I’m so glad the snow is gone! It honestly feels as though the whole of the UK grinds to a halt as soon as there’s a little dusting of snow on the ground. It was a foot deep where I live. My uni lectures were cancelled. I had to work from home one day (with one PC screen instead of two. Not fun). I didn’t leave the house for nearly 5 days. There’s still actually a pile outside my house where the snow plough dumped it over a fortnight ago.
I’ve never felt cabin fever like it in my life. Bloody snow! I hate knowing that I can’t go anywhere, even though more often than not, I wouldn’t have chosen to go out anyway. But you know what? Despite the frustration of not being able to go about my usual bits and bobs, it actually did me the world of good.
I’m a bit of a pessimist at heart, as much as I hate to admit it. I’m always “ugh, I can’t be bothered going to uni/work/the gym.” In fact, I say it about pretty much anywhere that doesn’t involve food or shopping. Maybe it’s not pessimism, maybe it’s sheer laziness! But that was instantly removed from the situation.
I don’t think I’ve had such a prolonged period of balance in my life since the year began. That must sound so dramatic, I know. But it was great!
My dad regularly has a moan at me for recording TV programmes and never watching them. He’s not wrong; I very rarely record things, but I never ever get round to watching them. So, on a snowy Wednesday morning, I sat down, and enjoyed a documentary about Japanese culture. I’m also terrible for never helping around the house – but I ended up cleaning the kitchen and bathroom. I had such a feeling of satisfaction afterwards!
I decided that I wanted to tackle my bedroom. My room is never tidy. It’s really annoying; I can tidy it 3 times a week, but it’s still never tidy. My problem is lack of storage. So, I decided on the Saturday night that I was going to clear out the top of my wardrobe. I went through all my paperwork, got everything in order, and put it all back neatly after ditching some bits and bobs.
I’ve been doing a lot of work on my blog, too. It’s been SO great to have the down time to sit and write posts recently. Sometimes, I go through periods where I don’t know what to write, or I don’t have time to write it. It can leave me feeling demotivated (and I’m sure many of you have been in the same boat!) But it’s been really good for me to document some things. I’m working on a bit of a revamp too – hopefully that will all be finalised in the next few days!
I wasn’t necessarily been as productive as I should have been where my uni work is concerned. To be fair, if you’re snowed in and can’t get access to a studio, there’s not much you can do! One of my deadlines was pushed back a week, which meant I had 3 deadlines for this week. It’s safe to say I’ve been a little stressed!
It’s funny how the mind just takes a notion for things sometimes. I’ve been spending a bit of time doing puzzles recently – I bought a puzzle book the last time I flew back from somewhere (that’s when you know an airport is shit) and I found it again the other day. My favourites are the ones where you have to fit the words into the grid, and the ones where each letter has a number, and there are no clues – I’m not great at those last ones, but there’s such a sense of achievement if I manage to complete them!
I’ve also started reading again. I have absolutely no idea why, but I decided on the Saturday that I was going to start reading the Vampire Diaries again. I must really trying to be getting out of writing that radio script! I read a few of them a while ago, but it’s been so long that I decided to start from the beginning again. I got into bed that night around 11pm, and I finished the first book at 3.30am – I couldn’t put it down! I started the next one the following day, and finished it that night. Fast forward a couple of weeks, and I’m a fair chunk through the fifth one…
To be fair, they are relatively short books (maybe around 200 pages each) and I’m a pretty fast reader – plus, they’re quite easy to read in my opinion. That’s probably why I like them – I hate books with words I don’t understand!
I feel as though being forced to stay in the house forced me to focus on things more. I had time to recharge my batteries and relax, but I was also been really productive as well in ways that I feel good about. My room remains a mess, but some things never change!
How did you survive in the snow?
