My Gawd, the internet is a wasteland. Well, even more of a wasteland than it usually is. Social media is awash in self-appointed infectious disease experts, constitutional scholars, and economists. It’s gotten so that people will call you a “sheep” and a “government pawn” if you tell them the freakin’ sky is blue.
I for one am experiencing outrage burnout and am having an allergic reaction to ignorance. Stupidity gives me hives – can I get a medic alert bracelet for that?
I just can’t even anymore. From the self-appointed “mask experts” to Canadians banning coffee companies with gun-like names, I just want to turn it all off and walk away. I have more social media “friends” on 30- day mute than I ever have in my life. Can anybody else feel me here?
I haven’t been to the range in over 2 months, because I just can’t find the motivation for it. I’m even struggling in the writing department as you can probably tell.
I go to work. I go home. Lather, rinse, repeat.
My dreams are telling me that I’m suppressing the stress and worry (just like everybody else).
A few weeks ago I had a dream that I was back in residency. I was getting a reaming from some unknown person who informed me that I was in danger of failing the program because I hadn’t been clicking that purple box down in the corner of the screen, which I was supposed to run all of my something-or-other through. And everyone else apparently got that memo but me.
That’s probably medical “survivor’s guilt” – my subconscious thinks what I’m doing is “not good enough” because I’m in a “safe” little pediatric practice and not in the ICU or ER in New York.
Over the weekend I had a nap dream. I was outside away from home and saw a tornado on the horizon. I ran into a hotel of some sort, trying to find a basement. There weren’t many people around but no one seemed concerned about the tornado. I also couldn’t find the basement despite running all over the place, down some stairs etc. Then I woke up.
Those are stress/worry dreams. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is having them. We are all worried about the future, how we are doing, and what dangers lie ahead.
BUT – there are ways to deal with it, and I have been doing my best to channel all of that into constructive projects and away from tinfoil and outrage for outrage’s sake.
So – I do have some projects I can talk about, but they are not about firearms. They are more like “self-sufficiency” or even “adult learning” if you will. Maybe I should just break it down into bullet points – cuz those are the only bullets I have for you currently.
In no particular order, I present –
Things I’ve Learned in 2020 so far.
- Snow on May 8th is damn depressing when you’ve worked hard on a survival garden.
- Learning to use a hand drill/carpenter’s brace is harder than it looks on video.
- There is no shame in using nails instead until you are higher on the learning curve.
- Nails pulled out of one thing can still be pounded into something else.
- Used/abandoned shelves can be almost anything you want them to be.
- Building kits are a nice bridge into Do-it-yourself projects.
- Asking people on the internet about power tools can be a bit like asking for firearm-buying advice.
- Asking the above does give people something else to talk about besides masks and the government, though.
- Ordering stuff from Amazon gives you lots of cardboard to use in your garden.
- Spray-painting stuff is hella fun – or maybe that was just the fumes talking.
- Friends who are smart and otherwise respected can still be wrong – even if I like them.
- Don’t get bored and start your tomato seeds too early or you may end up with 3-foot tall starts that are trying to blossom in butter tubs while it is still frosting outside overnight.
- Keeping a garden journal may help to remind me of the above for next year.
- Remembering varmints eating garden goodies from last year is good incentive to install some fencing this year.
- Remembering varmints from last year is good incentive to look into a very quiet Umarex Air Javelin. What? Oh no, I would never consider hunting out of season in my yard. Pay no attention to the rabbit recipes in my favorites file. ( I do legit have a farm-raised rabbit in my freezer I need recipes for – honest)
- Not everyone is handling the current situation in an emotionally healthy manner.
- Trying to be patient with people not handling things in a healthy manner can be very difficult.
- Pounding nails helps a lot with the above.
- Sometimes it’s all about your attitude. I have realized that having a financial setback several years ago put me in a much better position to handle the current situation. Therefore – blessings are sometimes only apparent from the perspective of time and distance. It pays to try to keep some perspective, even when things are difficult. You never know if the experience is trying to teach you something you may need.
Stay Heathy, Stay Flexible, and try to Stay Positive!(Somebody remind me that I said all this the next time I need to pound nails. And let’s just keep the bunny recipe thing between us, mkay?)
