Alternate Reality Day 4

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion) 03/20/2020 at 15:01 • Filed to: materialism =/= happiness

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Home office is working fine, I’m installing a shelf over the weekend to make a little more space.

Kids are having a great time, I’m struggling to balance working and homeschooling the kids (with my parents’ help).

My wife runs an essential state agency so she’s needed. In a meeting with the Governor for 4 hours on Wednesday, her name was on a whiteboard as “critical team” or something, so she’s in it deep.

I took a 15 minute break to cut down 4 trees today, that was kind of nice. I may or may not be having a beer for the last 45 minutes of my work day because WHO’S GONNA STOP ME?! But seriously, I don’t see any harm.

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In an era where the news seems to be stranger than fiction, 2020 just stepped up to the plate and said “Hold my beer and Watch. THIS.” This has the potential to define my kids’ generation in its long-term effects. It’s such a strange feeling, and I just long for some stability - and we’re just getting started, from the sounds of it.

Going outside helps a lot, because the world is the same as ever out there. Get outside if you can.

The kids help keep me grounded too. They just want the same things as ever. And my dogs are getting a lot of attention.

Part of me feels like we (the US) as a society were at a breaking point, for lots of reasons. The rampant consumerism “got a problem? buy this to solve it!” mentality... it just strikes me as wholly unsustainable. When the largest companies are making their money in marketing which has no intrinsic value (sorry if that’s your job, I’ve done it too) it just seems like something has to give. This won’t change how Google is a global behemoth, but maybe, just maybe, it’ll be a kind of reset. Maybe.

Or maybe it’s just how I feel about our own habits. I think we could live more simply, and at times, I long for that. It’s the main reason I sold my BMW wagon - not because I didn’t like it, but because it was just another possession that I had to spend time and mental energy and of course, money, keeping in a state where it could bring me some joy. I loved driving it, but the Volvo fits our needs better and it allowed me to get a better bike and a new cover for the boat, which helps keep it in better shape.

Anyway, that’s a tangent. My mind is all over the place right now, and it helps to share a bit, so here we are.

In any case, I think we’re in for a bad time, some more than others, but no one’s got it easy. Personally, we’ll be ok I think. But I fear for a lot of people I know.

Stay sane out there Oppo.

mazda616 > functionoverfashion 03/20/2020 at 15:11

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I’m getting nervous AF about the future. My son is 3 and my daughter will be born in July and I feel guilty for this fucked up world they’ll have to deal with.

I’m nervous about my job. My wife’s job. Our house. Everything. It just sucks. We’re both in banking (she’s a loan officer and I’m an auditor). If one of us loses our job, we are screwed.

Nom De Plume > functionoverfashion 03/20/2020 at 15:14

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I took a 15 minute break to cut down 4 trees today

Not sure what was supposed to be pictured in the accompanying photo. Sounds like time well spent though. In my mind 4 trees worth mentioning cutting down and in only  15 minutes looks like good stress relief you can walk away from able to calmly deal with the kids again.

functionoverfashion > mazda616 03/20/2020 at 15:14

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I hope you guys are okay. “This too shall pass” is a great expression, because it’s often hard to see the other side when so much is unknown.

At least we still have Kinja. For now. 

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > functionoverfashion 03/20/2020 at 15:15

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When there is no end in sight it is hard to be optimistic. But the human race is resiliant and incr edi bly ingenious.

I expect we will get past it sooner than later and looking back on it some people’ s behavior will look sensible , charitable, and calm and some will look like complete buffoons. I see this as an opportunity to strive for the former.

ranwhenparked > functionoverfashion 03/20/2020 at 15:16

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People who work in government, life sustaining industries, and those who are fabulously wealthy will survive OK.

Everyone else, it’s going to be a dystopian wasteland. Unless things reopen in a few weeks, then it will just be a really bad recession and we'll get over it. But, they won't, this is how we'll all have to live forever now.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > functionoverfashion 03/20/2020 at 15:17

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I appreciate this thoughtful approach. This will be a defining moment in the younger generations for sure, but I think hoping for change is not all that fruitful. It seems to me that the “buy everything, anything, something” attitude that people have adopted is not a good sign as to the state of society.

Getting outside is about the only thing keeping me sane. I’ve done all my work outside, and my small hiking excursion yesterday was rejuvenating.

