Too hot (hot damn!)

[lizbee]

Christmas Day was a scorcher, and then we had a brief run of days that were warm and humid, but not TOO warm or humid. (It helps that my flat, though tiny, has big windows and gets a breeze.)

Today, on the other hand, is tipped to reach 35 degrees, and it's grey and muggy. I'm sat at the table in my underwear, with my hair still dripping and the fan on high. At some point I'm going to decamp to the local shopping centre, grab a few extremely necessary things (a rashie for swimming and a new shower curtain, if you're curious) and maybe see a movie.

I realised a few weeks ago that unstructured days can be a bit of a depression trigger for me. Especially mornings -- I was waking up on Sundays, having run all the errands and done all the chores on Saturday, and finding myself unpleasantly aimless. And now I have a three-week break from work!

So I'm trying to build a routine where I do something every day -- get up, eat, shower, wash the dishes and vacuum, find a reason to get out of the house. Even if it's just to visit the local Pokestops. (Ideally this also won't involve spending huge amounts of money, because it's really hard to update my budget spreadsheet on the iPad.) And I've started doing daily yoga, following the Yoga with Adriene 30 Days thing on YouTube.

(I really rate Adriene -- she's funny, she provides useful alternatives for getting into challenging poses, and she hasn't used the word "toxins" once. I really like my regular yoga instructor, but I've sort of plateaued in her classes lately. Adriene's videos really stretch my core muscles.)

I keep feeling a bit guilty for not using my time off to write -- fic or original work -- but I don't seem to have the energy just yet. I'm trying to be kind to myself, since I'm also struggling to read books and make it through episodes of television without pausing to do other things -- I mean, clearly I'm tired and need a rest. I know what my next steps are with the two novels in progress (sigh, it's revision and research), and I have an idea for a Lin/Asami, but when I sit down to actually work on something, I just want to sleep.

I did make it through The Crown, which I mostly liked, except that the season's end, with the resolution of the Margaret/Townsend affair, gave Elizabeth less agency than she had in real life, and also took a speech away from Margaret, putting it in Townsend's mouth instead. It was extremely frustrating, when the series at its best was such an interesting look at the conundrum of having immense privilege but very little agency.

And the Doctor Who Christmas special was entertaining and forgettable, which is frankly ideal for that subgenre. It felt oddly like a companion to Paul Cornell's episode of Elementary, with a similar love for the inspirational and aspirational aspects of superhero comics.

Comments

[grav_ity]

I also just now started Yoga with Adrienne! We'll see how I manage (I did the "Yoga for SUPER Beginners", and I'll do that for a week before I try the 30 day thing, because right now I can't do a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g.), but good luck to you!

[lizbee]

I definitely recommend taking it at the pace you need to go! I had the advantage of a yoga instructor in real life who specialises in alternative forms for people who are fat or disabled or otherwise struggle with the basics, so I got all of that down before I moved on to Adriene.

[fallingtowers]

Huh, your comment about unstructured days being a depression trigger has made me wonder. Recently, every long weekend I've taken off from work to recharge my batteries has turned out to be an abysmal failure, with me struggling to get out of bed before noon, let along shampoo my hair or leave the house. Since I've got some longer leave coming up after New Year's, I should try your strategy for a change. So, thanks for the inspiration!

[lizbee]

You're welcome! That's exactly the problem I've had -- I would clear my schedule for Sunday, thinking, "Yes, I'm gonna take time out to recharge, I'm gonna do nothing and be SO well-rested!" And then get to the end of the day, still in my PJs, kind of hating myself for not having achieved anything.

And I guess part of that is wrapped up in feeling like I need to justify my existence by contributing something -- but on the other hand, if putting clothes on and doing some housework is all it takes to make me feel better, well, it's not like I'm doing any harm!

[krazykitkat]

Being kind to yourself is a good idea. I really need to try some yoga videos, but my body is struggling with my normal physio back & hip exercises atm.

[kerravonsen]

*hugs*

It's been SOOOOOOO hot!

I realised a few weeks ago that unstructured days can be a bit of a depression trigger for me. Especially mornings -- I was waking up on Sundays, having run all the errands and done all the chores on Saturday, and finding myself unpleasantly aimless.

Oh ugh. That sucks. I can see how, once it's triggered, one is likely to be telling oneself "I'm terrible, I'm not ACCOMPLISHING ANYTHING!" and all that stuff. My triggers are different, but... yeah. *hugs*

I'm finding these holidays cheering and exhausting because Family. Introvert-exhausting, but also cheering because even though socialising takes energy, we also have fun together, which is good. Because, yeah, silly games isn't "accomplishing" anything, but it's sort of emotional rest so that's good. And you kind of have to do it because they're there, so you are not allowed to feel guilty for not "doing serious stuff" because one isn't supposed to be, if you see what I mean. But some days have been very draining because there hasn't been enough time between events to get a good kip in, even though I needed it.

[tree_and_leaf]

I mostly liked the Crown, and Matt Smith did a brilliant job of stomping around being Phil the Greek...