(Probably) My Last Self-Portrait of 2021
Posted on December 26, 2021 Posted by John Scalzi 14 Comments
And I look skeptical! Of what? Well, what have you got?
We’re now in that week between Christmas and New Year, in which days, hours and even minutes mostly lose meaning, so maybe I’m skeptical of the very nature of time itself. Seems a reasonable position to have, at least through January 1st.
How are you in this post-Christmas moment?
— JS
Snuffly and coughing, thanks. I picked up a case of breakthrough Covid and am quarantining with my spouse who also picked up a breakthrough case. So much for a family holiday this year. On the bright side, we tested positive BEFORE we got together with everyone, so at least we didn’t unintentionally share it.
Get vaxxed, folks. Breakthrough Covid isn’t a huge lot of fun, but boy howdy, it’s a damned sight better than being intubated.
Soooo glad that all the holidays are nearly over. Now to endure the post-Christmas sales frenzy (New Year’s Eve is a non-issue for me as I don’t go anywhere).
Having survived thus far I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and am reasonably sure that it’s not a train coming my way.
Reasonably sure.
I am glad to have made past another Christmas, because it is the beginning of a tough emotional season for me.
This year I have also come to the reality that we are stuck with COVID, it is no longer a pandemic, it is endemic and isn’t going away.
That brave new normal I was hoping for has a different face than I was expecting, and I am readying myself for COVID becoming something like the flu, that comes every year, and we won’t know if we are winning for that year until it is hindsight.
Stay safe, all of you, please.
[Deleted for being off-topic. Remember that when you want to ask me a question that’s not on topic, email is your best bet — JS]
I am having a nice quiet holiday with lots of reading. Just finished Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir – loved it. In the middle of Matrix by Lauren Groff – loving it. Just started Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor – so far, so good!
Merry holiday liminal time slot!
We got snow in the mid-Willamette Valley in Oregon, and about 4 inches of it at our house, which is the most we’ve seen since 2014. Went out and rode around in it for about 8 miles before I could talk myself out of it, because it was a bad idea, but it was fun and I’m glad I did it!
I need this as my Twitter side-eye emoji.
Better than I could be so that’s okay! happy New Year!
Spent several days in Santa Fe, NM in a weird limbo of strict masking vs. restaurant eating/drinking exceptions.
Hoping that our triple-vaxxing holds, and that no major regrets develop.
I am procrastinating editing a novel that I have worked on a lot for about three and a half years. For three of those years it’s been NEARLY finished but then I added two more chapters so now the last chapter needs a major rework and blah blah blah.
It seems quite good, which I’ve discovered is a problem for me because I get very scared of wrecking it. Ah well. I did do SOME work on it today, which is a whole lot better than nothing. More tomorrow.
You look good. Not too jowly, no extra chins or turkey waddle. Wish the same could be said of me but I just hide it all with a beard! Happy New Year!
Post-Christmas? So relieved. I got through it OK, despite being around people more than usual. Safely, I hope. We shall see. Since I received some gift cards, I get to buy what I want to at two different bookstores, so I’m looking forward to that. One discussion zoom group is having an extra long session because it’s this week and our guest, a teacher, has the week off. Should be good.
I like to use the week between Christmas and the new year to put the current year to bed. I tidy up, go through magazines for the recycle bin, and gather up anything I’ll need for tax season. I also think about what I want to accomplish in the next year-but who knows what 2022 will bring.
And I hope everyone in the Colonel S’s feels better soon.
I am “sick as a dog” in a totally “I ate too much” way, not anything virus-y. Did you know you can boil down a half gallon of genuine maple syrup along with some powdered milk and butter and walnuts, and get a substance that is a lovely cross between those maple sugar leaf shapes and pralines? I don’t recommend doing that if you live by yourself and weren’t seeing anyone to share that with.