Mr Dr Ross and I are slightly bonkers. This is the caveat for everything that we do and live out in our house. Lockdown has somehow emphasised our bonkersness, but not in a grumpy, argumentative kind of way. Rather it’s that we’re bonkers in seeing new things we can try and do and experiment with professionally during these funny times.
Mr Dr Ross has migrated a whole load of his work programmes for young people online. I don’t understand the scale of it entirely, but I know it’s a big thing. He’s written an article about what he’s doing and he really does sound rather clever. He’s busy and running things here there and everywhere. COVID-19 has forcibly revolutionised how he and his team are working, and it’s very, very cool. But he is busy and normal service is just that: busy.
I’ve migrated a large amount of my work online for school, all of my work online for tutor support and then started looking at new ways of engaging with research online too. I’ve presented at a conference virtually and addressed a committee from the Office of Science and Technology via using Zoom; that day was my first ever time using Zoom and I loved the interface! My research has popped since COVID-19 has rocked our world and I’m working like a trooper on various projects: a book chapter proposal; a paper; a funding application and a gazillion more. And now I’m evaluating a 2-year Local Authority Project. Normal service is resumed, but was never left. It is just busy.
We are very lucky that we’re in a good place and work is developing in a positive way for us. the underlying ‘mission’ of both our work is to support and empower marginalised people, whose voices might be lost in the noise of everyday life. COVID-19 has made that even more apparent. Neither me, nor Mr Dr Ross is willing, or ethically able, to let people fall by the wayside. So our ‘new normal’ continued our ‘old normal’ and just got busier. We wrote and we talked, and we carry on doing so. We’re busy and working. But it has value.
People’s voices and ability to engage with their ‘normal service’ are our occupations and COVID-19 has reinforced that hugely. We both do stuff and whatnot, in projects or 1-off tasks to make sure that our busyness improves and bonkers normal old-normalises someone’s current, oppressive ‘normal’
Busyness is our business, but we’d not do it differently!
