid before going through more testing. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out what it is and deal with it in the relatively near future.

Otherwise I'm still trying to sell my first book.  Slow going on that front. But I've recently started writing in earnest again, which I take as a triumph.  I'm not losing as much time to video games anymore, although I've played through quite a few. So new stories and new books in progress.  Which is lovely. I never realized how valuable writing was to my personal well-being.  It makes me feel alive - gives me something to look forward to. 

I think that's the most important thing. Finding things to look forward to. Otherwise we get bogged down in the present, and that gets depressing pretty fast.  So that's my one lesson from 2020. Don't obsess. Try to take time to find comfort and safety, give yourself space to struggle, but make sure you periodically purge your emotions.  I read stories and watch videos that make me laugh and cry and it's wonderful. 

Anyhow, that's enough from me for now.  Take care and all the best.