Hibernating

Lockdown: Day Seven

Mood: It will be better after a walk

I found this scene in the city yesterday as I went to collect my mail.

What is normally an hour round trip to collect the mail, with a third of that time trying to find a park, took just over half an hour. 

The streets are empty. And rightly so. We're in lockdown. People are heeding the warning. Allegedly this D-Variant COVID is far more virulent than other strains.  But collecting your mail once a week is a necessary evil, and being one of the invisible, mask-wearing, middle-aged women, who nobody gives a toss about, a quick trip in is going to harm nobody (It's also in my five kilometre, soon to be ten kilometre radius, so ner....)

The police were practicing their traffic hand signals on the corner of Queen and Bourke Streets. Not much traffic there to run them over. Good for the newbies. 

I found a park just around the corner near the post office. For a change I didn't have to beg the Parking Fairy for help. 

I was in and out in five minutes, stopping for a quick chat with Tom the postie and grabbing an egg and bacon roll from a nearby cafe on the way back to the car (Which was magnificent, toasted up in my new Kmart issue, $19 sandwich press.)

But unlike the last big lockdown, the city doesn't feel dead. 

It's not a strange sight anymore, this empty city. 

I prefer to think the city is hibernating. Everything is shut down for a reason. Life goes on around the place, but it's at a quieter, necessary pace. 

The trains and trams are still running. 

The coffee shop guys is ready with a quick smile and a chat. 

There is a wonder in driving through an empty city - once described by Catherine Deveny as being like of Good Friday at 5 am. 

But some things remain the same. 

Cyclists remain annoying. 

They're doing road and building works all around. 

There are a few people, inhabitants, city dwellers, out on their walks, with or without dogs. 

It just feels different this time. 

We know we can come back from this. 

Today's Song: 

Traitor

Lockdown: Day 6

Mood: Just okay, Want chocolate. Can't have chocolate. 

I woke to an empty bed this morning. 

On rising, and going out to the living room, I found this. 

Exactly this pose. Exactly the same place. 

He didn't sleep next to my legs, which is where he normally sleeps. He slept on the couch. 

I wander what I have done to deserve this. 

I like sleeping with the cat. I like waking up to find him snuggled up next to me, not that he stays there once I'm awake.

As I write this, he's sitting next to me on the windowsill, where he deigns to let me pat him or kiss his back. 

But he slept on the couch last night, and I think he's a bit of a traitor. 

Don't I do enough for him? I mean, I feed him, brush him (not that he likes it that much, but it's good for him). I clip his toenails and clear his poo box daily for turds. I'm nice to him.  My right arm looks like his scratching post. 

Is this payback for bringing him into an online meeting yesterday? 

Doesn't he love me any more? 

How can I gain his love back? 

I don't know what more I can do. 

Today's song: 

Yeah Yeah Yeah

Lockdown: Day 5

Mood: Yeah

I'm looking for the good things today, considering it's pretty much a given we'll remain locked down for at least a few more days after Thursday. 

And I'm counting my blessings:

• I have a job. 
• I have a roof over my head
• I can pay my bills
• There's food in the fridge
• I can shelter in place
• I have friend who check up on me
• I've got a nice river to walk along
• I have nice workmates who I can chat to and swap pet stories with
• The latest installment of Lucifer is really quite good (Handjobaliel - an angel - love it)
• I have friends who are in my 5 km bubble who I can go for a walk with
• There are friends I can zoom to have lunch with
• I have a cat (Not sure if this is a good or bad thing)
• I've got lots to read
• I've had my first COVID vaccination (Astra Zeneca - second one due early August)
• I have lemons and I've made soup
• I've still got the weights from the gym from the first lockdown so I can do personal training in the living room over the computer
• My mental state is stable

And for all of these things I am very grateful, and I'm very, very aware of my privilege. 

And I just have to keep telling myself this. 

Everything is going to be alright. (Listen to this - it's awesome)

 

Today's song: 

May Check in - June Goals

 Lockdown: Day 4

Mood: Level

It's that time of the month again - time to see what I've got done this month and get some goals going for the next month. 

So here's what I set for May.

Read four books:

Blitzed this one. I finished six books this month, and thankfully only one was a crappy romance. 

So I read/listened to: 

• Romancing Mr Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (Crappy romance)
• On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (Some of the best prose I've ever read)
• Working Class Boy by Jimmy Barnes (I just want to give him a hug)
• All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton (A very special book)
• Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (On audiobook, with a full cast - it was superlative. Now I want to read it in print. Great book)
• The Wife and The Widow by Christian White (Crime novel - really enjoyable - even thought it's not my preferred genre)

See a film a week:

Pending and lockdown and lockdown scuppered this one. But I saw two films. Six Minutes to Midnight, and June Again. The latter was better than the first one, but the first one was interesting from a historical standpoint. Hope this lockdown ends soon. I want to see Cruella. 

