covid19 – IN FULL FLOW

When supply chains get disrupted

I’m starting a new (big!) project soon. It requires me to spend several days a week at the new client’s office (at least in the beginning). My 2013 Macbook Air is no longer fit for purpose and lugging an iMac back and forth is not an option. Therefore I have to get myself a modern portable computer.

I aimed for buying a modest Macbook Air with a decent sized harddrive (1TB, I do creative stuff that requires storage space) for out of home office days. Configuring such a machine on Apple’s website gave me a delivery date of mid-June. But I start the new gig just over a week! I then looked at the machines in stock at the local Apple reseller and came to the conclusion that the only sensible option was to buy a Macbook Pro 14”, the only model with 1TB harddrive in stock. As a bonus it features an upgraded processor for the same price as the basic processor.

So now I own a portable computer that is more powerful that my 2-year old iMac and significantly bigger and heavier than my cute beloved Macbook Air. Will have to find a bigger bag to carry it around.

C’est la vie.

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Daughter figured that she needed to upgrade her imaginary computer as well. She created a cattop, featuring a proper keyboard this time. I definitely prefer Daughter’s model.

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Door elmine|2022-04-22T21:40:30+02:0022 april 2022|deze dag|0 Reacties

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Surprise dinner out

Someone we know texted Man that he was briefly in town. Whether they could catch up for a bit at the end of the afternoon. I suggested to have a quick dinner together and so we ended up in a restaurant downtown on a school night having dinner with two others for the first time in like, forever. Pleasantly weird.

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Door elmine|2022-03-24T21:40:24+02:0024 maart 2022|deze dag|0 Reacties

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Bright on the outside, grey on the inside

I write little lately. I read little lately. I doom-scroll a lot lately.

After many winter weeks with grey skies and rain, the Sun came out and Spring flowers are blossoming. It should make me feel brighter on the inside, but outside greyness left a seemingly permanent mark on the inside and is not fading in bright sunlight.

This feeling starts to resemble the path of darkness I once walked on and I’m not willing to go there. So instead of shutting up, I speak up. I talk out loud and tell people I’m feeling too grey for comfort. I’m not curling up under the covers, instead I sit at my computer and type this for you to read. I’m not avoiding people, instead I’m trying to interact with friends. I do my best to think of constructive ways to move to a brighter place.

This makes me realize I learned a lot in twenty years how to deal with my own shit.

So no, I’m not feeling all that well at the moment. But I trust my resilience and that I’ll feel better soon. In the mean time I really appreciate a chat. Or an extra shoulder to cry on. At the same time I’ll lend you my ear to share your shit, because let’s be honest, life has been crappy for all of us the past two years. And then someone decided to start a war…..

Door elmine|2022-03-18T15:19:10+02:0018 maart 2022|flow|3 Reacties

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80

A picture of my dad’s birthday cake with lit 80 candles.

My dearest cyborg dad turned 80 this Sunday. We spent a splendid weekend together as a family: my parents, my brothers, me and our own (micro)families. Many hours were spent in the jacuzzi, sauna and swimming pool. I prepared a historic overview of eight decades and we reminisced. Excellent winterspring weather as a backdrop. It was festive. It was exhausting. Spending four nights in close proximity of up to eleven others is a skill I need to relearn post-pandemic (whenever that will be).

Door elmine|2022-03-09T19:26:00+02:009 maart 2022|deze dag|0 Reacties

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Hello Utrecht Centraal

It’s been a while since I last took a train to Utrecht. These kind of trips have been so rare that I didn’t really remember the route, wondering whether I took the right train when hearing Den Dolder.

I am now in Het Gegeven Paard, waiting to meet someone. No face masks needed. No CoronaPass scan. ‘Onwennig’ I would say in Dutch.

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Door elmine|2022-03-01T11:40:23+02:001 maart 2022|deze dag|0 Reacties

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Lost, still not found: my creativity

A few weeks ago a dear friend of mine asked me whether how my writing was going. I had to admit that I haven’t written anything besides blog posts. So many weeks were just filled with days of repetitive action: getting up, get Daughter ready for school (or not), work, eat lunch, do some more work, get Daughter from (after) school (care), eat dinner, put the kid to bed, crash on the couch to read or watch something and go to bed. Weekends were pretty much the same, except everyone stayed at home, doing their thing, sometimes together.

This life of repetitive action robbed me of my creativity.

My friend reminded me how important it is to have that creative outlet. How important it is for me to write. I totally agree. Yet, the simple act of grabbing my notebook and write something, anything, feels like climbing a snowy mountain. And my new and tiny Fujifilm camera sits on my desk, untouched because it feels so heavy in the hand. And my favourite Muji gel pens are only used by Daughter.

I’m not sure how to give myself a kick-start. Visits to other places, like last Sunday when we went to The Hague, might help, but I still haven’t touched that notebook this week. I clearly need many more of those days to spark my creativity. That sounds like a plan I can work on.

Door elmine|2022-02-04T14:13:53+02:004 februari 2022|flow|1 Reactie

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