Isolation Journal 42

I was a bit groggy getting up this morning and I ended up having to do loads of tidying of the coffee machine to be able to make a coffee.

I had a slice of toast and biscoff spread for breakfast, did my MS Teams and did my forecast and cracked on with searching for a candidate for a role and managed to find 5 by the end of the day as I did a much much wider search.

I had Pilates online at 12pm and had a total of 2 coffees.  During the class I had to get up as Qubit came in with a live mouse, the mouse managed to escape from him and run under the wardrobe, I couldn't get it out, but I managed to rescue it later, I hope it was ok after I let it go outside.

I made bratwurst and potato waffles for lunch and then a candidate called me at 1.30pm so it went cold before I finished eating.  My friend Kirstie texted as she had some cake from her baby shower to drop off, so I had a chat with her at the front door.  I snacked on two mini chomps in my office room.

I then took on 2 new roles for Rachel in my team and ended up working until around 7pm.  My friend Hayley texted me and was in the area and so popped over for a coffee and a catch up in the garden (I put the camping chairs out)  with her husband Flower, they're moving to Whitby and so getting their house ready.  Alan cooked Hello Fresh for tea and it was a tasty chicken fajita.

I then came back in to do some more work and upload CVs onto a portal, it took me 2 hours to upload 4 CVs and it was hard to watch Spooks as I was doing it, so after a while I switched to Catfish and Alan went up to bath and bed.  We did have some Sticky Toffee Pudding and cream beforehand though.

I also swapped messages with the lady who owns North Shire where we got married and are going for our anniversary in September and asked for some advice around Whitby for my friend Hayley.

Alan's app has been loaded for beta testing and so I have asked a few DJ contacts to find out if they can help.  Alan was a bit down today and I feel bad that I've been so busy with work and catching up with friends.

Isolation Journal 41

I managed about 7 hours of sleep last night, must get to bed earlier tonight.  I got up and had some yoghurt, homegrown raspberries and blackcurrants and granola for breakfast and then a naughty slice of toast with biscoff spread.  

We watched a bit of telly - Alan suggested that I might like Spooks and so we watched an episode together from 2002 and it was great, as he described a more upscale version of The Bill (That I was always obsessed with!).  

We then headed out to Berts Barrow to meet my friend Hannah and her husband and two boys.  Hannah has heart failure and whilst hadn't had a shielding letter is being very cautious so it's only the second time that I've seen her since lockdown started.  Whilst we were waiting for her to arrive we went into the shop and bought some honey, cream, sticky toffee pudding, cherry tomatoes and cherries and spent our £20 wedding present from one of Alan's colleagues Danielle.  We then put on our masks and went into the strawberry field and picked our own strawberries.  When we'd filled our punnets we went up to pay for them and then went to Fairburn Ings via our house so we could use the bathroom and Alan could make a coffee for Chris.  

We then had a delicious picnic on the benches and had homemade bacon and cheese quiche, pizza, coleslaw, salad, chicken and some of the strawberries and cream.  We then had a nice walk around the reserve and used my app to find some plants and animals.

We drove home and I did the recycling and took the rubbish out, hoovered and mopped the floors and cleaned the bathroom and went out for a run.  I felt a bit breathless during the run, but I think that it's because I've got a slight bit of a cold and I was pushing myself fairly hard and did 6.5k in about 35 minutes.  I added it to my "notparkrun" record for the week.

I had a bath and Alan cooked steak, padron peppers and chips for tea and made a couple of lynchberg lemonades.  We watched more Spooks and then I prepped the strawberries and some cream for dessert.

Isolation Journal 40

Today was a bit of a lazy day, it must have been around 11am at least before I peeled myself out of bed, the late night and booze made me feel slightly hungover.  

I had yoghurt, granola and blueberries for breakfast and picked some raspberries and blackcurrants on the way back from visiting the compost heap.  I chatted to my friend Lauren on messenger.

We watched a bit of The Office (UK version) and then I got ready to do a virtual escape room with my friend Hannah's son who is 10.   It was a free Harry Potter themed one and done by someone from Peters Township Public Library Page and I specifically gave myself a Great Hall background on Zoom.  I chatted to Alex for a bit afterwards and then played with the whiteboard function and shared some of the wedding photos with him.

I then ended up chatting to my brother for about an hour and a half as he's applying for a promotion in the NHS so I was giving him some advice as he's not had an interview for about 17 years!  He also did some video chat with his 4 kids which was busy and noisy!

Alan made an orzotto with chorizo and courgette and I ate it whilst on the phone to my brother.  

I came back in to watch some tv and tried to start a film - uncut gems, but I kept falling asleep and so Alan put something else on and then I woke up and got up and made the Hello Fresh receipe for tea that should have been Prawn and chorizo soft tacos, but had chicken subsituted for the prawn.  It was a tasty dish.  We watched some more of The Office and then when our food had gone down (and after the Amazon Prime had arrived) we then went out for a run and got ourselves up to 5K and so I could add it to my Not parkrun table, my running this past two weeks has bee far more sluggish.

