D&F 9-5-21
Happy long weekend to those of us in the US. I made mine even longer by taking next week off, and before you ask, no I don’t plan to do much of anything. If my week goes as planned, I’ll go from bed to couch to bike to couch to bed— a lot of relaxing, movies, and maybe even some games.
I seriously miss traveling quite a bit, and can’t wait to see friends when it feels safe and prudent. I know a few folks who’ve flown to NYC op even further abroad, but despite them returning without COVID, I feel like I would somehow be the unlucky one.
Fortunately, with remote work in my future there will be plenty of opportunities to hang out on the east coast of elsewhere. Have you missed the office? Or like me, are you really excited to stay remote indefinitely? The pandemic means we’re going to have a lot of arguments over how all of this works in the coming years. Companies like Best Buy or the big Cupertino one may decide folks need to be butts-in-seats, but the smart money is on a more sustainable work strategy that trusts workers. Me? I’m still hoping for a 3 or 4 day workweek.
“For the first time since his creation man will be faced with his real, his permanent problem, how to occupy the leisure.” -John Maynard Keynes
Maybe you depend on work to provide your sense of self or achievement? The question of who we are and what we’re supposed to to with our lives is probably as old as human conciousness. Personally, I don’t think there’s a “point” to our existence, but I also find that freeing, because we get to decide what to do with our years on our own. For a lot of white-collar Americans, that answer seems to be “work,” which I think sucks. Imagine having enough money to choose what every day looks like, and still having a boss, or running a company. I’d much rather explore my passions like one of my friends has done by learning how to make wine.
Part of the problem is that we have no real social safety net, so even if you have money, you’re not guaranteed healthcare, family leave, or housing. Those are huge political problems, and instead of addressing them, we have to fight against awful people who want to limit our bodily autonomy. Imagine wanting to make life worse for other people during a global pandemic and rising climate change devastation. It pisses me off.
On the topic of identity, I’ve been fascinated by the coopting of femme identity by straight women. Zoe Whittall is a great writer, and her concerns make sense to me. I don’t think we always need to be precious about language, but in a world rife with internal and external homophobia, it can be helpful to have culture and in-group vocabulary. If you want to be a femme, great! Just expand your sexual world and be sure to fight against the compulsory heterosexuality so rampant in our upbringing.
While we’re tearing down systems that don’t work, maybe we can kill ambition too? I don’t mean that we shouldn’t have dreams of goals, just that attempting to endlessly seek out betterment-qua-betterment is likely unsustainable and dangerous for the planet and all its life.
Links
Closing
Today was a lot of talk about big topics, but hopefully the swimming rat lightened the mood a little. It’s tough going lately, and everyone I know is struggling at least little, so reach out to your friends and tell the you care this week. Catch up on the phone, or over a drink or even on a hike. This past year has really cemented for me just how interdependent we are as people. When I was younger lady I spent a lot of time being an angry misanthrope, but I’ve found it’s much nicer to love my friends and try to care about other people. Who knew?!
Until next week, be kind to each other, and keep fighting, space cowgirls~