Superfluous responsibilities just make me anxious, so I try not to hang on to stuff that much. Belonging to a much younger crowd than most of Oppo, I can tell you that this is not the general attitude at all. I am constantly shocked by how many people break their $3 ,000 I phones every few months.

functionoverfashion > Nom De Plume 03/20/2020 at 15:19

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haha, well the pic isn’t where I cut the trees. It’s hard to capture with a picture when the cloud ceiling is at like 1,500 feet right now. And yeah, the 15 minutes is possible because they’re like, 60' tall poplars with no branches but for the top 8' and I didn’t cut the logs to length yet.

It does feel good though! 

camarov6rs > functionoverfashion 03/20/2020 at 15:21

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This may be off topic but with your photos I have to mention that global pollution is down due to all the quarantines. Reports about the water in Venice being clearer than residents can remember and the photos from space of China after long periods of factory shutdowns.

You’re right step outside and stay sane.

functionoverfashion > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 03/20/2020 at 15:22

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My senior thesis in college was on materialism. Shockingly, we found that materialistic attitudes are not in fact, linked strongly to overall happiness.

Live below your means. Get outside. Spend time with friends. Sounds like you’ve got it in the right direction. 

functionoverfashion > ranwhenparked 03/20/2020 at 15:25

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I feel like it could be a huge shift for higher ed, where students are all taking classes online and they might think “why would we all spend so much money to go back to living on a campus” - clearly, many places will go right back to normal, but the ones already struggling might not ever go all the way back. Online learning is having a real test here and if it works for people, it could be a watershed moment for higher education.

mazda616 > functionoverfashion 03/20/2020 at 15:25

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Yeah. And I have to say, as an introvert, working from home is amazing. I’m sure it’ll get old eventually, and our technology at my work is stressing under the sudden load, but I’m glad I have the option.

functionoverfashion > camarov6rs 03/20/2020 at 15:27

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Totally on topic. My pics are just the view from my house each day this week. We don’t see pollution up here, but yeah, I’ve heard that smog is like, erased in a lot of places where it tends to be rampant. Very interesting.

ranwhenparked > functionoverfashion 03/20/2020 at 15:28

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Definitely . When living on campus costs as much as the tuition itself, and when a big part of the rising tuition is colleges spending huge sums on elaborate buildings, if students find they actually like online learning, all that is going to be hard to justify.

Love-the-wagon > functionoverfashion 03/20/2020 at 15:35

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I enjoyed tour pics and thoughtful words. My wife was already homeschooling so we didn’t have a big change there. Now I can be the chemistry teacher since I get to work from home. We are going to make smoke bombs this week. Our deck was finally cleared of snow last weekend but a dusting happened again last night. We also sold our second car to cut down on things. Was a pain when our only car broke. Luckily I have a trusty bicycle to get me to the part store and back.

So did you use a chainsaw or axe to take does the trees?

Stay well all.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > functionoverfashion 03/20/2020 at 15:40

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You are also forgetting helping the less fortunate, which just about the best way to be more satisfied with what you already have. If everyone did more to help others, they would have a lot broader of a perspective.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > functionoverfashion 03/20/2020 at 16:03

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My wife is an extreme extrovert, so this is seriously bumming her out in more ways than one. She also has a serious travel bug that needs to get itched at least once a year. We have 4 trips planned in the next 2 months , 2 are already cancelled and the other 2 are probably not far behind.

Me being the introvert am all like, “sweet I get to work from home and not see people”. I think I might start going for some hikes in the morning in place of my gym workout. I haven’t worked out at all this week yet.  

One the serious side though also worried about how this will all play out long term. I’m the only one working so if I lose my job I need to find something else within a few months before we start getting behind. And having a kid now makes the consequences of this a whole lot higher.

jminer > functionoverfashion 03/20/2020 at 16:25

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That’s a beautiful view - good luck staying sane though !

I’m lucky to work for a self-funded quasi-governmental entity in a role supporting the critical services so my job is ridiculously safe (if a bit boring).

functionoverfashion > Love-the-wagon 03/20/2020 at 22:30

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Cheers.

Trusty 40 year old chain saw all the way!

functionoverfashion > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 03/20/2020 at 22:32

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That part about helping others is absolutely true, and brings up a philosophical question about philanthropy. But we won’t go there, it’s still go to help and we do.