My Fifth Week In Lockdown - Coronavirus Crisis
It feels like I don’t really have much to talk about this week. It’s just same old, I guess. When you’re a uni student like me, the days get pretty repetitive at the best of times, never mind when you’re in isolation.
I’ve been working really hard on my assignments since lockdown began. I decided I may as well work really hard and get on with them as much as I can whilst there isn’t much else I can do. When lockdown is lifted I want to feel like I have done as much as I can so that I can spend as much time as possible with my friends and family without jeopardising any assignments. Slow and steady wins the race, and that’s how I am trying to approach my uni work. I’ve planned my weeks out but not overloaded them too much, so if I want to spend a day in front of the TV watching 'Friends' then I have plenty of time to.
It’s so weird to think about what I was supposed to be doing right now if this global pandemic didn’t exist. I forgot to mention in my last post that last week, I was supposed to have been in sunny Barcelona with Jacob for his birthday and our anniversary. It was pretty heart-breaking after saving up and being excited about it, for it to be cancelled; especially seeing as though we didn’t even see each other at all, but I know there is a lot worse to be worrying about at this time.
This week, I was supposed to have been doing my first week of jury service that I found out I had been summoned for back in February. I actually felt really lucky to have been picked, and was quite looking forward to it. I felt as though it had come at a good time in my life where it wasn’t going to hugely disturb my work, my uni deadlines were going to be extended and I was living in Leeds, walking distance of where I was needed. I had a think about how crazy the job of being on the jury actually is, especially at my age. My mum rightly pointed out to me though, that I am just as valuable within society as anyone else, and a jury needs a range of age groups to represent society correctly. It was just mad that it was going to be me. I don’t really know what is happening with it now, whether I will be summoned again or whether I have lost my chance. I guess only time will tell.
My virtual lectures began again this week, and I only have one more week left of them, which is also absolutely MAD. I can’t really fault the lectures, or my university. My course is pretty bitty and has lots of different parts to it but I think it has been taught as best it could have been in this situation. I’ve quite liked having one day a week full of uni lectures as it’s given me a bit of structure and routine in my week. I have work to do after both my lectures so the day is pretty full of new content that I am trying to learn. I think I’ve been doing okay though, and once the next week is over and my online teaching is complete, I can continue to get on with my assignments and get them done asap!
A positive that came out of the majority of the week and to be fair, the majority of quarantine so far, is the weather. I literally look like I’ve been on holiday because I’ve managed to tan so much. It’s only taken me a couple of hours each day where I have sat outside at peak temperature with my laptop doing uni work in the sunshine. Sometimes I catch myself off guard, thinking how lucky I am having a chill in my garden, and then I remember that I’m living in the middle of a global pandemic and I snap back into reality. I do feel so lucky though, living with a garden which I can sit in safely and privately, a surrounding of countryside which me and my family can take our daily walks in, and a space in front of our house where we can sit and still socially distance whilst our neighbours are also sat in front of their house. I know it looks like it’s going to rain in the near future, but we can’t complain really because of how beautiful it has been so far.
After 5 weeks in lockdown of doing home workouts for 5 days each week, I am finally starting to see improvements. I have not only lost weight but I’m definitely on my way to transforming my body shape and toning it up. It’s giving me a focus and a reason to get out of bed every morning, and is another way I am managing to stay in a routine and keep focused. I can tell I have got a lot stronger, and a lot fitter after exercising so much, and I am really proud of it. I always find it difficult to motivate myself to regularly exercise in a proper routine, but I am managing pretty well this quarantine. I need lots of different exercises to follow to keep me occupied, and I keep finding new ones to try which is great. Hopefully I can keep this up after lockdown is over!
I finally had some spare time to bake my famous buns this week. I even piped some butter cream on top (as professionally as I could). I needed to get some practice in before I bake my brother a birthday cake in a couple of weeks, and bake Jacob a late birthday cake for when I see him. My buns always come out great, risen perfectly and taste great…but my full size cakes never ever do. They never rise enough. I really hope they do next time.
I hope that everyone is keeping safe and trying to continue to stay positive. I think as time goes on it is definitely getting more difficult to keep positive, but I guess there is no other way to keep going otherwise!
Keep smiling and have a great day! Liv xxx
