What do you do to get out of the darkness ?

[weeksy]

From the other thread by WR....

What's your release at the moment with Lockdown, CV19, the world in general.

Earlier this year there were trackdays, but they were few and far between, so as you'll have gathered, for me, it's pedalling in the dirt and muck, that's how i get the release from the insanity of what we're putting up with at the moment.

What's yours ?

[KungFooBob]

Porn.

[Skub]

Without going into personal/boring detail,I have a lot on my mind at the moment. My old man and stepmum are frail and very ill,both are a ticking clock. I'm up to my eyes in paperwork,dealing with hospitals,social workers and all the associated clamour of 'things needing done'. Dealing with endless,uncaring bureaucracy is excruciatingly frustrating. They wear me down.

In the middle of all this it's easy to forget the actual people involved,I get so focussed on 'doing' mostly because the current situation with Covid forbids me even seeing them. I feel like I've abandoned them and all I hear is bad news every time my phone rings...which is a lot!

The guilt trip is massive.

Anyway,I've a few forms of release,music/gigging/building guitars and riding bikes. Unfortunately for me my head isn't straight enough for music,gigs are kaput and the Winter is coming,so I don't ride much. I can still abuse my Paypal a/c though,the bike will be like a fucking Xmas tree by the time this is all over!

I walk loads every day. Some days it helps clear my mind and other days I've been walking for hours and never once left the inside of my head. Still,exercise helps. A strong,loving family is the foundation for most folk's survival,without that everything becomes that much harder. I'm fortune in that respect.

[Horse]

Oddly, I'm fairly content at the moment. The op in August has largely cured the permanent headaches and is helping other stuff. Plus, successfully WfH since March has eliminated 2 hours commuting every day.

However ... Filly needs things to look forward to, my op wasn't in that category! Plus, because of self isolation we had to cancel our holiday. Since then, other stuff we wanted to do has had to be canned. Also, her work has become more stressful due to covid secure requirements.

[chillitt]

I'll let you know..
Most of the simple things that work, or are commonly suggested as working, are things I cant do So I tend not to take much notice of self help suggestions. That probably doesnt help either.
In the first lock down a friend had an issue with a shed and planning permission, which doesnt sound so bad, but the shed was a 'Garden room' for his harridan of a wife, and the neighbours kicked off possibly because she has been known to have screaming fits over the fence at them. Anyway he was getting buried in paperwork and getting shouted at a lot. With a bit of a nudge and a few cups of tea away from the shouting I got him to treat the planning thing as a distraction from the shouty wife he was mostly locked in with and as a game to 'beat' the planning dept. That cheered him up immensely and it cheered all of us (apart from the neighbours) when he won on appeal. Currently Im trying to apply a similar plan to myself but its a slow process.
Also, avoiding the shouty/trolling/fishing threads online helps a lot.

[the_priest]

Music, prayer and meditation on scripture. A lot happening, house back on the market and family bereavement, eye surgery for me looming, brain surgery for wife on hold, son back from university, daughter depression and funerals for Church. Finding time to just be, to breathe and relax is hard. Also have to submit assignments and other “work” related issues.

I have been able to ride a bit which helps enormously and is a real release, need more exercise though.

[Yorick]

Our lockdown in spring was absolute. No nipping out to see pals etc.

Nearly everybody I speak to just enjoyed the peace and quiet. Tourists aren't too bad and a necessary evil. But no kids and bloody cyclists was a real blessing . Nobody misses them as they haven't returned properly yet.

And I got loads of decorating done until the paint ran out

[Horse]

Our lockdown in spring was absolute. No nipping out to see pals etc.

Nearly everybody I speak to just enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Lockdown 'classic gold' (as I heard it described) here coincided here with wonderful weather, many people did the same as you - gardens looked great, etc. There was hardly any traffic noise, so sitting out of a warm evening, enjoying the birdsong and watching the sunset .... People were inventive, someone started a WhatsApp group for the road which has become really useful. We had a VE day street party - no traffic so kids playing, picnics in gardens, etc.

This time around, we're well into autumn. That may not help at all.

[Yambo]

Lockdown wasn't a problem for me and Covid is just an annoyance (apparently I'm far to blasé about it). I had lots of stuff to get on with during lockdown, jobs for the boat, making 2 RC sailing boats for people, helping a neighbour fettle his guitar and other stuff so I wasn't fussed about not being allowed out.

When it was over, I got some of the finished jobs fitted on the boat and suddenly it was summer, getting too warm to work and I felt really down. With work still outstanding on the boat and needing to get underneath it and clean, scrape and paint the hull, I didn't bother and made the decision to leave her out of the water. Probably a big mistake but as I said, working in 30°C heat is hard work on its own.

My get out of down is usually physical exercise so I bit the bullet and got back on the rower and did some weights. Luckily the aircon which has never been serviced since fitted in 2006 still works OK so I could survive the self inflicted bashing. I also like to get out on the water and without the boat sitting there I hauled the kayaks down to my friends restaurant (where I'd built one of them) and spent quite a lot of time paddling around the coast. I regularly had company so it was even better at getting my head right.

Now the tourists have all gone and summer is over I'm back to making things. I've just bought 6 sheets of plywood for jobs already planned and I've recently ripped even more of the boat apart so that I can change things and make more useful space. My head is good, the lady in my life is now staying until mid December and I'm not bothered about Covid, US elections, Brexit or very much else. I have to sharpen my chisels though and start my application for Turkish citizenship.