Walk 100 kilometres.

I've got this on default. As I haven't done a complete tally of my scheduled walks, but I have taken a tally of my fitbit and I'm at 190 kilometres as of the end of yesterday. Not a bad effort at all even if only half of it was scheduled 'walks' - but I walk a lot. With lockdown, I make sure I get in my 10000 steps and I've been doing regular five kilometre walks - some days, I've been doing more. 

Just write.

I've been doing this. And I'm getting somewhere. Yay. 

Minimise discretionary spending:

I've been pretty good with this too. There have been one or two small slips, but I've been good with not buying crap on the internet. A treat runs to a packet of white chocolate raspberry bullets. 

And my goals for June: 

Read four books. 

I really like sticking to this. My reading is under control. I know I have to re-read Honeybee for book group this month and I've just started the last of the Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light. With this lockdown probably going to be extended, it's something to aim for. 

Exercise an hour a day

A bit of a no-brainer this one, especially as it keeps me sane. 

Eliminate as much sugar from my diet

This is the big one for this month. I've slipped down the sugar path again and it's time for it to stop. Time to be hardcore. I want this. (I will have to be good for the weekend away down the Great Ocean Road, if that happens - I hope it happens). 

Have the Masons books 90% done by the end of the month.

It's a necessary evil. I get these dreadful admin jobs. The sooner I can get it out the way the better. Not having a printer at home makes it a bit harder. But the sooner they are out the way the better. 

Have two vegetarian days a week. 

This is something I want to try - and it shouldn't be too hard to do. 

Limit discretionary spending.

Alas, I'm going to be in povo mode for another month. Again, this won't be too hard if the lockdown remains. 

Today's song:

Journal Buddies

Lockdown: Day 3

Mood: Middling - the cat is being a git. 

Today I am looking forward to the following: 

• Using my designated 2 hour exercise period to go collect my mail in the city
• Catherine Deveny's Write Here, Write Now session
• Cleaning the floors
• Doing some reading and writing
• Talking to the cat

Hopefully this lockdown will be over on Thursday night - there are no promises as nearly 15000 people are in 14 day quarantine, this isn't a certainly. But at least this is getting the vaccination rates up. But that is another story.

Questions, as always, courtesy of Bev at Sunday Stealing. 

1. When do you feel the world will stop?

Will the world ever really stop? I'm not sure what they mean by this. When will the world disappear? Well, environmentally, if we don't do something soon we probably have a couple of hundred years if we beleive the scientists and if we are lucky. On a more existential level, I think the world will end for me when I die - I'll have no concept of the world after that. Oh, there's a thought. 

2. What is your personal motto?

JFDI. Just F*cking Do It. Gets you through things . 

3. What is the greatest gift you ever received?

I'm not really into material things, but I do reckon  my god given sense of humour and intelligence have been the greatest gifts ever bestowed on me. 

4. Who ist a leader who inspires you?

Jacinda Ardern (New Zealand Prime Minister) and Angela Merkel (German Prime Minister) are both women who I have a hell of a lot of time for. Ordinary women doing great things, leading countries with humility, dignity and strength. We need more of them. 

5. What irrationally annoys you more than anything else?

The words awesome and ulilise. They get used far, far too much at work (and I only use awesome ironically). 

6. What small thing can always bring you a bit of joy?

Dogs and cats. Love both of them. If they aren't around, the ice cream will do the trick. 

7. What is your favorite thing to do on a lazy day?

Read, write, watch movies - in no particular order. I'm having one of those days today. 

8. How often do you take risks?

Fairly regularly. They're calculated risks, but I don't mind making quick decisions and acting on them. 

9. Write about your happiest memory.

I remember walking through the doors of Allen and Unwin at the start of the Faber course last year - and I felt an incredible sense of deja vu.  I hope I feel that again. 

10. How long do you think it will be before we see a female president?

Well, in Australia we've already had  female Prime Minister and in my opinion she was one of the best we've ever had. As for America, the sooner you get a woman president the better I believe. Will it happen, I do not know, but some gentler, kinder energy wouldn't go astray (though it is very nice opening a newspaper and not having to wonder what Trump has done now...)

11. Do you think it’s important to be part of a community?  Why? Why not?

Absolutely. Even if it's in a limited capacity, it's good to be a part of a community. It keeps you connected with the people around you. You don't have to be in each other's pockets, but just to be able to say hello to people makes the world a better place. 

