Life in a northern town

Well, I’m not feeling quite as negative as I was just before my last post. Perhaps having the mental health people ringing me each day last week to check on my wellbeing helped. What’s that scientific expression? “The act of observing something changes the thing being observed”? Something like that. Anyway, it worked. My GP also rang this morning to check on my progress, which was as riveting as a two minute telephone conversation with your homeworking doctor can be. At least he was on time for our appointment, for a change.

I just went out to the shops for the first time in three weeks, and I certainly felt it. I needed to pick up energy meter top-ups, antidepressants and, erm, some other “medication”. Apart from me nearly dying from lack of fitness, it was a pretty easy ride. It was a bit awkward at the chemist at first, as I didn’t realise I had to queue up outside. Nobody said anything when I entered the premises, even though I was using my white cane. I shouldn’t feel guilty as, well, it’s not like I can read signs or anything. There were two gossipy ladies in the queue, which was fun to listen in on. Everybody seems just as confused as everybody else about current outside behavioural rules, so I’m not in the minority. The grocery shop was smooth sailing too. It was pretty empty until, of course, I got to the till, then loads of people appeared behind me. I feel very self-conscious when I’m first in a long queue. Knowing people are watching what I’m doing makes me very anxious. At least I got plenty of booze in, which should speed time up nicely.

I’ve found some new gaming buddies to chat to this week, although they’re a little high energy. I’ve gotten so used to solo gaming recently that it’s been quite a shock to the system. I might appear offline while I regain my strength. My old gaming buddy got in touch last week to say he was going to be back online, but then realised his headset was broken, so that came to nothing. After buying him that stuff for his birthday, I’ve kinda stopped being bothered about him at all. It was a cathartic act. I’ve moved on.

My ex got in touch, as she’s hit rock bottom recently too. In fact, we both had the same crisis team on the phone. Separately, of course. We're quite the pair. Her anxiety has been so bad that she’s been noticeably stuttering over the phone, which isn’t like her. I seem to have managed to calm her down though. She’s a very sweet person, so it’s not nice hearing her so distraught. It’s been the usual stuff getting her down, so I’m not sure how long my calming influence will last. I’ll keep an eye on my phone, just in case.

I think I’m coming to the end of the good seasons of King of the Hill, so I’m glad I only invested in the 1-5 boxset. It’s now starting to feel like the later episodes of The Simpsons. The characters aren’t acting like how they did in the earlier seasons, and everything’s becoming, well, nice. You should be afraid for the Hill family that either Dale, Bill or Boomhauer will one day murder them all in a murder-suicide incident, but now they all go on wacky adventures each week and act loveably eccentric. Dale Gribble should not be loveable. He should be terrifying. The series did hit a high, though, with what I’m going to call the “Buckley Trilogy”. It includes the episodes: “Death of a Propane Salesman, Part One”, “Death of a Propane Salesman, Part Two” and “Wings of a Dope”. I’d be interested to see a version of these episodes cut together to form a mini-movie, as they almost form a strange art piece. I won’t spoil it for you, but “Wings of the Dope” had me in tears. Please do find these three episodes and watch them back-to-back, even if you’re not a fan of King of the Hill in general. They make an incredibly moving and profound work, and you will find yourself loving Luanne Platter as a character, even if you disregarded her as “kooky” before. Like the Hope storyline in Xena: Warrior Princess, the Buckley Trilogy was almost too good for the series. I would even go as far as to call it a “show-killer”, as I was left thinking “Wow, where do they go from here?!”. Which was a fair question, as “Wings of a Dope” felt like a finale. In some ways it was.

Oh, I found out that The Strokes have a new album out, which I’ve been listening to over the last few days. It follows the same melodic themes as their last two albums, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Julian Casablancas sounds as disinterested as always, but I guess there’s nothing we can do about that. His apathetic poetry about nothing-in-particular will avoid moving you as you may have come to expect. Oh well. Still, his backing band are as still perky and manage to inject a bit of life into the middling alternative rock genre. I shall continue my audio experiments!

I was pleased to discover Amy Poehler's new series Duncanville last week. It's an animated comedy about the comings and goings of a teenage boy and his family and friends. From what I just said, you can probably guess that it's not the most original thing in the world, but it's genuinely funny and entertaining. Plus, it's interesting to see a show centered around teens that has slightly more adult humour. It doesn't go to the foul-mouthed extremes of The Inbetweeners, but it certainly dares to be darker than something like Boy Meets World. Whether it's darker than the masterpiece that is Hey, Arnold! is another thing. So, yeah, go watch Duncanville. Now!

I’ve just put in an order for The Rise of Skywalker on DVD, so that’ll be interesting to finally see. I hear it’s “clusterfuck”, but I’m hoping it’ll at least be a fun one. I also ordered Terry Gilliam’s long-gestating The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which still does not have a UK home video release. I’ve had to buy a German import. Sigh. Once it arrives, I’ll probably watch the Lost in La Mancha documentary again first, just to remind myself of the troubled initial production. Gilliam’s reaction when his assistant director quits makes you want to hug him. Bless.

Well, I think I’ve said all that needs to be said. I hope you are all well. It sounds like the pubs might be open in the next couple of months, so we’ll all benefit from that.

Until then, do stay in touch, darlings.

Chicken thigh!