Life is pretty good.

[Greenman]

Dance whilst off my tits to qaulity electronic music with amazing like minded people, which i can't do at the mo and am fully going mental!

I tried at home and broke one of the floorboards!

Now i just drink to oblivion and hope something changes in the near future.

[cheb]

I'm another one Covid hasn't affected badly, in some ways the first lockdown was an improvement. Being on an island helps, and locally we had no confirmed cases until about a month ago. All but one of them survived.

The first lockdown meant no tourists and I had an essential job driving round the islands. The weather was fabulous, as it frequently is that time of year. Several weeks cruising in good weather, what more could I want? It was a bit like winter but with lovely weather.

The rest of the time was spent as I've done for the last 25 years or so, mooching round the house and sheds doing stuff.

One of the reasons I emigrated to here all those years ago was a general dissatisfaction with my life at the time. It seems to have been a good choice. One of my spawn moved back with partner and child this year, and that's awesomely brilliant. They are doing the whole crofting thing too, curious as spawn showed no interest at all when they were younger. They got ducks a few weeks ago and some chickens last weekend.

One thing about living on an island is I can view the mainland as a foreign country where they have curious customs.

[JamJar]

I cycle a bit on weekends, mostly road/gravel but sometimes MTB ... I play D&D with a group online once a week and I pretend to make and paint Warhammer 40k figures but actually I just but them and keep them in their boxes.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Electric Assisted Cycling through mud and puddles
Fiddling with old motorcycles - I find this incredibly relaxing, I wouldn't want to do it for a living as I'd never make money from it.
Riding old motorcycles - especially on track with a group of like minded fools
Talking about old motorcycles
Having fun with my wife
Talking to my teenage children, my daughter likes to chat about books and my son about life in general.
Reading books
Playing video games

Really just doing stuff that isn't work.

[MingtheMerciless]

COVID hasn't affected us too much, I still have to go to work (so does Mrs M). Dogs still need walking, the garden is looking good, built a pond and walls out of gabbions. Now the weathers turned riding the MTB in the horrific Sussex mud.

[Claude]

Set up a gym in the garage, sent a small fortune on dumbbells and a decent bench. Moved a sonos speaker down there and can just zone out and lift.

Other than that, planning the house remodel, we moved in at the end of Feb (thank fuck) so although we have paid for architects, Mrs C and I are enjoying playing with moving things around etc.

[The Spin Doctor]

The lack of work from mid-March to June, and again now in November has hit the bank balance hard. But the lack of noise and the clear air here in NW London during the spring and summer weather was marvellous. Even as we came out of lockdown in June I was anticipating the next round, so I got as much training done as possible between June and October, but fitted in a trip to Devon to see a friend who lost his wife during the first lockdown, visits to friends, then a short biking holiday to Shropshire and mid-Wales - an area my other half had never been to.

I've upped the walking from "not much" to "rather more" which shed the best part of 12 kgs. We've since invested in an exercise bike so hoping to lose some more.

To try to keep something of an income stream coming in since I'm almost entirely dependent on the bike training, I've been re-publishing all my old posts from FB and even further back here to my supporter site www.ko-fi.com/survivalskills. There are around 250 articles up there already, a £3 coffee contribution gets you access for a month A bargain, though I say it myself.

And when I get bored with writing? I've treated myself to some railway modelling - something I haven't done since I was 15!

[cheb]

We have the electric here so I flick the switch and the light comes on. 'Tis a marvel of the modern age.

[MrLongbeard]

Increased alcohol intake.

I ain't best happy but I'm still working like a bastard so whilst bits of the lockdown have right royally pissed me off I haven't had a chance to get properly pissed off yet.

What's annoyed me so far;
The weather was lovely during lockdown, feck off I was shut up indoors working
I was bored during lockdown, this very nearly earned several people a kick in the nuts / fanny
Why don't you go out and get some exercise, feck off I'm working all hours
Having to use up my holiday entitlement whilst others have sat on their arses for 7 months doing fuck all, ffs it's not like I can do anything or go anywhere
etc etc etc etc

Thanks fuck for modern medications and booze

[Mussels]

I have a winter gardening project, a sloping grass area that I want flat. It involves moving a few tons of topsoil to one side, bagging up a few tons of clay and putting the topsoil back. Then when the weather improves I can build the retaining wall as a spring lockdown project.

[lostboy]

Work hasn't stopped for me so in that respect nothing really changed*. As my life beyond that then revolved around windsurfing/surfing/cycling/5-a-side and only one of them stopped again nothing really changed. Early in lockdown 1 we weren't allowed on the beaches because of the concerns about becoming a burden to rescue services/NHS so that just meant more cycling but it's all back to "normal" now.

*I was already good at managing my diary to get a decent work/life balance and flexible working meant that was even easier so a lot of cycling was done in the day and work at night when it could be. Made the most of the great weather and lack of traffic.

Miss the family beyond the Mrs who's here with me but Whatsapp etc. all makes comms easier than it would have been a few years ago.

I think the situation has changed a lot of people's outlook on their lives and what they do. Judging by the bike and water "toy" sales and the volume of participants this summer there's a lot more value put on health and enjoying what they have around them rather than just waiting for that two weeks in Spain or wherever.