Somebody Bought It (Corona #19)

The flat I wanted to see, that is. They called me 30 minutes before the viewing to say that they expected the other party's offer would be accepted. On the one hand I think it's silly not to show me the flat, for all they know I might have offered the full price... but on the other hand, it wasn't the flat for me and it saved everyone wasting their time.

The "both of us having a day off" didn't happen either as J was called into work. Quelle surprise. This week, though, I took myself off to the beach for an hour. It was bliss. I almost couldn't be bothered, but eventually made myself, and I'm so glad I got myself out of the house. It's easy to forget how important it is to recharge the batteries and reset your outlook now and then.

Pictured: how deep I went into the water. (Not very.)

Tonight the lockdown has been eased and people will be allowed to meet in groups of six, providing they stay 2m apart at all times. People have been ignoring it for several weeks anyway so this will just grant a green light for people to do anything they want... I mean, you don't buy a dozen burger patties and £100 of alcohol when there's only your own family hanging out in the backyard, everyone knows what you're up to (yes, that was a purchase made this week).

Among my freebies lately were a dented trifle, three bags of mini cheeses, some fancy soups, flatbreads, mac & cheese, chocolate muffins, fabric softener and tons of bread as always. I've given up adding it up, suffice to say I rarely need spend more than £30 on my monthly groceries and I eat like a king. J, on the other hand, is living off meal deals and spending an absolute fortune, and we're going to have to have that showdown after payday this week because he could & should be saving up the pennies for an unemployed future.

New Blog Address

Well, if you found your way here then I guess you know!

I had some issues with privacy, so I have moved the blog to a new address.

There will be a bunch of broken links for quite a while, which will take me some time to correct. I can only aplogise in the meantime.

Otherwise, life is the same, I've been chatting to friends online and working (not much more to be done really). Hoping to go to see a lovely local park with J tomorrow since we're both (gasp!) off work on the same day. If we manage to go then a report will follow!

#18 Coronavirus: Refrigerator Tetris

It looks like this outside.
A lot.

That's basically the most exciting part of my existence right now (and also the most frustrating one). I am now jettisoning "less awesome" food from the freezer to make room for more valuable stuff. I spend my days indoors, standing within view of glorious sunshine. I bet you wish you were living my exciting life.

Yet again I've turned down working seven days this week. Six is enough, thank you. Seven is fine for a while, but you eventually deplete your stored-up mojo, let alone your basket of fucks, and mine have long since run out. This week I am supergluing my fingers, and it is not even an accident, I am literally gluing the cracks closed to give my poor over-hand-gel'd and over-washed skin a chance to heal. A customer took me to task yesterday for wearing gloves and I peeled one back to show her the red-raw skin, at which point she thankfully decided to stfu. I have never wanted to punch a stranger in my life but at that point I kinda understood why some people feel that way 👊

I caved in and ordered a bigger wetsuit. Even this one won't fit. I blame this on my ability to put away copious amounts of free brioche and crisps, and my disinclination towards protein+vegetables as a main meal. I am tired. I work a lot, sure, but it is very likely tied in with all the carbs and the lack of exercise.

Related to the whole "no room in my freezer" thing, I cooked half a kilo of brussels sprouts this evening, and have eaten seven of them. They tasted like soap. For the moment I'm drinking cranberry, peach spritz and rum, which also counts as a serving of my five a day.

Properties are creeping onto the market - slowly. I am yet to see any super-bargains appear. I'm off to view a property on Friday. The guide price is unrealistic, but I'm going anyway, clad in gloves and mask. It's 55k and needs completely gutting, so realistically 70k all-in, and listings for these 1br properties are only 85k right now - which is not enough of a safe space considering the market is very likely to fall. I think it's more curiosity than anything else, I really want to see who's dumb enough to take that risk. The news believes that three-quarters of Brits are worse off as a result of Coronavirus, so a lotta first-time-buyers and investors won't be in a position to pay what they might have wanted to spend, so it would be a brave punter willing to bet that the market won't crash.

Staying Home, Corona #17

So yesterday I started noticing that my throat felt a bit odd, and I was getting shooting pains in my ear, followed by a swollen gland. Not my favourite combination. Anyway, I stayed off work today just in case, but they've all disappeared. I can only conclude that my salivary gland was playing up but decided to unblock again (as it has done for 15 years - this is not new).

Anyway, it's actually my day off tomorrow, meaning two days off together, which hasn't happened in months on end. If I'm honest with myself I needed it, I am exhausted, and my patience with customers is wearing to the point I struggle to be my usual cheery self. One, whom I had had the audacity to politely invite to use the self-scan till, even ranted at me that if this is how customers are treated, then he would leave - to which I replied, "Ok, bye." And I have to say it was very restrained of me, but also not the most polite reply I could have given. Even though customers around us rallied to take my side, telling him that he was behaving like a child, in a perfect world (and in a less stressful time) I'd have tried to calm him down and keep him as a customer. But on Tuesday, 5th May 2020, I didn't give a shit if he buggered off forever.

Still no word on whether work will keep me beyond July, but at least for now I still have plenty of work. It's thought that Boris Johnson will lift the lockdown on Monday (or at least loosen it) and I although I think it's too soon, I also hope like hell that he does. It was warm and fine today and all I wanted to do was be out on the water. I'm also champing at the bit to buy a property and until people regain confidence in the safety of moving house, sellers aren't listing their properties.

I'd also love to get back to the gym. The sheer amount of eating that I do is insane. And I'm bored, and tired of doing nothing but work and sit at home. My wetsuit is going to forever stay a size A for Aspirational. Waaaaah, etc :D

Today's soundtrack: Sweet Disposition, The Temper Trap. No reason, I just like it.

I got two bunches of flowers free from work - a sad hunk of tulips which amazingly rallied, and a miserable bunch of roses and lillies (the roses didn't do great but the lillies are just starting to open). Cheery. :)

Pay Day Spend: £40 on fuel (whole tank - last filled on pay day week - so now I know how much fuel I use each week). Also £23 in Poundland that I'm disgusted at, which only contained a few necessities.

The April Roundup

Well, I've barely had any time for myself and it shows! I think I only had two days off work this month so very little in surveys and a big fat zero in competition entries.

Free food, yellow stickers and staff discount - about £150.00, plus around £50 worth given to my neighbours
Prolific Academic £19.19
Qmee £1.90
Book Royalties £0.53
Quidco £1.29 (as Tesco voucher)

It's pay day today and I had a moment of thinking that I should go to the Big Shop to do my stock up while I have the 15% discount, and then I looked in my cupboard and No Way Am I Going Shopping. The cupboard is still full to the brim, the fridge and freezer are both full (as always) and I have stacks of food around my kitchen, bags of crisps, and Easter chocolate still sitting about.

J is coming for dinner so I will no doubt get my arse handed to me in whatever game we decide to play.