Thursday, January 12, 2023

Plot Twist

Inspirational song: Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) (Looking Glass)

I had to set a reminder in my phone calendar last night, to make sure I was aware that I had to get up and go to the rheumatologist this morning. So when it popped up with a notification, it read "don't forget to go to rheumatologist." This is the kind of self-talk I need these days. I assume everyone is seeing what I'm seeing, a collective difficulty with memory and focus and patience and all those things that go out the window when we as a civilization live under the stress that we've endured the last few years. I think it's more than just the pandemic, too. Everyone is stressed about something, or more like several things. Might be economy or politics or health or civil unrest. Whatever. The world is just a whole lot right now, and I see everyone getting a little worn at the edges because of it all. I'm thinking about y'all, and offering a little digital pat on the back or fist bump or whatever will let you feel like you're not alone.

That rheumatology visit included a blood draw, and I reacted to that more poorly than I have in a few years. My body never gives up its blood happily, but the chills and heavy, uncomfortable nap I had this afternoon were worse than I expected. I had somewhere to be at 5, and I had to be woken and pushed out the door. I was groggy the first half hour of game time when we got to our session.

The game was the final one before we go on hiatus, in the campaign where I'm playing a character based on my own grandfather. A whole lot happened today, starting with him performing a complex tooth extraction on a high-status person in ancient Gaul, then us trying to figure out how to rig up a contraption to distill spirits from wine, and ending with a spooky anachronism (as if the entire things weren't a series of them), that left us all feeling a little shaken, characters and players too. There will be a lot to digest before we pick this back up in summer. And maybe I should study some dentistry and World War II history while I have the chance.

No comments:

Post a Comment