12. What piece of modern technology are you most grateful to have.

Probably my phone. Love my phone. 

13. Do you feel anonymous on line?

No. 

14. What is something you’ve always wanted to try but have never gotten around to.

Oh, there are a lot of things I'd love to try. This includes:

• Skydiving
• Finishing Ulysses
• Travelling through every continent
• Learning the piano
• Taking singing lessons
• Getting a novel published

15. What would life be like without the internet?

Oh, I don't like to think about that. I think I'd be on the phone forever. 

Today's song: 

Binge versus Drip Feed

Lockdown: Day 2

Mood: Good. 

So lockdown means the opportunity to binge watch a couple of programs I've missed over the last while. This is both a good and bad thing. 

As a subscriber of both Stan and Netflix, this is a big weekend. Stan has brought on new episodes of The Bold Type and Younger. Both are light, fluffy, New York based, girl-centric shows that are generally enjoyable telly watching for somebody who doesn't like anything too screwed up and violent, especially late at night. Stan is using the drip feed approach, releasing an episode once a week for the duration of the season. 

And then there's Netflix, which has just released the back half of the fifth series of Lucifer. All eight episodes just landed at 6 pm on Friday night. Giving eight hours of viewing pleasure possibly all at once. 

And thinking about it all, I think I like the drip feed method more. 

I remember, as a child, loving when you had to wait to see your favourite television program - and how, if you missed it, you'd be lucky if they ran a repeat of the show. Then VCRs came into being and you had to remember to set the bloody thing so you could watch your favourite show again and again. 

The drip feed method suits me better. I like the routine of it all - waiting for your next program to drop. I like knowing that on Thursday night there is something new to watch. It's great catching up on what you're favourite characters are doing. It's like meeting up with old friends. 

The binge method just sucks your time and energy as you make a glutton of yourself watching episode after episode, often missing key bits... with the mantra 'ah, one more epidode.." has you up into the the wee small hours. 

I'm definitely a drip feed sort of person. It suits me much better. It doesn't feed my addictive as much. I like having something to look forward to.

Yet, I'm six episodes into the new intake of Lucifer....

Can't help myself. 

Walkies time now. Leave the last two episodes for when I get back. Gives me something to look forward to. 

Today's Song:

Little Rituals

Lockdown: Day 1 (hopefully of seven)

Mood: Flat but fine

I keep forgetting I like running. 

.Last night, our last night of freedom for a while, we met at the gym, but instead if going inside to train, we lugged some kettle bells and vipers (this weighted tube thing) outside and trained out there. Jay, Cleo and Hamish, who normally trains with another trainer, we were put through our paces on the paths outside the gym. A circuit of push ups, overhead presses, kettle bell swings, mountain climbers and shoulder rows were topped off with a run to the end of the path and back. Three rounds.

And I'd forgotten how much I love running. I love how I pull my shoulders back, keep my head up and just get on with it. I love the feeling of regulating my breathing and the challenge of keeping it under control. I love the feeling of moving through the air. I love regulating my stride - not that I was running fast, it was just a jog, but it felt fantastic. 

I'd also forgotten that my knees don't like me much the next day and really, I should be fifteen kilograms lighter before even thinking about running more again  - but it still felt very, very good to be running again. 

Now we're back in lockdown, I've got my rituals going again. 

A shower first thing in the morning is needed. It has to be done. A dab of perfume on the neck and wrists makes me feel alive. I don't need to smell good for the cat, but I like wearing perfume. Today, it was Jo Malone's Earl Grey cologne. Nice and subtle. 

I'm making my own coffee at the moment. A small percolator sits on the stove top. Half coffee, half macadamia milk and a half a cap of vanilla essence and I'm good to go. 

Regular visits to the cat for a cuddle (well, half cuddle - he gets a kiss on the head most of the time before being tucked back under his blanket.)

And the long walk. As it's dark  early morning and evening, the walk is taken around lunchtime. Today, I did the Richmond loop - over to Bridge Road, a quick stop at Dan Murphy's to look at the pretty gin (I'm not allowed to buy any) a walk along the river, back to Victoria Gardens to get a few supplies and a coffee, then home. I've got my 10000 steps in for the day. 

The bed get made every day. Pretty much as soon as I get up. The cat likes the bed made when he goes to sleep after his breakfast.

I sweep the kitchen floor after feeding the cat in the morning. He makes a mess, he does. 

At night, I shower, cleanse, tone and moisturise before cleaning my teeth and putting on my pyjamas - all to wash off the day. 

These are my rituals.

They keep me sane. 

(By the way, I've been trying to track down this song for ages. I remember it from London - back in the nineties when it seems good looks or teeth weren't needed to make a great song)

Today's song: