Yes, you read that right – good things! Relatively speaking, anyway. I know a lot of horrible stuff probably still happened somewhere to somebody. But for me, November was a much needed break from the eldritch horror of tentacles and words without vowels that has been 2020.
Let’s get the main one out of the way: The people of the United States of America have voted for Joe Biden over Donald Trump as their next President!! And yes, it shouldn’t have been that close, and yes, there are some very legitimate concerns about Trump not wanting to surrender the White House, but let’s put that aside for a second and talk about how for many years now, it’s felt like evil rules the world. Men with thoughts of money and power have ascended to the coveted seat of world leader and divided the common people with carefully rehearsed lies or incompetent blundering. I remember some time ago feeling optimistic about humankind embracing modern perspectives, but these last few years have seen so much regression on that front that it breaks my heart. So much more hate crime, so much more fearmongering and division and cruelty. So much infuriating political rhetoric about non-political matters.
I watched the election through the gaps between my fingers as the frightening first numbers came in. Memories of countless elections past returned, that feeling of hopelessness as thousands of disadvantaged people voted for the government that impoverished them due to some loud or silver-tongued individual selling them lies. It’s a bloody familiar feeling at this point. (Seriously. Fuck the Tories.) But as the hours and days passed, as the postal votes came in, hope began to take root, and my not-so-great overtime shift at work turned into one of the best shifts ever when the news finally broke that Biden had won. No matter the numbers – which are less depressing too when you look at the stats of individual votes – hope and love and knowledge had finally won, in one of the most influential places in the world. Because, like it or not, whatever the United States do, the United Kingdom seems to follow, be it war, preference of politicians, or fast food chains.
But that’s not all! Don’t take this blog post as a source scientific information because I am absolutely not an expert, but by the looks of things a vaccination for Covid is on the way! And it has like 90-95% effectiveness! That’s so good! This long nightmare may finally be over soon, though I hasten to add that while we’re all excited about the removal of restrictions to our lives, this pandemic will never leave those who have lost loved ones to the virus. Plus, the way we’ve collectively handled this virus – at least in the UK and the US – should serve as a massive red flag as to our effectiveness to tackle global issues that threaten our very lives. Disinformation, politicisation of preventative measures and general idiocy has cost us irreversibly.
Good things, though – this post is about good things! Well, personally, it’s been an absolutely fantastic time to have the hobbies that I do. Firstly, on the general gaming side of things, the new consoles launched and for the first time ever I got one on launch day! I’m doing the £20 a month for 2 years thing with my Xbox Series S & Game Pass Ultimate, and so far I’m having a grand old time. For more on that, head to my sister blog where I’ll be discussing my first month with Xbox in detail on December 10th. Furthermore, on the slightly more niche side of my hobby, the latest World of Warcraft expansion just released, and it’s absolutely fantastic. I’ve been playing since 2014 and I’ve never felt so invested in the game’s world and story.
2020 has been pretty fucking awful, but November for me was a much needed reminder that good things can and do happen, and hobbies can shine outside of just being a necessary escape. Here’s hoping November was a portent of things to come.
Perpetually Perturbed 