Tag: The Day Job

Waking up

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Another recovery mile today…

…because I’ve had a bit of pain in my back/shoulder over the last couple of days and it’s irritating me when I run. As such, I’m keeping my runs short until I feel better. I had a really good go at it with the foam roller earlier today, and it does seem to be loosening, so hopefully it’ll be fine again in a few days’ time.

I feel a lot more awake than yesterday, and so today I’ve been able to get on fairly quickly with my to-do list, which has been the usual: small amount of day job work, another graphic drawn for my next adventure game, various bits of housework and admin, that kind of thing. I really appreciate being able to stay in the house and get on with all of this stuff at the moment, even if the sunny spring weather is making me think about beaches and tropical islands and so on.

I think 2021, if we’re allowed out by then, may involve a bit of travel. Just a bit.

In the meantime, the only tropical islands I’ll be visiting are the ones in my videogames. But that’s okay.

Foam roller and spiky ball
The foam roller and spiky ball are tough going on the muscles, but they do work the knots out.

Today’s earworm playlist:

Ollie Wride – ‘Back To Life’
Yasunori Mitsuda – ‘Where It All Began’
Yasunori Mitsuda – ‘Elysium, In The Blue Sky’
A bit of royalty-free Christmas music that loads of companies use to accompany videos and games at Christmastime but which I have never been able to find the name of (you can hear it in the opening of this Dice Tower video)
The Weeknd – ‘Blinding Lights’

Finding balance

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I went out for an absolutely beautiful run this morning…

…with perfect sunshine, and perfect energy, and so many lovely spring flowers along the way. I’m planning to do a few new and different routes this week and am really excited about my morning runs. They get me out of the house for just long enough every day that I don’t feel trapped or cooped up by the lockdown, and am perfectly content to stay inside for the rest of the time.

In all honesty, other than the general feeling of apocalyptic dread and accompanying nightmares (which I’m guessing is the case for everyone at the moment), I have been lucky enough that the current situation is working out quite well for me:

  • While my day job work has slowed down a bit, it hasn’t stopped completely, and I work from home anyway so haven’t had to adapt my work setup.
  • Obviously I was hugely disappointed a month ago when it was announced that the London Marathon was postponed, because training had been going so well. However, I’m really appreciating the more relaxed approach to running I can take at the moment, and I hope that I’ll be able to build on the work I’ve already done and run an even better time in October, presuming the new date goes ahead.
  • Stress-wise, I am actually benefiting hugely from life going on hold. For the last couple of years, I have felt as though I have had far too much on and have been constantly falling behind with my to-do list. I end up dreading going away on trips, because I know it will disrupt my daily routine so badly and lead to weeks of stress as I try to catch up with everything. But right now, I have nothing getting in the way: all my trips and events have been cancelled or postponed, and all my weekly classes and meetings are on hold. Every day is exactly the same, and for me, it turns out that that is exactly what I need. I am going to have to do some serious thinking about what life is going to look like for me after the lockdown is over.

I feel pretty guilty that it has taken a horrible worldwide pandemic for me to have the free time I’ve been dreaming of for years, but it has given me the impetus to reassess my priorities in life.

Tomorrow is a Wednesday, but that doesn’t really matter right now. I’ve got no middling-distance midweek run to do, no ukulele class to go to, no worries about fitting everything else in inbetween. It will be very similar to today, and that is absolutely fine by me.

Cat in spring garden
Another paparazzo shot of next door’s cat exploring our garden. He’s a little confused by the shorter grass now that Geth is out mowing it regularly again.

Today’s earworm playlist:

Cast of The Lion King – ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight?’

Keep on running

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I hit 100 days on my ‘run every day’ streak today!

Despite the awful world situation that has transpired over the last few months, I’ve felt happier and more stable in my own life than I have in a long time. Getting out for a run every day really lifts my mood, and I plan to continue my streak indefinitely.

I’ve spent most of today finishing off day job work ahead of the Easter weekend, and making a multicoloured wall chart to keep track of all of our cancelled and postponed events. I’m looking forward to getting a bit more work done on my text adventure projects this evening.

Geth and I are also starting the long weekend off with a Maundy Thursday takeaway. In my drinking days it used to be a Maundy Thursday pint, and last year it was a Maundy Thursday synthwave night, but I’m very happy for the tradition to move to Domino’s Pizza this year. However, with the exception of my Easter egg, I’ll be eating healthily the rest of the week – I’m finding my weight loss has stalled a little since my marathon training came to a screeching halt, so I need to keep more of an eye on it.

Hope everyone has as good an Easter weekend as can be expected given the circumstances!

Celebratory cake
If there’s one thing parkrun has taught me, it’s that you celebrate running milestones with cake.

