staying at home - random notes in times of existential threat (part 6) - the lost art of small talk

Now close to the end of the second year of life interrupted through a pandemic, I am reflecting on the year that has been and thinking about how to approach the year to come. It was another year of lengthy lockdowns and working from home. So much so that when a point of relative freedom was reached (albeit fleeting), talking in real face to face situations highlighted a few things:

• I found it challenging to engage in small talk.  Being woefully out of practice in basic etiquette and several skills associated with being around other people - everything from how to greet, how to enter and exit a conversation, reading non-verbal cues to name a few.
• The significant increase in brain fogginess. It was impossible to tell if this was in part a bi-product of going through menopause but found myself trailing away mid-sentence as I either forgot what we were talking about or could not for the life of me remember the pronoun for what or who was the subject of the conversation.  I've been told this forgetfulness gets worse with longer lockdowns.
• Driving anywhere was triggering serious road rage.  It seemed everyone had forgotten how to drive as well.  I ended up doing 'practice' drives in an effort to refresh my motor functions.
• Discovering that being around people is different to seeing people on a screen when it comes to organic conversations on tangents that lead to insights.  But the return to face to face wasn't long enough in duration to set alight my creative flow again - barely enough to spark some embers.

The link back to real people did not last particularly long. Just as I was finding my rhythm, a new fast spreading variant - Omnicron - was spiking the daily new cases numbers. My friends in London who are already well into their third wave are suggesting it's less likely to lead to hospitalisation but that hasn't stopped the reversion back to restrictions like mandatory mask wearing. Those restrictions make perfect sense and tend to put people off working in office spaces again. Most folk are being cautious but, alas, still stupid people who don't appreciate the impact they have on others and so the cycle of new infections continues.

So, I'm working from home and will likely be doing so into the new year.

Marking the moment that was 2021 - while my latest book came out mid year, the severe writer's block since has made it an unsatisfactory year from a creative perspective. The procrastination has been rampant.  Partly, it's been indecisiveness holding me back - thinking about the character perspectives, I just can't make up my mind about whether to stick to just a couple of key points of view or to have many. One day, I think multiple perspectives will help define the discombulation of a chaotic world. The next day, I think it would be good to follow one or two POVs through the chaos. Both could be interesting from a writing and reading perspective.

Partly also because there has been plenty of amusing things found duirng the excessive internet searches - none of it relevant to my storyboard for the latest novel I'm writing. Still, a few of my favourites below...

For much of the year I was a "six" on the above cat mood scale.

I've set my writing goals for 2022 - I will finish the first draft of the latest novel by year's end and I will finally finish the drafing of stage play that has been on my dance card for the last few years.  I feel this might be achievable once I unblock and resume writing.

I can only hope that the new year brings with it some prospect of more interactions with others - so I can be inspired by the conversations that flow from them.