Dutch Lock Down Day Forty Four

Yesterday was OpenShift Commons.

Today was Red Hat Summit day one.

Tomorrow is Red Hat Summit day two.

And.

YES, there are so many amazing things / benefits/ knowledge drops / apps / chat rooms / kickass puzzles / contests, sessions, keynotes, demos, workshops, interviews and such.

But.

I’m EXHAUSTED.

But first the news:

• More than 1500 intensive care beds needed for next three years
• Coronavirus Crisis Increasing Inequality in Netherlands Society
• King’s Day 2020: 719 social distancing fines given out

There are TONS of articles out there about how to make a virtual conference not suck and all kinds of warnings and I think Red Hat has covered most of the bases and is kicking ass.

But.

While there’s great advice for organizers.

There’s also a ton of articles out there for attendees.

But.

I’m not JUST attending.

I’m hosting.

Working.

Responding to chats.

And attending sessions.

Posting.

Last night I wondered why I went to bed EXHAUSTED at TEN O’CLOCK LOCAL.

And, then, it occurred to me.

OF COURSE it’s more exhausting.

Not only am I working and doing all the regular stuff I’d do at a live conference, but also parenting and partnering and living and, oh, yeah, #PANDEMIC

I brought it up with the community, “WHY IS THIS SO HARD?!?”

This is what I fear about virtual conferences. It's far too easy to be distracted and take that call, or meeting, or answer that email which then means I miss the virtual conference. Add to that the need to try and engage with the attendees while still being distracted…

— Jeremy is so done with #SocialDistancing (@IAmJerdog) April 28, 2020

Okay, so let’s ignore, for a second, that this is a new experience that we’ve never done before and that there’s a pandemic and all the stress that goes along with it.

Wait.

Let’s ignore all that for, like, SEVERAL MINUTES.

Ah, that feels nice.

But, yeah, ignoring all that, we’re still at our desk on our computers responding to email and stay on top of all the other stuff cause, ultimately, we’re just at our desk, right?

AND then there’s the fact that it IS a pandemic so kids are home and partner is there and you’re not spending the night at a hotel or otherwise getting balancing, beautiful, recovery time in a blessed quiet introvert room.

I mean, ahem, HOTEL room.

I don’t feel so bad about the exhaustion anymore.

Also, I look ADORABLE in a onesie.

ASIDE: the onesie is actually SUPER comforting, too. It’s SUPER WARM and makes me feel a bit playful and silly and helps lighten the experience and remember to breathe.

Tomorrow I’ll be a giraffe.

And give myself permission to take more breaks.

And remember to breathe.