Same Hermit, Different Shell

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"All being well, it’s not going to be the quietest of years, but hopefully it’s set to be a positive one, on the whole."  - My 2020 Vision; The Creased Pages

I thought it was about time for a little update from me, given that we haven't spoken since the jigsaw rant - sorry about that.

We're over a year on from then and of course I don't need to tell you what kind of year it's been for the world. If you've been living under a rock, or are perhaps a member of a future generation doing a history project, I'm sure a little search on Google (or whatever space age research tool is around in the Year 3000) will be enough to get you up to speed.

The difficulty of the whole thing is that, on a personal level, it was actually a pretty good year. That sounds awful to say given the circumstances behind it, and I'm not belittling that at all. But I have to be honest, there was actually some good that came from it all for me. Not least because the near-constant state of lockdown the country was in meant that my inner-hermit was thriving - working from home, having plenty of 'me' time, no stressing about being around people and/or having to socialise for longer than I'm generally comfortable with. I loved it.

Aside from that, I do have some things to tell you about.

Let me fill you in...

Before we go any further, I should probably address some of the points raised in the post 'My 2020 Vision', especially as I've referenced it above.

You would be justified in thinking that with all the free time lockdown brought, I must have crocheted a whole wardrobe by now and be completely fluent in French. Alas, this is not the case. Don't get me wrong, I finished the jumper, but although it wasn't a complete disaster, I kind of lost the bug and haven't picked up a crochet hook in a long time.
As for the French, I'm quite not at the level of reading any children's books yet, but I haven't given up! As of today, I'm on a 594 day streak on Duolingo, so aside from the use of the odd 'streak freeze' here and there, I'm still going with it, slow but sure. I think it's the first time I've actually followed through on a New Year's Resolution!

As for updates on my life in general, let's start with the subject of work. In October I took on some 'additional duties', meaning I started working with another team part-time, which in March developed into a full-time 'acting up' role. The team I'm part of for now is still linked to my regular department but the work is a step away from what I'd been doing for over 6 years, which is exactly what I needed. It's been an adjustment, getting used to managing my own time and workload, especially after so long of the same duties, delivered in the same way, like Groundhog Day (cliché, but true).

The trouble with me is that once I've found my comfort zone, I struggle to break out of it, even if it's not making me happy. I'd been stuck in such a rut, so this was the kick up the backside I needed to finally move on to something different, and I'm so glad because it turns out I'm enjoying it a hell of a lot more than what I was doing before. It does help that the ladies I'm working with are so easy to get on with. Considering I'm such a loner who usually likes to be left to get on with things on my own, I can't deny that a chat with either one of them, or both (albeit via a Teams video call) can very often brighten my day!
Having said all that, I should note that the job is only until September at the moment, but I'm hopeful that I'd have proved myself enough by then for it to become a permanent fixture - who knows.

Something else that happened: my eldest brother, Ian, got married in October, which meant I was a bridesmaid for the first time! It was a nice day, despite the rain, but with it being a lockdown wedding with restrictions left, right and centre, they couldn't have a good old knees-up as planned. In fact, it felt like it was all done and dusted really quickly, so we'll have to make up for that at some point.

Another big piece of news (probably the biggest): we've moved! The family home was finally sold and we moved out at the end of April. It was a really stressful time, mainly trying to get somewhere lined up to actually move to. Of course, Ian already has a place of his own with his wife and two kids, and my second brother, Scott, moved in with his girlfriend, so it was just my mum, my younger brother Paul and I to sort out. We got there in the end though, so for now we're renting a place for a little while until we work out our next steps.

It has been so strange living in a different house, especially as I'd lived in the old place all my life, as had Scott and Paul. Speaking of which, seeing all of those completely empty rooms on the morning we moved out of our home was so strange.



It's been two months now but I still feel like I'm getting used to all the new noises and quirks of this house. The central heating especially is completely alien, so that'll be fun in the winter. It's no palace here, but it won't hurt to call it 'home' for now; even the cats seem to think so! I'm hoping I'll be in a better position now to think about striking out on my own - we'll see how that one goes.




So there has actually been quite a bit happen since last year, surprisingly enough, and potentially more to come.
On the COVID front, there has been a lot of movement in recent months. I had my first vaccination last week, which is something I'd been looking forward to for a long time, and we're nearing the final stage of the 'Roadmap out of Lockdown'.
My friends are getting married in August and considering their wedding was already postponed for a year, it would be nice for the restrictions to lift in time for them to have the day they've had in mind for so long. If it does go ahead, I'll be pulling out my bridesmaid hat again, so that would be something to look forward to. I've been trying to look after myself a little more in preparation for it. I'm very conscious of the fact I'm going to have a dress to fit into, so I've been going for lovely long walks when I can and I've been eating all the fruit I can get - I'm running on strawberries, most of the time.

Although I want things to work out for my friends, the main downside to coming out of lockdown is that people will possibly start inviting me to do things that I just don't feel like doing and I'll find myself looking for excuses to get out of it. Maybe I'll just make it my personal challenge to normalise saying 'No', without having to give a reason, even if it doesn't catch on further than among my own friends.

So, I think that brings us up to date, although with all the changes in my life, you can probably tell that my outlook on life remains a constant. Same hermit, different shell, you could say.
Ooh - that would make a good title...


Now Playing: Kiss Me - Ed Sheeran

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