Productivity, Poor-me, and Parikmakher

I woke up with a horrid feeling in my bones while trying to remember the nightmare that I was happy to discover was only a dream. You know those few minutes when you’re in la-la-land-limbo, desperately examining the feelings and events of night-time wonderings, trying to make sense of it all? The storyline was me arriving in the office to find party-decorations-gone-bonanza and colleagues dressed in colourful outfits shouting, “Happy Venzuela national day!” Wtf?! This is an EU Mission – nothing makes sense. Rather than celebrating the festivities and joining in (as would be the real-life Jessica) I was completely puzzled, trying to figure out if I had missed the memo, or if I had been purposely excluded. Either option left me with a yucky feeling. And then I woke up, and left for the office in normal working attire, thankful to find the drab building standing tall. Is Corona to blame for my carnival themed nightmare? I guess it could have been worse. Zombies? Suffocation?

COVID-restriction-comparing has become a thing. Not really in a poor-me way, but more in a poor-you way. Well, of course depending on who you’re comparing with, or talking to. Paris vs. Stockholm? Mother-of-newborn-triplets trying to get home to New Zealand from Georgia vs. myself not being allowed to leave the city lockdown. I have moments when I feel sorry for myself but mostly I’m thankful for the stuff I can still enjoy, like walks and hikes in the hills, ordering food delivery, and my veranda (but what's up with the moody April weather?!). And I’ve surprised myself with actually liking the 21.00 curfew. Enjoying improved quality over quantity evening delights and better down-time and sleep. Tant-varning? (Old lady warning?).

The creative arts, oh how I love you more than ever right now. A wise kid told me once, “Music is the most beautiful thing there is”, and I couldn’t agree more. Discovering new music, especially covers and collaborative music performances is my new hobby (If you haven’t yet enjoyed the Allstar performances “Times like these”, and “The weight” you're missing out). And then we have the most brilliant Spotify playlist “COVID-19” created by a guy with dedication and humour, featuring song-titles such as: So sick, Stayin’ alive, It’s the end of the world, Alone, Not gonna get us, Night fever, All by myself, Unwell, Harder to breath, Under pressure. Give me humour anyday!

I was inspired to read, “You are only unproductive by the standards of the world we lived in two months ago, and that world is gone now” today. I had already liberated myself and embraced an it’s-ok-to-chill approach and agreed to disregard my former private productivity standards. With the exception of dusting off my hairdressing skills for the benefit of my colleagues who prefer to not turn into hippies (and there’s always a bottle of wine or cosy dinner in it for me). Tomorrow I’m presenting my suggestions of things the Mission can do to encourage staff motivation. I could work with this kind of stuff full-time (as long as it action-oriented).

A Finnish colleague answered the phone when I called with, “Hi Munchkin! I just discovered the word and I think it suits you!” Ehm, say what?! I’m not a shorty! Ok, well it could be worse. I recently cringed with I heard, “Suck it up Buttercup!” We all have to suck up a lot of stuff that sucks these days, and we don’t know how long things will stay sucky. But we do know that things will not always be like this. That’s what my wise friend Anna taught me to say when things suck. I miss laughing with you Anna!