Has anyone else noted that their concentration is better since Biden took office? For the past two years, I have been struggling to read for pleasure or watch tv shows- I watch for 15 minutes then check online or turn on the tv to see what asshole has done now. Or I am just irritable or distracted.
But I’m noticing I can watch full feature length films without even thinking about him.
On The Road – randy khan – Venice and Environs, Part 10
Starboard Tack
Absolutely. Part of it was pandementia but the underlying angst was T****.
Chetan Murthy
I was doing pretty well, making lots of progress on my coding projects, until around Christmas 2020, and then …. well, somehow I fell apart, and haven’t been able to concentrate on anything since. 1/6 didn’t help for sure. Still trying to get going again, it’s pretty distressing.
Starboard Tack
I’ve also been a lot more relaxed since I got the second Pfizer this week.
guachi
Biden becomes President at 12:00 January 20.
I get stabbed for my first of two COVID vaccine shots at 12:01 January 20.
Yeah, feeling pretty good.
df
@Chetan Murthy:
I can sympathize. I seem to be more forgetful than usual this week. I second guess myself when I spell basic words, and sometimes my written sentences feel less coherent than they should be. I keep telling myself it’s just stress, a lack of sleep, mainlining Taco Bell, and starting a new job soon, but then the anxiety part of my brain is like “nah, you had asymptomatic COVID and now your brain is mush”.
I’ve been basically a shut-in for like five weeks now. I used to spend every weekend with a quarantine friend, but we skipped some weekends and then I had a few inconvenient weekends after that. But apparently leaving your house and socializing with other humans is really important for cognitive function. Without a change of scenery or social interaction, it’s hard to form and retrieve memories. I keep telling myself that visit with my friend tomorrow (I get to meet his new foster dog!) will help.
Anyway, I think a lot of people are feeling this, so hang in there. I think we’re all actually coping better than we think considering how truly difficult stuff is right now.
Starboard Tack
@guachi:
Good deal. You might want to plan for a down day or two after the second one next week.
Philbert
Yup, I can read several paragraphs now. Also I got a vax appt!
West of the Rockies
I find that having not seen or heard the road for a few weeks, I now have ZERO tolerance for his ugly mug. I immediately change the channel or mute his voice now, reveling in the fact that what he now says or does is meaningless.
Hungry Joe
A couple of unrelated things occurred to me today. 1) The lockdown would have been SO much worse without the internet. Or pre-cable TV. Think about it: Newspaper in the morning, then dumbass local TV shows, followed by an afternoon crammed with soap operas. Evenings: three watered-/dumbed-down channels. Books and magazines, sure, but you can only read so much. 2) Since Kamala Harris is the tie-breaking vote in the Senate, does she have to hang around D.C. a lot more than other Veeps? Like, no going to Ivory Coast or Peru for funerals?
West of the Rockies
@West of the Rockies:
Toad, not road. Damn autocorrect.
lgerard
No longer getting 200 fundraising emails a day has helped
lurker
somewhat. however, i still regularly have to check whether the mustard is where i put it, or whether it vanished … (maybe not really) … (does happen with other things though).
Fair Economist
Yeah, sometimes I go most of a day without fretting about politics.
lurker
@Hungry Joe: a good vote counter can schedule votes around important parts of her schedule. she will still get to go to as many funerals as she wants. there will be plenty of votes in the senate which are not tied. some will have disappointing outcomes (e.g. we lose 48-52 or 23-70), but she does not have to hang around all the time just in case. She does need to inquire about the health of the president each morning, as described by any number of wry commentators over the years…
WV Blondie
My concentration and work ethic are better. And I still mainline MSNBC at night but I can sleep afterwards!
smike
I find it relaxing to meander through the day being pleasantly, mildly surprised that things are going as well as they are.
CaseyL
Not so much; but the fog is starting to lift.
My creativity really cratered in the past two months, since Election Day, waiting for so many other shoes to drop. Always something to be obsessing over. Wrecked merry hell with my ability to concentrate, focus, or enjoy anything very much. All of it happening during the dark of the year didn’t help, either.
I’m going to try to get some glass done this weekend. It would be so nice to get back in to that groove.
