Weeknote 4

 Working:

It has sure been a busy week of school work, and not a great deal else. I've spent a bit of time writing the next round of exam papers; this is very hard because they're not due for another few weeks, but I don't like having to spend a whole weekend straight on it, so I am trying to spread it out. I'm about halfway through. 

Schoolwork wise, I have managed to stay on the marking wagon, keeping up with 20 minutes a day, and this has helped me get through a couple of bigger jobs quicker than usual. 

Exercising:

I have not managed to get back on this wagon. I went to the usual PT session on Tuesday night but that was it, until today, when I forced myself to go out for a tramp around Warmley Forest Park in the last hour of sunlight. It was a gorgeous day and I was sad that I let it slip away while I worked, so I went for my usual 20 minute tramp and felt all the better for it. 

It made me reflect that I let the slip from 20 minutes a day last week continue: I myself made it an all-or-nothing thing, deciding to not bother at all anymore rather than just admitting I was overwhelmed and giving myself a few days of rest. So, next time I am gritting my teeth, trying not to break a streak, I am going to remember this (hopefully) and give myself a set number of days off.

Hence, this week I will be attempting to get back to the 20 minute a day habit. 

Hobbying:

A bit more Milou has been knitted. It's going quite slowly, but that is mainly because Mr Z and I have still been playing a lot of Super Mario (the Luigi version) on the Switch. That is a lot of fun and I have the option to play as Toadette when it gets hard - she swims better and you get double the amount of time on the Luigi game, so it is just more fun. 

I've also had to stay in a bit more this week because Rachael, my friend, that I spent the weekend in belfast with, that I went to dinner with on Monday, tested positive first thing on Tuesday. So, it's been daily tests and a waiting game for me this week. I just keep going back to that dinner, where we both sat on the bench seat, turned towards each other, talking right into each other's faces. I can only pray that the antibodies from October, combined with the triple vax, will continue to hold out. So far it's staying negative.

This did mean I had to forego going to Flock this month, though, so a bit less knitting has been happening as a result. 

Having finished The Drowned City I have struggled to get in to something new, so I'm reading about three books now, to see which one wins. I've started Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, which I've had for so long unread that the pages are yellowing; What is History, Now? by Helen Carr and Suzannah Lipscomb (editors) which is in nice, comfortable, shorter essays; and A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James, recommended to me on Twitter and picked up from the library because his The Book of Night Women is one of the best books I've ever read. If I can't get into Cloud Atlas this time then I might have to give it up and donate it. 

Entertained by:

On Monday I went to the theatre to watch Semmelweiss. I've had the ticket since January 2020, so it was a joy to finally get to see it - a premiere, no less. I was familiar with the story but it was told in the context of the thousands of women who were dying of childbed fever and being told it was their fault for thinking impure thoughts or being too happy or any amount of similar nonsense.  There was also a four-piece string quartet on the stage, wandering around (even the cellist) and some portions of dance, plus actors coming into the audience to participate. Oh and Mark Rylance was the lead. I've never seen anything like it before. They didn't pull their punches and I found myself on the edge of tears for much of it. I also think it had gained a certain edge being shown partway through a pandemic, that it wouldn't have had if it had gone ahead in June 2020 with no pandemic: the idea of handwashing; the division between scientific and anecdotal evidence; the bullish refusal to accept any responsibility. Just awesome. 

Feeling:

Generally just very tired this week. It was a late return from Belfast and then a late night on Monday, followed by two more late nights, staying up trying to plan and mark and get everything ready for the next day. The weekend has been extremely welcome and I've managed to spend some time cleaning the house, which has made me feel a lot calmer today, even though it took up a lot of time yesterday. But, lunches are prepped, a cake has been baked, all the washing is done and all the floors are clean, so at least I can feel calm in my surroundings this coming week. 

Plus I booked a travel antigen test, ready for going to France, and had a drink with my friend Kate after school one evening to chat about our impending ski trip...I can't actually believe it might be happening. Three weeks tomorrow! I might actually get to go skiing! Too exciting.