Yep. I haven't caught the 'Vid yet, and neither has my brother who is a nurse's aid, and neither has my mother who never leaves home anyway. I am still alive and kicking and not much to say except lockdown sucks but I'm Still Alive.
I was supposed to be back in Dallas by now. Well, I guess, technically it looked like I would be spending a couple of years in Tulsa, thanks to a relocation program I qualified for, where they basically pay a large portion of your rent and they give you a monthly stipend if you come live in their shitty town. There are programs like this in about ten cities I know of, a few in the Northeast (uh, a world of NO), but also some midwestern states and a couple of others in the south, but I applied to the Tulsa one because it was a.) only four hours from Dallas, which believe it or not is still a comfortable drive, and b.) well, there is no b, it was just free money. Despite saving up more than I've ever had in my life, I still know a good deal when I see one, and having spent some time with a college guy in Tulsa a while back (now THAT is something I should write about... wow), I knew Tulsa was manageable. Besides, I'd have just do my regular stuff during the week, and then occasionally on weekends gone to Dallas to hang out with the friends who are still there.
Then COVID-19 came along, and this nerd (me), who's read The Andromeda Strain more times than most Christians have read even just passages from the Bible, knew he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. The Trump rallies there sealed it, as did learning about the *edit* Tulsa Race Massacre (not Juneteenth as I had previously written) thanks to HBO's Watchmen series, something I kinda knew about but didn't really grasp. Tulsa's really hurting for an influx of residents, because they do not have a great reputation right now.
It's funny, I have been working remotely for nearly four years now, and I remember back when I was dating Dale trying to talk my boss in Lexington if I could work remotely for him since my laptop was better than the tower he had set up for me. He always said that would not ever work. He's called me twice since March asking if I was looking for work and offering a remote position. And everybody works remotely and it won't go back to the old ways easily. I wonder if my life would have been better if he'd offered me that back when I asked it? I did not return his calls.
(Livejournal rose from the dead to remind me that today is Dale's birthday. I know he is Still Alive. I wonder if he even cares that I am.)
The job continues to go incredibly. I have changed so much in my sound design, improving it as we get more and more tools. I kind of get the impression that my immediate boss thinks I would fly the coop easily, but I do not intend to, unless something really incredible pops up. I mean, I have applied to a few (A FEW, MEANING TWO) places, but I do not expect anything to come from them. They were dream jobs, and that kind of things just never happens to me.
I'm just glad I am not stuck in some menial job like the phone bank I was training for before my current position was offered. I get to be creative, and I get paid for it. It's like playing for a living. It's like being on an E-Sports team without the groupies.
So why do I still feel kinda down sometimes?