I then tidied the kitchen and managed to spill the giant bag of sugar everywhere!  Alan made Lynberg Lemonade cocktails that were great and we watched the end of the UK Office and I had a shower and watched some Celebrity Masterchef.

Isolation Journal 39

Alan had booked to go into work this morning so his alarm went off before mine and I was quite groggy.  He went downstairs and Qubit was in the process of killing a mouse.  I was still groggy and sleepy.  He left around 8.50am and my work phone went off at 9am and it was a client, I grabbed a coffee and took on a new role.  It was a 3 coffee day today and I had cornflakes for breakfast.

I then had a lot of work to do, it's been really busy and I had a video interview an my appraisal.  I'd finished writing my appraisal at around 1am as I am a classic ENFP and leave it always to the last minute.

Alan ended up coming home early as a colleague hadn been annoying and inconsiderate and allowed an engineer into the area he needed to be working, he didn't feel safe and so he came home.  

I then had the dinner for lunch from last night for lunch after Alan got home and put the joint of ham into the slow cooker to cook for dinner with some orange juice, mustard, salt, pepper and onion.

I did the interview and then into my appraisal that went well, it's been a tough 6 months, especially since Covid, but I think my boss is realising that I have been able to manage and develop people in a positive way.  I feel much more confident in my abilities as well as I've helped one of my team really succeed well in a very challenging period of time.  We set some goals and I fefel actually very positive about the next few months.

I then was very busy taking feedback on interview for a role that I've been recruiting since February and I arranged some second interviews for next week.

I finished work late, past 7pm and then I went down and made some wedges and got Alan to help me prep a pineapple and put the ham in the oven.  I logged onto Instagram live to watch my friend Lauren's friend Lorraine do her "Cocktagicom" cocktails and comedy session and my convo around Terry Wogan postcards that my Dad had pulled from a skip at the BBC intrigued her enough to get her to add me to instagram live, it was fun!

I finished off dinner, poured a beer for me and Alan and we turned on Freaks which I wasn't overly impressed by.  There were parts like the pop up book that I liked, but some parts were very repetitve and it wasn't a very surprising conclusion, although perhaps I was multitasking.

We then turned on the Jeffrey Epstein documentary series, he's a seriously scary person, I don't understand how he had the time and ability to do what he did.

Isolation Journal 38

Today I woke up early as I'd booked a Covid test at the drive through regional centre at a nearby park and ride for 8am and so I was up at 7.10am which is a good hour and a half earlier than recently and I had breakfast (apple, yoghurt and granola with coffee) and fed the cats.  I'm helping with the app for monitoring my daily symptoms and it asked me to go for a test, so I obliged.  It was different to the other time when I went back in May and had to open my window and had someone swab for me, this time I was given my own test (they dropped it through the passenger window) and I had to put the swab to the back of my throat and also do my nose - it's not a pleasant test.  I then had to drop it into a box next to my window after they'd stepped away.  I got the results back today and it was negative, which wasnt a surprise.

I was back at home for 8.30am and logged on for work at 9am as usual and kicked off with a call and then had a few bits and pieces to discuss with my boss and then a few prep calls for candidates.  I've come to a conclusion that I worry very much about some calls or disputes about things that then distract me from actually getting on with things, I think one thing about lockdown is it gives a bit too much time for self reflection and less ability to form context from speaking to colleagues.  I had Pilates again at 12pm and then Alan cooked rostis and I put a couple of bratwurst in the overn for lunch and then we had them with sriracha mayo - the house smelled like the German market.  We had 2 deliveries when I was doing pilates, one was a surprise from one of the girls in my team a card an some chocolates to say thank you for some of the help I'd been giving her and the other was a box of flowers that I'd ordered from Arena Flowers as a new 2 weekly subscription - some beautiful blue hydragena and they make me happy every time I see them!  There were 6 blooms with eucalyptus foliage and enough for 2 vases.  I also had a lovely print of a runner from my friend to thank me for my help with the council tax - it's been a very good post week.

Work was very busy with a few things to sort out and I also ran the weekly quiz which was based on peoples LinkedIn profiles and guessing people from bits of photos and also from their testimonials.  

Alan cooked dinner which was a hello fresh pork and rice recipe that I later finished off for lunch tomorrow.  The delivery for toilet paper, natural deodorant and soap arrived from Ethical Superstore which was great.

I then finished off a few more things and then got ready for Guides which was at 7pm and needed some water and bowls prepping, I managed to get ready just in time and they had a fun meeting which was about stress and relaxation.  Kirstie did a guided river and leaves relaxation that was great.  

I was aware that Alan hadn't been out for a few days so I encouraged him to go for a run and we did a fairly good pace for around 5K and had a sit down and chat on the lawn before going in and getting showered and after I'd finished off lunch for tomorrow and ate a lollyand  I cleaned the kitchen and then had a shower and turned on my computer to write my appraisal.  

