All kites of chaos, still in motion

[dolorosa_12]

It's been a week simultaneously amusing (because watching footage of Boris Johnson trundling miserably around the north while being acosted by furious voters is never going to stop being funny) and frustrating (because Brexit is such a colossal waste of time, distraction from the things that desperately need to be fixed, and will, if it happens, make it harder to fix them). I'm also profoundly grateful that I am no longer an academic, and specifically no longer a medievalist academic, because there is a colossal blowup going on at the moment in medievalist circles, involving a lot of friends, and Americans bulldozing and bullying people from the rest of the world (and doing the usual thing of assuming that everything should be rearranged to accord with US sensibilities, terminology etc, expecting everyone to instantly accommodate them, and refusing to learn about the history, facts on the ground, or norms elsewhere in the world). Unfortunately, I can see the whole thing settling into becoming a repeat of the Winterfox/Requires Hate/Benjanun Sriduangkaew situation (content note: descriptions of abuse, harassment, abuse denial), and I'm powerless to stop it.

Things that have been keepig me sane(ish):

Swimming. I've settled into a nice routine with this, swimming a kilometre three times a week at the pool near work, in the early hours of the morning, before I start work for the day.

Yoga. I had really tight shoulders at the end of the week, so I spent this afternoon doing slow, complicated upper back stretches, and now my arms feel as if they're floating.

Reading. I spent the week snuggling up with comfort rereads — Sarah Rees Brennan's glorious Demon's Lexicon trilogy. I love all the characters in this. I love how they use words as weapons, I love how the book unpacks tropes and rewrites them, twisted, but most of all I love how at its heart the series is about families, and how much all the characters care about each other. I've now downloaded a new-to-me KJ Charles book, and after that I'll probably return to Sarah Rees Brennan's other books, and reread the Lynburn Legacy trilogy.

Cooking. I've currently got this recipe for one-pot roast chicken with risoni, and it smells amazing! We'll eat it tonight with the bottle of white wine we bought in southern Germany in August, and use the leftovers for at least one more meal, and make vast quantities of stock from the bones.

TV. While I can't say that it's been exactly relaxing, Matthias and I did finish watching The Alienist, and enjoyed it immensely. I'm glad there'll be a second season.

Other than that I've probably been spending more time on Twitter than is healthy for my state of mind, but at least it does evoke a sense of camaraderie in absurdity and horror.

Comments

[corvidology]

I love The Alienist but agree it wasn't the most relaxing thing. :D

[suncani]

Ahh that recipe sounds amazing, will have to give it a go. Always looking for different things to do with roast chicken.

With brexit, and tbh all events, I struggle to find a balance between keeping myself informed and not hyperfixating and consuming all the media, and bad opinions around it. It sounds like you've found your sweet spot with other things.

Which KJ Charles? Definitely good comfort reads :)

[schneefink]

I completely understand if you'd rather not think about it more than absolutely necessary, but I'm curious about the big drama in medievalist fandom academics. Is there a summary somewhere?

[naye]

Swimming and yoga sounds lovely! Are you going somewhere for class or doing it at home? I've completely fallen out of the habit and I feel guilty and unmotivated, so hearing about the benefits and how you can still squeeze it into a workday schedule is nice.

And I do enjoy seeing you around Twitter but I hope you don't overdo it!