Lockdown Notes 1
(4 minutes reading time)
The world has completely changed since my last notes… I’ve posted a few things since but avoided talking about it here. I’ve got a very personal handwritten journal, but there’s some stuff worth sharing here too.
On the night lockdown was announced, I managed to buy one of the last 4 Nintendo Switch units that Amazon Warehouse had (returned units). I have been playing Animal Crossing New Horizons pretty much every day since.
Work has been really, really manic. I have to say that in the first week or so during the start of Lockdown, I was so shellshocked and anxious that I couldn’t even stay conscious for most of the day. Since then I’ve settled into things a little. The “new normal” is kind of normal now. It was timely, as I was placed into a 3 different projects in the same number of weeks. All with tight deadlines. One was for within 48 hours. One you’ve seen on telly everyday since.
I know that in the first couple of weeks the First Team shipped 3 new services. They have been rested since (I hope!) and I’m off the bench in a sense. I have to say the pace is getting to me a little. I’m looking forward to more bank holidays.
This past few days I went to a couple of conferences and talks. Last Thursday I was “at” All Day Hey! Live which I bought myself a ticket for. It was a frontend con, which I was the first I’d attended since Full Frontal 2011. Some of the talks were super interesting. Monday I was at ConCon9 which I’d never had the chance to go to before. It’s a big part of what GOV.UK does and I have seen some other devs go. I never felt it was that appropriate for me to go, but in this remote working new normal I don’t feel so guilty of not being seen in the office! The talk on Death and other difficult words was super interesting. The rest, I think because GDS are at the forefront of things, were not as insightful or interesting for me. It felt like things I see the people I work with do a lot already.
Today I tuned into the People, Power and Technology: The 2020 Digital Attitudes Report talks and they were damned interesting. The thing that struck me was that one of the findings showed that respondents in the research showed that trust in the government more at the moment during this crisis. On the flip side there was a distrust of the big tech companies and people’s personal data. There was an interesting point about how these big cos expect to gain trust, rather than earn people’s trust.
I have never ever spent so much time on my own. As an extrovert it’s tougher than ever. I don’t like being on my own at all. Even if I want some “me time”, I’d rather know there’s someone around. Worst than that, is how much I miss my daughters.
One thing about Lockdown I’m really enjoying is the amount of disposable income I have from zero commuting and the associated costs of being in an office. A regime of pack lunches every day is very hard to maintain. And not going to the pubs. Or eating out. I’ve had 2 Deliveroos since.
I have house plants.
I ordered a Brompton folding bike (separate post for it when it arrives).
I bought a bunch of games for the aforementioned Switch.
I’m stress shopping. Or shopping from boredom. Or depression.
What depresses me most is that there are people acting so stupid. So horribly. So selfishly. So ignorantly. So evil. So dumb.
And I cannot fathom my girls going back to school before we have a vaccine. There’s no “going back to normal”. You mean going back in time. The world has changed. We need to accept that.
I sign off telling people to “stay safe”. I’m pretty sure at the moment that’s by staying at home, not huffing and puffing on people, wearing a mask, and avoid playing football in the field with your mates.
I’m sticking to my cosy Animal Crossing island.