Today’s earworm playlist:

Nobuo Uematsu and Masashi Hamauzu – ‘Hymn Of The Fayth’
Takeru Kanazaki – ‘Life at Garreg Mach Monastery’
Bill Withers – ‘Lean On Me’

Monday lockdown structure

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Instead of my planned supermarket run, I just went for a mile today…

…because I’m really trying to make weekdays feel like weekdays and weekends feel like weekends at the moment, rather than all blurring into one. As such, I just did a short run as soon as I got up today so that I could get on with some work in a timely manner (I’ve found over the last few weeks that a combination of waking up late and being slow to get out for my run has meant that I don’t end up at my ‘desk’ until early afternoon). I feel a lot better for it and am hoping to do the same tomorrow, though I will do a slightly longer run so that I can finally get to the supermarket.

It’s just the usual otherwise today – working on my game, doing a bit of yoga, chilling out with my 3DS. I’ve also moved on to the last book in Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series, and am reading a couple of chapters before bed every night. I’ve been meaning to finish that series for ages!

Also OMG WE GOT POST TODAY. We’ve not had post for a week – I presume because the posties round here are a bit stretched in the current circumstances. Things that arrived for me in the post:

  • Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy (Deluxe Edition), a new Nintendo Switch game that I will be playing as soon as I complete all my remaining Layton games on the 3DS (so it’ll be some time, even under lockdown!).
  • Two pairs of Tikiboo capri running tights for the warmer spring weather – one in my favourite ’80s-esque print, and one in the specially designed London 2020 print for anyone doing a London race this year. There are lots of companies doing to-die-for legging designs these days, but Tikiboo are the absolute best as far as I’m concerned.
  • A reminder from DVLA to update my vehicle tax. Exciting times!

Getting post was so exciting that I’m tempted to spend all my money on MORE STUFF THAT WILL ARRIVE IN THE POST. I will resist until there’s something I actually need.

Postal haul
Postal haul! Car tax reminder letter not shown.

Today’s earworm playlist:

The Dubliners – ‘Rocky Road To Dublin’
Sting – ‘Englishman In New York’
Avicii and Nicky Romero – ‘I Could Be The One’

Sunny days

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I really enjoyed my run this morning…

…because it’s an absolutely gorgeous day out there. Geth has been working hard in the garden today, making it look pretty, so hopefully we’ll have many more nice days to sit out back… seeing as our outdoor activities will remain limited for some time!

I’m now looking forward to spending the rest of the day working on my text adventure (with occasional yoga and videogaming interludes) before getting back to the day job tomorrow. Every day is pretty much the same at the moment, but keeping some semblance of a weekend structure is really helping.

Blue sky
Blue sky during my run this morning!

Today’s earworm playlist:

Rei Kondoh – ‘Destiny’
The Ronettes – ‘Chapel Of Love’
Tyler Lyle – ‘Lost And Found [The Midnight Remix]’
Bill Withers – ‘Lean On Me’

Still oversleeping

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I just went out for a mile this morning…

…because I slept late again and I had quite a lot of day job work to do today, so there wasn’t much time left for running. I had hoped that my sleep pattern might have returned to normal by now, but my body decided it needed nine and a half hours last night. Geth and I are setting an alarm so we can do the online parkrun quiz at 9am tomorrow morning, so hopefully that will help with the sleep issue.

I’ll try and get a small amount of work done on my text adventure game (I find it’s better to keep a daily streak going for Camp NaNo even if it’s just a few words), and then return to my 3DS this evening.

Next door's cat
The spring weather has resulted in the gravel in our back garden getting warmer, which has in turn resulted in next door’s cat remembering that it’s a good place to sit down and have a wash.

Today’s earworm playlist:

Koichi Sugiyama – ‘Village Hidden In A Mountain’
Traditional – ‘The Music Man’
Carly Rae Jepsen – ‘Call Me Maybe’
Fleetwood Mac – ‘The Chain’

Spring-ish

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A very blustery run this morning…

…which I was a little surprised by, as I’d hoped we’d be done with the strong winds by now (the nice spring weather we’ve been lucky enough to have for the last couple of weeks has been a real silver lining for me, as it really helps to lift my mood when I get out for my run in the morning). It certainly made the run a bit more of a challenge! Hopefully it’ll be calmer again tomorrow.

I slept a lot better last night. I think the secondary evening workout is helping (I tried some YouTube yoga last night – it’s basically very similar to Pilates with lots of hippy talk thrown in. It was a nice workout though so I will persevere), and before bed I also did a bit of reading – I picked up the book I’d abandoned last autumn, on Mum’s suggestion. Fingers crossed that will be my pattern sorted again now.

I’ve done a bit of day job work this afternoon, and am now going to crack on with my text adventure/Camp NaNo project. The first game (a prequel to the main project) is nearly ready to playtest!

On the whole, I’m settling into my ‘new normal’ daily routine now, and I find I’m striking a good balance between work and me-time.

Spring blossom
A definite sign of spring: the blossom is opening on one of the trees in our front garden. I love spring blossom and these trees are one of my favourite things about the two gardens we acquired when we bought our house.

