Back in September of 2021, inspired by a video put out by Ian Danskin, I shared a post of things that have been of immense help to my mental, emotional and physical well-being since we first went into lock-down in March of 2020. It’s wild to think that I published that post 1) last year 2) that it’s been TEN MONTHS since then and 3) we are now well into the third year of living with Covid in our midst.
As I am writing this, numbers are spiking once again, but you’d barely know if you aren’t disabled and/or someone who definitely very much does not want to risk getting long Covid. Apparently Covid is just like a cold now! Y’know, those kinds of colds that lay you flat for fourteen days, cause chronic breathing issues, unpredictable damage to various organs, and also death?
Okay, that was very sarcastic of me but I am Very Tired™ of unchecked ableism and the alarming number of people who apparently are totally cool with eugenics.
Point is, the Pandemic continues to rage on and I continue to seek comfort, solace, and community in all forms of media. So, for your pleasure and enjoyment, in solidarity and also to promote some genuinely Feel Good things, here is Things Getting Me Through, 2022 edition, I’m Still Surviving a Pandemic!
1. Maintenance Phase
Anyone who has talked to me in the last six months will know that I have been listening to this podcast called Maintenance Phase. Introduced to me by a friend, I started off by listening to the BMI episode, because I have long suspected the Body Mass Index is a load of made up nonsense. Thanks to this podcast I now know that pretty much everything we believe about health and wellness, particularly as it relates to weight, is a load of made up nonsense1 primarily based on Zombie Statistics made up out of thin air (PUN INTENDED) by people who really, really hate fat people and need new hobbies that don’t involve shaming humans for existing in different bodies.
Also, Aubrey and Michael’s dynamics are great. The way they present their research fits the way my brain learns best. And Aubrey’s laughter brings me immense joy. It is infectious and good, and I really want good infectious stuff and not disabling infectious stuff.
2. Roxane Gay’s Audacious Roundup
Ages ago I had an RSS feed tracking thing but then the browser I used got rid of it and it’s been years since I’ve had anything like it. Until now.
Roxane Gay’s Audacious Round Up newsletter is the perfect curation of Things I am Likely to Care About OR Stuff to Make me Snort Laugh from all around the Interwebs. Blessings to Roxane Gay for taking the time to embed links to things she’s found online and share them with anyone who wants to subscribe.
3. Heartstopper
Usually Netflix is terrible at giving accurate recommendations to me, so I wasn’t so sure about Heartstopper. BOY WAS I IN FOR A SURPRISE.
This is 100% pure, unadulterated Golden Retriever and Labradoodle puppy queer romance goodness with subtle ace rep in the friend group and a trans character who is neither tragic nor subject to a bazillion questions about her genitals.
This show is a GIFT.
This show is everything every queer and trans person deserves for putting up with cis het nonsense depictions of queerness2 and terrible kill-your-queers storylines for ever and ever and ever.
I could not binge this show because it was TOO joyful.
My Unicorn and I managed to watch a couple episodes a week. We often had to pause as I would sit there and squeal about the show subverting the most mundane and terrible queer romance tropes. At one point I was just slapping my leg over and over and squirming because it was so goddamn adorable.
I wish I could watch it for the first time again but also it was an emotional rollercoaster of Positive Romance Tension that was a bit much at times. You have been warned.
4. Comic Blogs!
One of my writing group friends gifted me a month’s subscription to ND Stevenson’s blog, I’m Fine I’m Fine Just Understand. I am now a regular free subscriber. Their content is often very relatable and heartening.
I also stumbled across The Haunted Librarian who shares fun historical facts and stories with creative, sometimes animated comics.
Every time a new post from either of these blogs lands in my inbox it’s a guaranteed dopamine hit or moment of validation and community connection.
5. Disco Elysium
Ian Danskin gave a shout out to this game in his video of Things That Got Him Through. One of my besties suggested I play it too. I was sceptical because I do not like violent video games and the art and general look of it implied violence. But I’d finished playing Spiritfarer3 and I figured I’d try it out, just to see.
I fell in love.
When I play video games it’s usually for no more than a couple of hours at a time, and it’s rare I love a game so much I’ll play it multiple days in a row. I played this game every night for the seven weeks it took me to finish it, sometimes for three or four hours at a time.
