1.6.20 - 7.6.20
June is upon us! A new month and hopefully one that brings new opportunities!
I've began the first week of this new month feeling like complete and utter rubbish. Its as though last week of feeling upbeat and sociable has come crashing down and I've felt really low and flat this week. I'm becoming really bored and fed up with this 'new normal' we are in now and not knowing when we'll see life getting back to its usual routine. I admit I did enjoy a few months of lazing around and catching up on odd jobs but now I find this groundhog day throughout lockdown becoming really tedious and like I'm wasting my life away. I miss my old routine and my normal everyday life. Does anyone else feel this way too?
Monday and Tuesday were basically a repeat of the weekend. The former also consisted of some online shopping from Monki* and ISawItFirst*. The latter I spent watching back to back Loose Women episodes on ITV Hub and searching for credited online courses and free classes that I could take part in whilst I'm off so I don't feel like this time has been a total waste. I found a few webinars that sounded interesting so I signed up to a few of those for throughout the week. On the evening I began and finished Series One of Our Girl on BBC iPlayer which I really enjoyed, I was hooked from the get go. I can't wait to watch the next lot of episodes.
This week has been all about the webinars, more specifically with Google Digital Garage. Wednesday morning I took part in a "Get Started With Analytics" webinar held by Google Digital Garage with Top Drawer Connected which was very informative and a great refresher on how to use Google Analytics which I thought would be helpful whilst I'm furloughed from work. Afterwards I attended the weekly video call with work which left me feeling better than last weeks session, although still unsure of the future. Afterwards I was on another video call with some friends for a catch up. At the end of that one, the day seemed to have flown by and it was immediately time to start movie night on Discord* with Becky and Kyle. This weeks film was Aquaman, a film I'd be desperate to see for ages. Mainly for Jason Mamoa and it didn't disappoint! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Thursday morning I continued with the webinars held by Google Digital Garage, starting with "Writing For Social Media" which was another brilliant and informative session that has made me more aware of how to communicate for business using social media. Following on from that session, I watched the "Build A CV & Write A Covering Letter" webinar, which was incredibly helpful, especially for those who may be on the job hunt or work experience right now. I've been wanting to give my CV a complete overhaul for a while now and update it with the additional skills I've learned during my 4 years at my current employment. The last time I amended it was a few years ago and whilst I have the free time to do so I wanted to get cracking with amending it. I think it is good to keep informed on the best practice for presentation and layout of such documentation and what is deemed relevant to include on it and so on.
I spent the afternoon starting my CV from scratch again using some resume templates from Canva. I then took part in the "Find Your Career Goals" session which focused on work fulfilment and how to find the key aspects you want from a job. I found this one provided brilliant thought provoking exercises to try and take away with you for future reference. The last webinar of the day was by the same guy who hosted the previous session, this one was "Build Your Personal Brand Online" which not only talked about how to build your brand but also recommended useful links for cleaning up your online presence and links to see what customers etc are saying about you or your brand online, photos or posts you are tagged in that you want removed and so on. All the sessions had been so helpful in a variety of ways and easy to follow and understand. I came away from all of them with useful advice and websites to look into. The evening was spent trying on the new purchases I'd made from ISawItFirst before winding down by playing on my Switch*.
Friday I spent the morning having a bit of a lie in and later woke up feeling well rested. I began the day listening to the newest episode of the Shagged Married Annoyed podcast, my Friday regime as I've stated previously, and doing another online browse of Monki, Cath Kidston*, SkinnyDip London* and TruffleShuffle*. The afternoon I received one of my deliveries from Monki, then I rang my friend Becky and went for a short walk to the local petrol station for a few bits and back. Once I returned home, the rest of the afternoon was spent finishing off the webinars I'd signed up to, this last one was "Digital Marketing Strategy".
The evening was spent having a takeaway pizza with the family and then my Mam and I having a very in-depth heart to heart about when my Grandad was alive, reflecting on when he was poorly, how we both felt and happy memories we have of him, it was very emotional but also it was one of those deeply honest conversations with someone that leave you feeling really comforted by which was lovely and I felt so much better for having that conversation.
Saturday was a 'stay in bed all day' sort of day. I'd woke up early but kept dozing off throughout the morning. When I woke up properly I sorted through the photos I have on my phone. Its mad looking at photos already taken from this year, even this past month! They feel like they were years ago! Its certain moments like that that remind me just how strange life is right now and also even though time has flew by, a lot has happened so far this year.
The rest of the afternoon was spent watching and finishing off Hebburn on Amazon Prime which I enjoyed, it reminded me of a Geordie version of Gavin and Stacey.
Sunday, the gang and I met up for a social distancing walk to Kepier Woods, with Luna in tow. We had a good 3 hour walk around the woodlands and it was lovely to see them and spend time together. We had such a laugh trying to navigate our way through the uneven ground and muddy paths we came across. A few times Luna almost pulled me over, but then she redeemed herself later by pulling me along and keeping my balance when I was almost slipping on the mud. After I returned home, I was worn out from the walk so I got cosy in bed and watched Season Four of Queer Eye, which has to be one of my favorite seasons so far. The people in this season had me crying during every episode. The lovely father-daughter bond between John and Lucy the ice-skater, Kathi the music director at Jonathan Van Ness' old high school, the loveable Kenny from Croatia and the inspirational Wesley Hamilton. All brought a tear to my eye.
This week has been a one for stepping back, recharging my batteries, gaining some new skills and getting ready for what's next.
Thanks for reading & Stay safe! <3 Instagram | Youtube | Bloglovin | Twitter
Further Reading:
Life In Lockdown: Week 10
Life In Lockdown: Week 9
Life In Lockdown: Week 8
Life In Lockdown: Week 7
Life In Lockdown: Week 6
Life In Lockdown: Week 5
Life In Lockdown: Week 4
Life In Lockdown: Week 3
Life In Lockdown: Week 2
Life In Lockdown: Week 1
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