#WFH Diaries: Mathieu Vinciguerra of WNP Paris
As confinement continues in most parts of the world, we're checking in with creative people to see how they're faring. Here's an update from WNP Paris executive creative director Mathieu Vinciguerra.
Give us a one-sentence bio of yourself.
My name is Mathieu Vinciguerra, and I'm a 40-year-old video game enthusiast, comic book collector, board game player, and idea-loving ECD at WNP Paris.
Where are you living right now, and who's with you?
I'm lucky to live in a house not far from Paris, which makes the whole lockdown thing much easier to deal with. Especially with an extremely cute, but exhausting, 3½-year-old boy, two fat cats, and two dogs. Thankfully, my wife has our little zoo under control, Joe Exotic-style (but without the weird stuff and cheap music video).
What's your work situation like at the moment?
F***** busy. All those little things I planned on doing during the lockdown will have to wait a little bit longer, I guess.
Describe your socializing strategy.
I try to keep up with people and call them as much as I can, but time goes so fast between work and the kid that I'm falling behind. I am socializing more with strangers late at night, however, by shooting them on Call of Duty Warzone.
How are you dealing with childcare, if applicable?
As best as possible. My wife is loaded with work as well, so we split the days in half to alternate between work and intense sessions of "How many times did I tell you not to do this?," "Oh my God, I can't wait for school to start again!" and "What?! School is closed until next September? Noooooooooo …"
What are you reading?
I'm finishing The Dark Tower—not the shitty movie, the 4,250-page saga by Stephen King. The rest of the time, I'm reading professional emails and bedtime stories. For my mental health, I decided early on to stop reading the news every day so the survivalist in me would stop hoarding toilet paper.
What are you watching?
We just finished Tiger King on Netflix. Nice ride. Now we are switching things up and starting Ozark, Season 3.
What are you listening to?
Mostly feel-good music. For example, I'm listening to a lot of African Soukous music like the track "Amour M'ba" by Soukous Star. It always gives me lots of energy and puts me in a good mood.
How are you staying fit?
The answer is simple: I'm not.
Have you taken up a hobby?
Sadly, no. I wish I could take classes, like Z-Brush, but ain't nobody got time for that these days.
Any tips for getting necessities?
Yes. If there's something you don't like doing, do it very badly once, and your wife will never ask you to do it again. (See answer below for example.).
An awkward moment since all this started.
At the beginning of the confinement, I tried to play it cool, but I was so anxious about not being able to get food. It took me going out and buying the entire stock of quinoa at the grocery store before I realized I needed to calm down and that there was not going to be a massive food shortage. My wife was not pleased about the lifetime supply of quinoa I got (see answer above), and I felt a little embarrassed. Especially since I don't even like quinoa.
Best work email you got since all this started.
The ones that said our employees who got the virus were doing better.
An aha! moment since all this started.
Every moment I spend with my kid. Like every parent, I'm complaining about how difficult it is, and how I can't wait to give my son back to his grandparents when this is all over. But seriously, we all know that work makes us miss so many precious moments with our children that we should almost thank the lockdown for the opportunity to share more quality time with those cute little … Wait a second, what the...? WHAT DID I TELL YOU?! STOP PLAYING WITH DADDY'S TOOLS, GOD DAMMIT!!
What's your theory on how this is going to play out?
I honestly hope things won't go back to normal. I wish the opposite, because what we considered "normal" before definitely was not. It wasn't normal for people nor for the planet.
Instead, I hope things get better. I hope we learn from this experience and develop more respectful ways of being, living and working, so that ultimately the entire planet will benefit. I believe this crisis is the warning humanity needed to wake up and rise to the occasion, as a wiser, more fraternal species.
I wish everyone nothing but the best, or as we say in French, "je nous dis merde" ["I wish us luck. More or less"].