Winston
Alcohol has had a negative effect on my life over the last eleven months. I gotta get over it. Acute alcohol poisoning on my solo New Years Eve party? resulted in a trip to the ER. On Jan 19 I spilled a shot of vodka on my laptop keyboard and fried the whole damn computer except the hard drive. All my passwords were lost and all of my favorites. My stand alone excel is non existent and files associated with it. As is Word. Fuxk booze from here on out. I blame it all on dipshit. So bought a used Lenova think pad and it is nice but getting used to the keyboard is a pain even though I very much like the back lighting. I don’t care if Texas secedes as long as it is the panhandle. The repugs can all go there and start over. I doubt that the cities would go along. I’ll be changing my nym because I am not the first cat. I got my first vax on 1-26 and get my second on 2-23. Since I have not been out of the house since March 2020, it will be good to get out with much less fear, even though a mask still sounds like a good idea.
Mary G
I am the kind of person who goes completely unemotional and efficient in an emergency. I did a spinning fall in the bathroom in October 2015 and my ankle responded with compound fractures of the tibia, fibular, and talus. I was mildly horrified to see bones sticking out where they didn’t belong. No housemates at the time and I had left my phone charging on my desk in another room. I managed to put on a dress, rested the ankle on a pillow I pulled off the bed, and scooted on my back pushing with the other foot through the bedroom, down the hall, through a corner of the dining room around into the family room so I could pull the phone down and call 911. I called a friend to arrange for emergency cat care while I was waiting for help, and my current housemate to come clean up all the blood.
When the paramedics came, they were very professional, but their eyes got very big. I chatted companionly with them on the ride to the hospital and was fine until the ER doc tried to reduce the fracture by pulling hard on the heel (he had refused to give me any pain meds, since I would probably have surgery when the ortho came in). Then I screamed and cried and carried on like a maniac, sorta like this cat:
So now that HSNBN is gone, I jump at every little thing, because while he was in office, I could do things to get rid of him, so I had to mostly maintain for four years. I have been a total basket case for a couple of weeks now, bursting into tears because I lost my grip on a glass of water and spilled some this morning.
ETA: The Twitter embed is wonky, go to the fourth or fifth response where it says “Just Wait.”
Noskilz
Not having someone who seemed determined to sabotage everything in his reach on a daily basis at the wheel has been a nice change of pace.
lurker
@Winston: hang in there – people here are feeling the same things, and i will keep you in my thoughts.
i pretty much had to give up significant drinking a while back, in part because of biden’s predecessor. barely touch anything these days, and stuff I had stocked up on over the years is getting old. have been lucky enough that i did not have a problem there that I could not shake. friends of mine, not so much – and from what i have seen, getting help has been the key for anyone who had an issue with alcohol (or some other substances).
as one who has seen a lot of friends in pain and a few end their pain senselessly, i encourage you to reach out for whatever help might be available in the community. we are here for you too
ETA: happily, I have not spilled alcohol on a keyboard in years though ; – )
Winston
@Mary G: First time in an ambulance and ER for me. Sounds like you too. I was very impressed with the staff at Lakeland Regional Health. Nurse said “Wow not a covid case for once”. I got a chest xray, brain ct scan, covid test, total blood, urine analysis and was there for three hours. Honest to god I thought I had a stroke. Nope, just drunk as a skunk. I fell and couldn’t move. Just managed to scoot to the phone and call 911. Total cost to my HMO was $1200 plus my copay $120. Total bill was over $11,000. Now the ambulance wants $650.
burnspbesq
@Winston:
Where I used to live in CA, you could subscribe to EMS services. They added $8 to your bimonthly water bill, and you were covered. I don’t need to tell you how happy I was to pay that 48 bucks a year.
lurker
@Winston: once helped someone deal with a non-emergency transport from one hospital to another – insurance and the medical transport/ambulance company could not get on the same page, but insurance ultimately covered much more than initially expected, from out-of-pocket of about $2k down to something like $125.
You might want to check with your insurance (hmo?) and see what guidance they can give you. Might take a few phone calls, but that number might come down.
Glad they treated you well.
Ruckus
I can go most of a day without even thinking of the word shitforbrains, let alone the worlds foremost title holder.
That is new as of a couple of weeks ago. Life feels a little lost without all the drama. Also a lot nicer. I think my blood pressure has gone done a few points as well. And I’m sleeping a lot more every night. It’s actually nice getting more than 4-5 hrs a night.
