So, I am back. Well, kind of back. A different kind of “back.”
First, a week and a half ago, my gaming-level Windows 11 home PC crashed, hard, and wouldn’t reboot. I landed up having to take it in to the computer repair store, and they landed up having to reinstall Windows. Unfortunately, that also means that I now have to reinstall all of my software—Valve Index, Steam, etc.—all of it. So that is going to take me a while, before I’m back to where I was before. All I have installed right now is Firefox (web browser), Firestorm (SL viewer), and Discord. You know, the essentials (yes, access to Second Life is an essential).
Second, I have recently returned to regular, full-time hours at my job as an academic librarian. For the past six months I had been on half-time sick leave, dealing with a bad case of job burnout, but I have had a chance to rest a bit, and recharge a bit. One significant change from before is that I am no longer tasked with trying to get a virtual reality lab at my university library system up and running. This was an executive decision made by my new supervisor in order to bring my workload (and stress load!) back to a manageable level, and a decision that I agree with.
Especially now that my Valve Index is out of commission, and with all the VR equipment I purchased over the past four years at work moving to the VR lab project that I am no longer a part of, the only VR headset that I wear on a regular basis is my Apple Vision Pro, which I still love to use. I am making good use of my Apple Vision Pro (AVP for short), both at work (using the big, beautiful Virtual Display feature with my MacBook Pro), and at home (where I mainly use it to consume TV and movies, and to use various apps such as InSpaze, the social VR app for the Apple Vision Pro which I have written about before).
It’s now late spring/early summer up here in Winnipeg, and I have begun walking to and from work, a 6-kilometre round trip. While I can technically fit my AVP in my trusty Black Hole backpack from Patagonia, I find it’s still a bit heavy for my 6-kilometre hike, so I usually shuttle it back and forth when I know that I will be driving. 😉 I have now lost approximately 40 pounds, and hiking back and forth from work is the easiest way for me to incorporate some physical exercise into my day. On days when I don’t feel like walking the whole distance, I have a deal worked out with a friend who lives halfway between my home and my work, where I can drive halfway, park my car in her driveway, and walk the other half! And then do the same in reverse at the end of the workday. One way or another, I will get my steps in!
I’ve also been a good Canadian, participating in the countrywide boycott of the United States since Trump got re-elected, declared a trade war, and started openly musing about making Canada the 51st state. I have cancelled both my Netflix and Amazon Prime memberships, and I have switched from shopping for my groceries at Walmart to my local farmer’s market, my local Red River Co-Op, and the Great Canadian Superstore. The only exceptions to my boycott-American mindset are Apple and Second Life (both of which I associate more with California than the U.S.A.!). Like many Canadians, I refuse to travel to the United States while Trump is in office.
So, in a way, much like my Windows PC, I’m doing a reboot. I’m feeling good, enjoying being back at work, and feeling grateful for the support that I have had around me while I was healing these past six months. I’m feeling rested, relaxed, and recharged, and I am looking forward to the next chapter of my life.
As for the blog, well, I still have reserved my decision on what to do with that. I’m not sure when—or if—I will return to full-time blogging. We’ll see, is all I can say for now. Where I go from here is entirely up to me—and that’s a pretty good feeling!
