Month: April 2020

Mind & Body, Ponderings, Raw

Quarantine Week #7

FanTC

I think this “empty inspiration” – as my sister calls it – is the worst mood. Have you gone periods without writing creatively in which you’re out of practice and lack motivation to start? Yet when you watch a movie or read a book, you might be jolted with sudden inspiration! So you grab a notebook, laptop, tablet and open a fresh page, document, note and…nothing. There was no substance to the mood, just empty inspiration.

I feel this more often than not because I’m not actively working on any projects. I might pick up a chapter here or there when I feel the aptitude, but nothing substantial. So I end up with more notebooks than I need filled with barely begun projects started from “empty inspiration.”

You may have noticed a lot of creativity has been borne of this quarantine. Some people are finding extra time and boredom to create art. I’ve always felt art is a result of conflict and desperation. Desperate people feel extreme emotions, and these can often translate into masterpieces. Many people are feeling extreme emotions – fear, anxiety, frustration, anger, grief to name a few. And some of us who are not so terribly off and really don’t care to watch the news are just bored.

It’s true. It’s difficult to create when you’re bored, because everything you create feels boring. It’s a viscous cycle. You might have lost interest in your favorite shows and books, and hobbies or games offer no distraction for your mind. What’s to be done about such uselessness?

I practice yoga. It’s the most productive form of nothing a body can accomplish, and it rewards a listless mind with tranquility. I don’t feel like doing anything, and yoga can sometimes feel as easy as doing nothing. This is just my alternative to boredom.

How are you coping through it all?

This has been,

FanTC

Raw

(DON’T) Take the Survey!

FanTC

…

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Have you noticed?

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They’re everywhere.

They’re in your school.

They’re at your work.

They pop up in web browsers and emails.

They’re at the end of phone calls.

“Please take a moment to fill out this brief survey.”

I literally googled how to block email surveys. But that’s just the thing. There isn’t ONE survey server. There are literally DOZENS of them, and everyone is using a different sever, so even if you block one, it doesn’t block them all.

How much time are we spending filling out these statistic catchers? It’s all a marketing gimmick. They sell your statistics across the web to suppliers and vendors wanting to sell you something. Yes, they do want to improve your experience – then drop you in a bucket with your peers and turn you into a number.

Surveys. Man. I just don’t like them.

But if you take the survey, you could win something. If you offer up your information, it could be worth your while. Or you’re doing it to improve someone else’s experience. Because with enough surveys, companies can make an educated decision on what their consumers really want.

Surveys drive the numbers. If there aren’t enough numbers, then they issue more surveys. Push the surveys. Make people take them. It’s optional, but they’ll figure out what makes you tick, and eventually you’ll cave.

I wrote to my insurance agent begging her to take me off the survey list.

I really don’t like them.

They seem so harmless at first. They seem like such a good idea. Surveys drive the numbers. Everyone wants the numbers to be good. Everyone wants to be a part of something good.

“I took the survey. They improved their quality because of my contribution.”

Stuff and nonsense.

I will not take your surveys, ma’am.

I will not take them, Sam the Man.

I will not fill them out today.

I did not fill them yesterday.

I will not, would not take them now.

I cannot, could not like them how.

This has been,

FanTC

Ponderings, Raw

Quarantine Week #6

FanTC

Can you believe it? It’s already been 2 months since the pandemic outbreak in the US. There is so much news and misinformation going around, I hate to stake a claim on anything. But where do we go from here? It’s already too late to stop it. The virus is here. It’s in our air and in our blood. Most of the population won’t feel its affects, so the numbers are already heavily skewed with no way of correcting them.

I suppose what I really want to know in all this is what’s really going on, guys? I mean seriously. SARS and Ebola came and went with far less commotion than Covid-19. The common flu has claimed as many – if not more – lives than this Corona thing. But you don’t see those other viruses garnering the attention this one has. What’s different in our society? What triggered the wide-spread panic?

There’s never a tell for how the mass media will react to a situation. In some cases, we can rise up and stand together, but in others we break down and riot in the streets. The settings have to be just so for each scenario.

But what do I know? I’m just a writer stuck at home with a cat and a ginger and trying to make the best of her situation.

How are you making the best of your situation?

 

We were walking the other day around the lagoon near our home. The graffiti we discovered along the way is already being influenced by this pandemic.

 

This has been,

Fanny T. Crispin

Raw

Quarantine Week #5

FanTC

I can feel it. I’m losing my edge.

Nothing is convenient about working from home (I mean, besides hot coffee on a whim.) Agitation is setting in, but with it comes a loss of motivation. When you spend your days doing nothing, you feel like doing nothing. At the start of all this, I went on walks regularly. I woke up at the time I usually do if I was working in the office, so I had plenty of morning for cleaning, prepping, or walking. Now I find I sleep in later and later. I’ve turned to escapism hobbies like reading and writing (or the Netflix show Lost in Space, oh my word, it is INTENSE!)

How are you handling this week of quarantine? The Midwest is on the rise of the curve. There’s talks of shutting down even the grocery stores. I admit, it’s probably a necessary action. There are too many people who don’t take it seriously – and I don’t mean grocery shoppers. I mean the folks who visit each other in their vehicles, driving from home to home to home picking up the Covid-19 virus from the third or fifth passenger and carrying it with them to the next visit.

It doesn’t seem a wise past-time. Why not sit in INDIVIDUAL vehicles six feet apart and talk through the windows? The mother-in-law came to visit Saturday. That’s what we did with her. She sat in the driveway, we sat on lawn chairs. She even brought the puppy for a visit because he loves car rides. As difficult as it was to ignore his pines for attention, we knew we couldn’t go near the vehicle for fear of putting Mom at risk.

I’m not worried about becoming terribly ill or dying from this infection. I am worried about the rate of spread. I’m worried about my grandma and mother-in-law who are high risk.

And I’m getting terribly annoyed not being able to go anywhere or do anything. This pandemic certainly isn’t the worst that could happen. America isn’t being bombed. It’s not Bubonic. It’s not a hundred other worse catastrophes. But it’s life-altering. It is certainly that.

How are you coping?

This has been,

Fan T. C.

Books and Affiliated

Little Things

FanTC

When your sister is a writer too, and creates a book tailored just for you. 💙

Self-publishing has opened up all sorts of possibilities for making a written dream come true. You don’t have to wait terribly long to own a printed copy of your story. You just have to put a little work and become a little computer savvy.

I’m going to enjoy every minute of this adventure. It’s written by one of my favorite author’s, so it’s sure to be a top chart hit.

This has been,

Fanny T. Crispin