It made me guffaw. The protagonist is the alcoholic white guy detective trope turned up to eleven. The dystopian setting is rife with absurdism. Your investigative partner, Kim Kitsuragi, is a perfect cinnamon bun. I was so sad when my player character disappointed Kim. I was sad when I played the game in a way that sent Kim away for an entire day because it was less fun without him around. I was sad to finish the game because I knew I would miss him. Kim is one of the most beloved fictional characters I’ve encountered in a long time. Also, his fashion sense is *chef’s kiss.*
Because of the DnD style variation, I am hoping that once enough time has passed for me to forget the story a little bit, I’ll be able to replay this and garner much of the same joy the second time around. Highly recommend. 10/10.
6. Tilted by Christine & the Queens
Since just before our big International move, I’ve been struggling to enjoy music. Almost anything I listen to starts to grate on my nerves in a short span of time. Even beloved songs that I’ve turned to for a mood boost or to help me cry were getting on my nerves.
Except this song. I don’t know why it’s been so helpful, but it really really has. I’ll listen to it five times in a row and feel my nervous system chilling out.
“I am actually good, can’t help it if we’re tilted.”
7. Rewatching & Finally Watching various Studio Ghibli movies
I don’t know that I need to do much of an endorsement on this. Studio Ghibli brings me joy! I finally watched Castle in the Sky and it was amazing! I rewatched Spirited Away, Ponyo and Howl’s Moving Castle!
I’m so glad these stories exist and I love that they are aesthetically pleasing and have such rich storylines that I am surprised by things I’d forgotten as much as I find comfort in their familiarity.
8. The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
Ruth Ozeki made an appearance on my last list too. I pre-ordered her newest book from a bookstore in Canadia, so it was waiting for me post move.
Post move I was an absolute wreck.
I had spiking anxiety and zero spoons. I was running low on meds while also trying to set up all new mental health care supports after years and years of stability. I was once again navigating the pervasive, frustrating, constant bombardment of mental illness stigma that exists in any healthcare system.
I started reading this book and it was a constant reminder that I would be okay and also that I am the expert on my own experience and mental health needs. Ozeki continues to be one of the greatest writers I’ve ever read. Her work is a gift.
9. Russian Doll
I’m late to the game on Russian Doll. I didn’t watch it when it first aired and everyone was raving about it. I didn’t have the capacity to commit to a new show at the time. But then, as I prepped for moving—navigating the amount of work alongside my growing Covid anxiety at travelling so much over two days after travelling not at all for over two years—I needed something to distract me.
Truly, this show is a work of art. I am immensely glad that Natasha Lyonne was able to make it. It’s like Groundhog Day but much, much deeper into the philosophy side of the concept.
We need other people and chasing perfection or giving into nihilism is an impossible way to live our lives.
Season two is pretty damn good too4.
10. Activism 101 for Introverts & Highly Sensitive People
(And the existence of Shannon Downey’s entire How To Be a Good Person series of offerings)
I cannot express how incredibly affirming, validating and galvanizing Omkari Williams’ Activism for Introverts workshop was. I have endless gratitude and appreciation for the way she held the space. The pacing was perfect, the content was well presented and it left me feeling energized in a way almost no online gathering or workshop I’ve participated in since March 2020 has. For days I looked around at projects I am working on and realised how much of my existence is resistance and how much of what I do is activism.
I’m so grateful too, to Shannon Downey, for using her platform to uplift and highlight Omkari’s work, and the work of so many others through her How To Be A Good Human offerings. I highly recommend signing up to Activism 101 for Introverts & Highly Sensitive People, and/or checking out more of Omkari Williams’ work in the world.
~
That’s it, another round of Things That Are Getting Me Through.
Please share in the comments things that are bringing you joy, moments of rest, and supporting your self-care.
Most “health” data we have is based on the bodies of middle and upper class white cis men and/or totally made up out of bad data like a game of telephone that started with a nonsense phrase and evolved into a different nonsense phrase. I’d say this was a huge surprise, but it really isn’t.
I could write an entire ranty essay about how irritated I got with For All Mankind. Like, has anyone involved in that show actually even talked to a not-straight person or paid any attention to history? How can you have a show that moves into the Reagan years and NO MENTION OF AIDS AND HOW HE WAS THE WORST FOR DOING NOTHING AND ALL THE QUEER ACTIVISM OF THE ERA? Would it have been so hard to have Sally Ride Ellen Waverly come out on International Television after landing on the moon? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH BETTER THE SHOW WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR IT? THAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE HISTORY I WANT GODDAMNIT.
This featured in my last blog on this subject and is a Very Cozy Game About Death and Grief and Letting Go.
May we be the ones to heal the trauma of our lineages.
Books I'm enjoying recently:
- An Immense World by Ed Yong
- This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
- Sexed Up: How Society Sexualizes Us, and How We Can Fight Back by Julia Serano