It's been such a stupidly hard year.
Anyone who pretends everything is good and productivity is high and things are bright and chipper is lying to you, or lying to themself, or both. It's been so hard to get into that flow state that usually accompanies my longer coding stints. It happened for the first time in a year just a few days ago, and I was so excited to be in the flow that the sheer jolt of psychic rejuvination nearly knocked me out of the flow.
I've got about half a dozen client projects all in the "active" hopper, and I feel like staying ahead on even one of them poses a challenge to my pandemic-addled brain. I've spent weeks in a cycle of shame about a project I should have completed months ago-- it's too embarrassing to even finish the project, because then I will have to send the obligatory "sorry this took so long!" email. Mental health is a precarious thing.
But life isn't without its bright stars.
The weather is warming up, and now that I can reclaim the garage, I'm going to start 3D printing again. (Send me your favorite models to print!) My partner and I have been keeping up with our podcast. We've managed to produce 31 episodes, all of which happened against the backdrop of the pandemic. We deserve a pat on the back for that. I've been streaming video games on Twitch, something that still kind of terrifies me, but from which I've started to derive a lot of enjoyment. Relatedly, I've been getting to play with some fun hardware peripherals-- a GoXLR and a Stream Deck. Both have proven to be really fun.
I got my COVID vaccine today. I'm starting to crawl out of my hole and feel excited about the future. Maybe that's unwise. Maybe I should keep my burgeoning excitement in check. Maybe my feeling that the world might be back to normal "soon" makes me foolish. But hey. It's April 1st. I'm allowed to be a fool today.