Today’s earworm playlist:

Revo – ‘Battle Normal 1 [Bravely Default II Soundtrack]’
Duran Duran – ‘Violence Of Summer (Love’s Taking Over)’
Endor – ‘Pump It Up’
The Beatles – ‘Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’
The Beatles – ‘She Loves You’
Fountains Of Wayne – ‘Stacy’s Mom’*
Cast of Aladdin – ‘Prince Ali’

*RIP Adam Schlesinger.

Adjusting

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Another enjoyable run this morning…

…which has cemented my decision to focus on enjoyment during runs rather than training goals for a while. It’s really helping during the current situation.

Geth and I finally managed to wake up at a reasonable time this morning, though that was mainly because we’d both been having nightmares all night. So, um, yay?

As such, I’ve felt much more in control of my time today and have managed to get all my day job work done fairly promptly. I can now get on with today’s work on my text adventure game – I’m doing it as my project for April’s Camp NaNoWriMo, which provides an extra bit of daily motivation.

I’m also looking forward to the evening – I’m going to have a go at some YouTube yoga and then relax with my 3DS.

The weeping willow in our garden is coming along nicely and developing lots of baby leaves.

Today’s earworm playlist:

Hiroki Morishita – ‘Just Across This Mountain And We’ll Arrive Soon’
Ludwig van Beethoven – ‘The Pastoral Symphony’
The Weeknd – ‘Blinding Lights’
Revo – ‘Battle Normal 1 [Bravely Default II Soundtrack]’
Ashbury Heights – ‘Die By Numbers’
Duran Duran – ‘White Lines’

Refocusing

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I did my most enjoyable run in ages this morning…

…because I ran where I wanted to run and as far as I wanted to run, instead of just doing what was scheduled on the plan. I’ve decided to throw the plan out of the window for a couple of weeks and just focus on running every day in a way I enjoy – that seems to be what’s best for my mental health at the moment. It’s been really hard to get out of my marathon training mindset, and I think I need to let go of plans and schedules and ‘training’ for a while.

Geth and I are still really struggling with having lost an hour at the weekend, and have not adjusted at all yet. As such, we are both feeling very sluggish this week – unable to wake up at the proper time and then tossing and turning (and worrying) at night because it takes so long to get to sleep. Today is the start of a new habit of ‘secondary exercise’ – because we’re not doing our usual amount of walking, we’re losing out on a lot of exercise, so we’re going to get back into RingFit Adventure some evenings, and I’m going to try out some YouTube yoga and things as well. I’m hoping that this, combined with the running, will wear me out enough that I’ll be able to get to sleep at a reasonable time!

The afternoon has mostly been admin, but I’ve got a bit of day job work to keep me occupied for the rest of the week, and I’m really enjoying my adventure game project as well. I finally finished the Bravely Default II demo last night, but I’ve got what feels like infinite videogames still to play!

France, 1989
Another old holiday picture today – this time of me and Mum in France, July 1989. I’ve not been to France for nearly five years – Geth and I were hoping for a city break in Paris this autumn, but with all our spring events being postponed to September and October, I don’t think we can make any new plans until 2021 now.

Today’s earworm playlist:

Mike Harding and Myfanwy Talog – ‘DangerMouse Main Theme’
Revo – ‘Town 1 [Bravely Default II Soundtrack]’
Duran Duran – ‘Violence Of Summer (Love’s Taking Over)’
Duran Duran – ‘Femme Fatale’
Revo – ‘Battle Normal 1 [Bravely Default II Soundtrack]’
Ashbury Heights – ‘Die By Numbers’
Alvin & The Chipmunks – ‘We’re The Chipmunks’
Matthew Wilder – ‘Break My Stride’
Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé – ‘Barcelona’

What day is it?

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Ah, Monday, that’s right. As such, I did a recovery mile this morning…

…but because I didn’t do a long run at the weekend, I’m itching to do one in the next couple of days, and so I will probably move my running schedule around this week. I keep forgetting that I don’t currently have the other life commitments around which I originally scheduled my marathon training plan.

Anyway, I’ve not had any work come in yet for this week, so today I did my accounts instead (thrilling, I know). I’m just finishing off a few more admin jobs and then I will get a bit of work done on my text adventure game, which is coming along nicely.

Hoping that I’ll finally finish the Bravely Default II demo this evening as well! I got beaten by a tough sandworm monster yesterday, so I need to have another go with slightly better preparations.

Various bridges, 2011
I’m still not finding many interesting things to photograph within the four walls of my house, so here are a couple of bridge pictures taken a few weeks apart in 2011. Top is the Forth Road Bridge with the Forth Bridge (being repainted) in the background; bottom is the Golden Gate Bridge. Remarkably, it’s Edinburgh that has the bluer sky than San Francisco in these pictures.

Today’s earworm playlist:

Alvin & The Chipmunks – ‘We’re The Chipmunks’*
Duran Duran – ‘Femme Fatale’
Duran Duran – ‘First Impression’
Mesh – ‘Four Walls’

*Geth put on a four-hour YouTube playlist of ’80s cartoon theme songs yesterday. It has officially got to that point.