Stop

I simply MUST stop reading the news. I'm a worrier, you see, so all the talk about the credit crunch, and the climate change, and the war on terror was bad enough. But I'm also (and specially) a hypochondriac. So, as you can imagine, a pandemic is my worst fear. I'm coming up with all sorts of plans and possible scenarios in my head, and at the same time, all sorts of reasons why I'd never need to put these plans into action, because deep down, I'm an optimistic hypochondriac, if such thing exists.
The newspapers, on the other hand, are pretty sensationalist. So I'm considering starting a "Think before you read" challenge, make sure it's good news before I read it. And I'm happy to report that there WAS a piece of good news on the BBC website for me to read today! The weather forecasters have predicted that the UK will have a "hot and dry" summer. (Now you realize how British I have become, that I even share this weather obsession with my fellow citizens. It's in moments like this that I think maybe it's time to move back to Spain, or go to a completely different country, one with warm weather, and without swine flu, if there is any. One that I may be able to call home.)
Now, I understand the importance of being informed and the many benefits of instant transmission of news, specially in times like this. I studied Journalism at University, four years of listening, thinking, talking about the value of the fourth power. But sometimes, we can get so carried away with the constant dripping of bad news that we think the end of the world is approaching (or is that only me?). The idea of deciding what information I allow to get into my head and what I choose to ignore seems very liberating. If only for a weekend.

The simple things...

Even Anna Wintour is saying it: "value is in". And if Vogue is telling you not to overspend or be too showy, well, that's a serious sign that something is changing. People keep talking about the crisis, the credit crunch, the recession, the current situation, the whatever you want to call it. It's in the news (it's specially in the news, journalists are having an easy time nowadays, no need to go looking for news!) and here in England, it's replaced the weather as our favourite topic.I join in, because I do worry about it, of course. But I can't help but thinking that this is merely a readjustment, and a needed one. Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking this matter lightly, I understand that many, many people are losing their jobs, their savings, their houses. I, for one, has had to put many plans on hold, as my employer cannot guarantee that they would need me after the end of the year. But still. This was going to happen, sooner or later, and in many ways, it's a good thing. We were all in a race to accumulate things, things, things. Clothes, gadgets, cars, houses that we couldn't afford. If the "current situation" brings an appreciation for a simpler life, it won't be a bad thing. Fresh air in the room, a whole day spent in bed, balloons in the hallway... those simple things.
Photos from Flickr and A glamorous little side project