Alan is a bit down so I went and gave him a hug and got Maya to sit next to him.  

Isolation Journal - 36

It was my not day off day off today, but I wanted to be on the first call with Katie who is joining our team so I dialled in and then we had another call at 10am nationally that I dialled in, both of them I was in my run kit and Maya joined in!  I had yoghurt, granola, fig and granny smith and 2 coffees for breakfast.

I did a few bits and pieces of work and came up with an idea for an online work book club - I'm very pleased with the name - Page Turners.

I then went for a run, I needed to catch up to hit my running 1000 miles in a year target and today I got to 503 and needed to be on 500 today so I'm back on track!  I was fairly fast around my circuit of South Milford and Lumby and covered 5 miles in 43 mins.  I felt a bit chesty, but I'm mostly sure it's not covid as I logically wouldn't be able to run sub 8 minute miles if it was ill, I bet it's mostly paranoia!  I got a note from the Covid app because I'd had a bit of a sore throat 2 days ago to say that I can get a test if I want one, even though they don't necessarily think that I will test positive as they want to contrast symptoms reported.

I had a shower and then made lunch for me and Alan - a salad some olives, couscous and grilled halloumi.  I finished listening to "What Alice Forgot" and I really enjoyed this book, although I wasn't sure if the ending was really what I'd hoped for or expected, I guess I was almost hoping for a more twisty ending.

I then got my mask ready and sanitiser and left for my 2.40pm appointment to give blood.  I went to a different site today as it was closer and had parking nearby.  The emails took pains to tell me not to be early and arrive at the specific time so proudly getting out of my car at 2.36pm, putting my mask on and walking the 3 minutes to the donation centre I walked through the door and approached the reception desk.  "What time is your appointment?" the masked lady asked sharply, I looked at my watch "in five seconds" I said smiling behind my mask "you have to wait outside until your appointment time" "but it's 5 seconds?!" "you have to wait outside" so I walked out and then straight back in again at 2.40pm "you have to wait until you are called!" she barked at me, "You didn't bloody say that though!" I thought as I waited in the spitting rain.  She called in the 2.40pm appointments about 2 minutes later and I had some covid questions asked quickly and was instructed to go and wash my hands and then go to the "welcome" desk.  I did so and sat in a waiting area for 40 minutes drinking isotonic drink and watching the lady be short with a few more people, some were slightly more direct with their thoughts on her manner!  I had a trainee take me through to ask me questions and then his manager did my haemoglobin test which was fine, I sat down again briefly and then went to donate which didn't take very long at all.  I then had to navigate a mask alongside my cup of squash and penguin biscuit!  I felt fine and so walked back to the car and drove home and rung my boss on the way.

I dropped a feedback form to the NHS Blood with some suggestions for how they could improve things to avoid the weird situation I was in and then I dialled in for a catch up call with Hayley and Sam which was nice, Hayley has been doing some workshops on zoom which sounds like they are going well.  

I then cooked dinner - Hello Fresh Lamb Curry with Naan and initially I was listening to the High Low Podcast, but then called my Mum and Dad for a chat, they seem to be doing ok and are doing a few walks around the park when it's quiet.  The good news it my Mum has got a new phone and it's an Iphone, so hopefully she'll be able to take and send and receive photos a bit better.

We watched a bit of Mock the Week and then Alan went to record some video for his app and I worked on writing an 8 week training plan for people to get back to running with hyde park harriers and planned guides meeting for tomorrow.

I'm still feeling a little bit chesty and a bit of phlegm and my paranoia about this isn't helping!

Isolation Journal 35

I didn't sleep very well, only about 5hrs 22 mins and I woke up and found that the cats had caught a mouse and were chasing it around, it was still alive.  I caught it, but it managed to escape and got down a crack between the wall and the monks chair.  It's weird, I think Tuesday has become my new Monday, I really struggled, I felt grumpy, stressed, irritable, again I think it's probably PMT.  I had some cornflakes and a couple of coffees.

I did a video session on how to fill out a short order form.  I then had a few more video meets, a national public sector one and then another about temp.  

I felt grumpy and awkward most of the day.  Alan whipped up a salad and some cheese and meats for lunch and I tried to help him with the insurance claim for our BA flight back from Barbados in March.

I was a bit more productive in the afternoon with some good calls and I also wrote a good quiz for Thursday 2 rounds, I think colleagues will hopefully enjoy them.

I had thought about going for a run, but my right buttock was sore, so I haven't gone today and so obviously now feel a bit guilty about it all.

I cooked dinner - a Hello Fresh sausage with bacon jam and salad and sweet potato fries and we had a couple of ice lollies.

I have snacked far too much today on both chocolate, meats and I also had 2 cups of early grey tea.  We watched Athlete A which was horrendous, I can't believe that these girls suffered so much for so long, it was really shocking.  

I added some photos to a photo competition that my running club has been running and watched some cat fish.