So I'm now approaching the nine week mark of being in this shutdown/off work. I have to say it was nice having plenty of relaxation time combined with some lovely weather. That said from the start of last week I've had to start doing some work from home in order to satisfy senior staff members. This has included online training courses and carrying out a literature search for our lab manager. It isn't the most exciting work and it is difficult to work from home both in terms of getting back into the mindset but also being in a house with my parents who are going about their business and can't be expected to tip toe around.
I think we are fortunate in a way in terms of the technology available to us in this pandemic. I've had a number of group chats and quizzes with friends including people living in England and another living in America. I haven't run out of physical books yet but when I do I have a kindle so I'll be able to download e-books. I also have a library card which has allowed me to download books and more importantly guitar magazines onto my tablet for free which is brilliant. In terms of TV the lack of football is rather strange but we have the guilty pleasure of watching an episode of the show American Pickers while we have our lunch. We have also just finished the most recent season of Better Call Saul on Netflix. In terms of personal viewing I finally finished watching all of the Netflix Marvel shows with Jessica Jones season 3. I persisted with Arrow and watched it until the very end (and I'm glad I did) and I'm continuing to keep up with The Flash (much improved this season) and Supergirl (may drop it). I decided to stop watching Legends of Tomorrow because it just got a bit too silly for me and I haven't given Batwoman a chance as I haven't been fussed on what I have seen on it. In terms of games I got Jedi Knight: Fallen Order as a birthday present which was very good. I'm now playing through Red Dead Redemption 2 which is great but also a real time sink as there is just so much to see and do!
In terms of other activities I haven't played as much guitar or drums as I probably should have though I'm trying to make more of an effort to actually learn songs on guitar rather than just messing about. I'm kinda glad I'm not taking lessons especially on drums at the moment because I don't think doing it via video calls would work for me. Given that I plan to move out eventually I thought it would be a good idea to get some cooking practice and so with some assistance from my mum I have made one meal a week for the three of us for the last six weeks (including this week). Part of it as been finding new recipes and so far I've made Chicken Schwarma (middle eastern inspired spicy chicken) with garlic and herb potato wedges, Nando's inspired peri-peri chicken (twice) also with potato wedges, "Italian" meat loaf with mashed potato, carrots and brocolli, herb crusted chicken with a creamy sauce with roast potatoes and vegetables and sticky sesame chicken with rice.
Obviously there are lots of talks about the shutdown easing and it's hard not to be a bit impatient but at the same time you don't want to rush back too soon. I think it will be a good while before things are back to normal.
Thanks for reading,
James