All things considered it’s nice just having normal BS to deal with. My upcoming retirement is much nicer to consider without the concept of having to find a cave somewhere to hunker down in, someplace without any news/political stuff input every minute of the day.
Brachiator
I can definitely relate to this! Things are definitely better with Biden.
But still cannot pay attention for long stretches. I have even taken more to watching short YouTube videos. Mainly history and politics.
The pandemic and lockdown still gets at me. Haven’t even got close to getting the vaccine.
Ruckus
@Winston:
I am, as I told someone on twitter the other day a freshman oldster. IOW going on 72. A year and a half ago I had my first ambulance ride to the ER. I found out over the next 2 days that I have an inner ear issue that causes vertigo and a couple other things, like my balance depends on my vision. Good times. Anyway I worked in pro sports full time for 11 yrs plus as a hobby for 20 before that, I’ve been around a lot of ambulances and people on stretchers, it’s just never been me.
I can understand how the last president and his cronies could drive someone to drink, if I hadn’t given it up 18 yrs ago, I’d have probably been right there with you. There was even a twitter thread on this very subject yesterday. You aren’t alone for sure.
Sister Golden Bear
My concentration is definitely better now, especially I’m now that past the “2020 hangover” stage during the past two weeks (a lot of my friends have talked about feeling the same thing).
Ruckus
@lgerard:
Yes it has. That alone has changed my mood for the better.
M. Bouffant
Just noticed today that I still flinch when I hear the words “the President” on the telly.
Winston
@lurker: Thanks. They did treat me well. My HMO gets to charge medicare for most of the cost. I just got the bill from PCEMS. (Polk County Emergency Service). So it’s a socialist thing, thank god for socialism. They asked for my insurance information and said they would file the claim. I think it should be 100% covered. I know the insurance companies are Capitalist and they have figured out how to exploit the socialist system to make a profit. To me that is a good thing for me and retired people in general. I’m glad we have both. My HMO pays $125/month for my Part B medicare. My PcP is free and my copays for specialists are $15 per visit. Emergency services are $120. I think that is a good deal but I don’t plan to use it often. Once is enough.
ColoradoGuy
Time has been weirdly distorted, very slow, then punctuated by occasional high-stress events, and greatly magnified by a year of pandemic self-isolation. Having a flat-out psychotic madman in charge during a lethal pandemic has been like being trapped in a horror movie, with millions of mindless zombies who think that everything is just fine.
The madman has been exiled to Disgraceland, and I can feel the first hints of dawn after a very long and dark night. Getting the second Moderna vaccine on the 18th will be a real milestone, but I expect the rest of Colorado is going to need another couple of months.
hells littlest angel
It’s called Biden Arrangement Syndrome.
rikyrah
Me me me
I hadn’t binge watched anything in over two years.
Hadn’t been absorbed into a book for the same amount of time, maybe longer.
Now, series by series…doing some binge watching.
Going through my watch lists?
Going through the books bought, but not read on the Kindle?
And my sleep…
The sleep…
Yes, I am up now, but, I went to bed when LarryO came on.
My sleep is returning???
Sloane Ranger
@lurker:
For real?
Is this some sort of formal part of the VP’s Job Description? Is there some sort of process like her Chief of Staff having to contact the WH Chief doctor for an update or does she just have to poke her head round the door of the Oval Office every morning and ask “You feeling OK, Joe?”
David Fud
Same here, sort of. I find myself still doom scrolling and obsessive scanning behavior without any resultant feedback loop of political doom, just COVID doom.
My mother in law died of COVID, but it was probably a relief for her brutal descent into end stage Parkinson’s in hospice.
Thankfully, I don’t have a tendency to drink much, so that hasn’t been an issue (hang in there Winston). I need to restart a lot of positive habits again, and stick to them.
evodevo
@West of the Rockies: Noooooo ….that’s supremely insulting to toads, who, even though they have toxic glands on either side of their heads, are light years ahead of Trumpy in charisma, and as a herp fan, I think they’re….cute… I have Bufo fowleri toads hopping around here all the time in the summer…
MomSense
I definitely feel better than I did, but I’m still struggling. The year of isolation has accelerated the changes to my mom’s mental acuity. It’s hard to watch and when she breaks things or does something that is the result of poor judgment, I try not react. When I have reacted I feel terribly guilty. It would probably be easier to cope if work weren’t so demanding now. And then there’s COVID which is always present and makes every little thing complicated.
Two of my kids are really struggling with the isolation and one with the hit to finances. The third kid is lucky to be in a very strong and happy partnership. I worry about him getting COVID, though.
It’s still too much. Maybe when we all get the vaccine, I’ll get out of this fight or flight mode, but I’m not there yet.
MomSense
@Winston:
@Mary G:
Sending hugs to you both. We’re here for you and will help in any way we can.
????
HeartlandLiberal
My lower back disks decided to act up about ten days ago, leaving me flat on my back till I could get to the appt with pain doc for injections to alleviate the pain. But I used the time wisely to watch about a dozen hour and a half TV movies from Germany on zdf.de and ard.de. January is when the series that produce only three or four episodes a year come out with new episodes, so I was able to watch Nord bei Nordwest, one of my absolute favorites, all three new episodes, and two new Friesland episodes, along the northwest coast, and practice my German hearing skills. Thank $DEITY most shows have German subtitles as well, because I read German as well as I read English, but my hearing comprehension always has lagged.
But to John’s main point, I am still suffering a little PTSD from the Trump years, I still keep compulsively checking news online and Twitter throughout the day, expecting something to blow up again. But on the whole, yes, I am finally settling down. It was sort of like when I retired, ten years ago, I was so worn out with responsibility of directing a major Div I university divisions IT / Computing operation for 15 years, it took me nearly a year to finally relax, and not jump out of my skin every time the phone rang.
Three quarters of a century on the old odometer of life kinda starts to put things in perspective, though. But I wish I could feel really, really optimistic. Maybe in a few more months, when I see that Schumer and Harris in the Senate have actually neutered McConnell, who for me is evil personified.
HeartlandLiberal
@lgerard:
FWIW, I have noticed drastically reduced levels of spam email rejected on my email server by the DNSBL blocklists I subscribe to, and the number of spam / con phone calls seems to have dropped off, too, in the past month or two. Of course if we do not recognize the number or caller ID, we just do not answer, if it is legit, they will leave a message. Even the con artists leave occasional hilarious messages, like my social security card has been cancelled, one of my all time favorites.
Ramalama
@Winston:
About 17 years ago there was and still might be the idea in Quebec that if only Quebec could somehow saw itself off from surround Canada to float down the St. Lawrence River and hook up with the Atlantic, Quebec would be such a great place. Or something.
Could have been the hooligans I was hanging around, too.
Currants
OMG YES. Yes, yes, yes. Starting to sleep a bit better too.
Ramalama
I actually made a list yesterday of jobs I had to do. And crossed them all off. Like mission accomplished.
I don’t know when the last time I had that happen. Years.
munira
@Ramalama: I just moved back to the US after living in Quebec for 30 years. There is still a group that feels that way and a lot of money is wasted by the Quebec government in their attempt to pretend they’re really a separate country – hence extremely high taxes. Nice people though and in many ways la belle province.
kindness
What I really like is that now that we have a sane government, I don’t have to think about it much. It isn’t omni-present like Trumps media whoredom was. That was exhausting. A great weight was lifted from all of us 1/20/21. Got scary for a bit but we pulled through.
Ramalama
@munira:
Tabernak! We should compare notes. I’ve only become legal-legal for a couple of years. Just in time for the pandemic. But I’ve been with my partner for a long long time and have enjoyed extended ‘visitorship’ during then. Until the border said, finally, “You really need to start the process here.”
VOR
Sleeping better, for sure. I don’t wake up each morning wondering what stupid thing happened overnight. I can have confidence the government is actually trying to address real problems. I have hope COVID will end before the sun burns out.
VFX Lurker
Late to the party, but I’m in the same boat. I wanted to read Dune before the film came out. I read the first four Dune books in 2019, but I had to finish the final two Frank Herbert books in audiobook format in 2020. I couldn’t focus enough to read the books.
I successfully borrowed, downloaded and read several graphic novels from my library last year, and lots of audiobooks, but few texts.
I used to devour books at the library as a kid. I don’t have any difficulty reading text. I love audiobooks (especially the Discworld books read by Stephen Briggs), but I hope to focus more on reading ebooks this year.