The swing of things

I have had a really hard time getting back into the swing of things after my summer vacation. We had a lovely time, but I didn't feel properly rested when I got back. And to top it off I had to hit the ground running at work, with a super busy schedule which hasn't slowed down at all since I got back.

I started off by having a big shoot to plan, execute and finalize in the first week. A job that is fun, but also super draining.

So if course I got sick the next week, nothing serious, just a cold with headache and a sore throat, but not a great way to get on top of things. Then one of our cats got sick, and had to be put down, and then my daughter got sick too, luckily only with a fever, but she was properly out of it for two days.

And having two weeks with chaos does nothing good for my schedule. Things get pushed in front to be dealt with later, and in the end I have so much stuff in front of me that I have no idea where to begin.

I don't like being in this situation. I like routine and predictability, not chaos and turmoil. I like having lists and to be able to sit down and just get the work done. All the running around is what gets me. I am terrible at multitasking (as most people are, regardless of what they write in their CV's!) and I need structure and time to get my head around my tasks.

Things are slowing down for me, and I can see my schedule easing up the next little while. In the meantime I am keeping my head above water, and taking all the breaks and breathers I can find. And I hug my daughter a lot. Nothing beats being stressed better than a bear hug from her.

 

upload.jpg

Cheap crap

I don’t watch a lot of TV. Since the day of streaming, where I can decide for myself what to watch and when to watch it, I have next to no need for TV. Except for when there are certain things happening, like the soccer world cup or such things.

The other night I was watching the France-Belgium game, and thus caught a few ads as well. And boy, do I not miss the ads! One of the ads that caught my eye was for wish.com. Now, I have obviously been living under a rock, because I didn’t know the site existed. And was so big! Apparently everyone is shopping there! It is a site full of cheap crap, copy products and rubbish. And I can understand the joy of a good bargain. A lot of things out there are overpriced and in low quality, so why shouldn’t you look for a cheaper option? The problem I have isn’t so much that we buy things. The problem I have is that we buy too many things, and crap things. Usually things we don’t need. And the option to buy is always there, right on our phones glued to our hands every moment of every day. We have become dependent on stuff. The more stuff we have, the happier we are it seems. But it is not true.

Not too long ago we cleaned out our daughters room, and packed two full IKEA bags, and one shopping bag of stuff, nice things, that we gave to charity. You can not see in her room that all those toys have been removed! She has an enormous amount of toys and things that she never looks at.

And one thing is us drowning in all our stuff, but what about the environment? Recently there was a case here in Denmark with some soft, plastic toys being toxic. We are giving our children things that is harmful to them and the environment. I grew up in the 70ies, and I am sure there was a few toxins in the toys I played with too. But that is many years ago, shouldn’t we learn from history? Shouldn’t we at least think about it before we jump on the bandwagon? Our daughter had begged for those toys, everyone at school had them, and she was the only one left out. We never caved in, because we didn’t want that plastic crap in our house, and in her hands. And guess how happy we were when they were all pulled back from the shops for being harmful!

So next time you are taking your wallet out to buy something, pause for a moment. Do you really need it? Is there a more environmentally friendly option? Can you buy something that is locally produced? Don’t just give your money away to just anybody; where we spend our money is the biggest influence we have on the status quo, next to voting. Be mindful of who you support, and remember: every time you buy from a small shop, someone in the other end is doing a happy dance!   

cheap crap.jpg