You have to laugh

Short post but I am still giggling about it.

In the middle of a worldwide crisis, where we are only meant to go out for essential work, for food and for an hours exercise, I pick this very suitable moment to be stranded in my street without my house keys.

Oh yes – why would this not happen?! For someone so careful with keys, why not bloody lose them? Well in line with my usual defiance of the norm – my subconscious, or stupid conscious, figured this was the right time to do just that.

Saturday morning: spent cleaning (I hate cleaning) and washing work clothes for next weeks anticipated long hours.

Saturday late morning: Ooh I am finally an organised person even though it has taken a pandemic to kick my arse into gear.

Saturday lunchtime: I shall go to Tesco and buy my essentials. I will queue. I will encounter polite people (socially distant). I will encounter stupid people. I will get my stock of prosseco (alcohol is essential in Scotland and we will happily admit it), bread and woohoo I managed to get flour. As an aside – the flour will get used to bake stuff with. I should also add is clearly the measure of a crisis in my book. I baked last year and normally only do it every 10 or so years.

Saturday just after lunchtime: Where are my keys? I can’t get in my house if I don’t have them. This is not a good time to not have keys. My spares are with my parents who really shouldn’t be getting in the car and coming to my flat to let me in. So I swore (cursed). A lot. A lot of fucks were shouted at myself in the middle of Edinburgh. People probably heard me a mile away since it is pretty quiet now that people are staying indoors. I couldn’t care though. If ever there was a time to have a shit fit it is now!

Saturday just just after lunchtime: buzzed my neighbour after the realisation that since I locked my door on the way out my keys are most likely in the communal bin on the street along with my rubbish. A big bin (dumpster if you are reading this in certain areas). I am not tall. I would fall in and wouldn’t get back out. That would also not be a good situation in the current crisis. No one would touch me to pull me out. Shit Shit Shit! So my neighbour was shouted at to give me step ladders…NOW!!! More fucks shouted.

Saturday at a time I now want to repress: ladder in hand and continual swearing (cursing) loudly I head back out. A few folk are in the street with their shopping. They stop to stare. I don’t care! I open the big bin…I look inside…my fucking (sorry) keys are sitting just on top of the bin bag I threw in on the way to Tesco. Thank the anyone the bin was full enough and they had landed just right. They hadn’t snaked there way to the bottom of the bin. Hallleeehbloooodythankee.

Saturday at a time I now giggle about: So step ladder in hand which I no longer need – I now look like a mad woman. I was swearing like a mad woman. I give it a final hummmmppphh. A bit of a yaaaaaayyyyy. I refrain from doing a wee dance. I then take the ladders and my keys into my house and hide. I laugh. Fuck me if there is ever a time to have a key crisis it is not now!!

Header Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Yoga Brought Home

During the outbreak of COVID-19 things have changed. For my Yoga studio that has meant adapting to keep the business going. Adapting to offer something to those of us who go there. I am continually amazed at how we adapt to significant change. There are some people who can’t, depending on their jobs / businesses, but others have the ability to create new ways of working.

I have a job where I have to still have to go in to work. Thankfully I love my job so doing extra just now is a given – no questions asked just get on with it. So how bloody pleased am I that my Yoga Studio in Edinburgh has picked up on the Zoom platform to keep a good schedule of classes going.

Online Fitness

It’s not my first time using Zoom or video meetings / conferences / chats. I am using FaceTime more and more with friends to catch up now that I can’t go out and see them. The group identity is still strong as we FaceTime with a glass of wine, a comfy seat, some music on and chat.

A fellow blogger introduced me to Zoom! Lee did a trial run last week (maybe it was the week before) and so with the app downloaded I was already on-board and online for when my Yoga Studio put out the message that they were starting classes this way.

Thank You and Yeeeeeessss!!! Whilst I will still do Joe Wicks PE (its good fun and you can pick up on it on YouTube even if you missed the live feed) I need Yoga in my life that isn’t the DVD / TV style. No offence to all those lovely people sitting under a tree or in a walled garden doing their yoga to the world….I just like the realism of the instructors I know, the fellow Yogis I see at class and the connection we already all have.

Zoom gives the teachers the ability to watch, correct and interact with us. We get to see faces that we haven’t seen since the studio had to close it’s doors due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

My First Zoom Yoga Class

I am bloody knackered now! I should have pipped for the Yin class but that is not for a few days. So full body flow it was. The funny thing is I thought I wouldn’t work as hard as I usually would when in the studio. But…our teacher was on it, watching and feeding back to us all. It is strange doing it in my living room but I have a mat, blocks and a strap – what more do you need!! I even had a little scent burner going for ambience.

Full body is a mix of things but it definitely includes a lot of strength work. Today thankfully that was legs and back rather than purely focusing on core. So starting off in Dolphin to Down Dog repetitions and moving on to low / high plank repetitions set the tone that by the end of it I expected to be a bit sweaty. When we were popping back from forward fold to plank (and then to chaturanga) I definitely felt like I was working hard!

Moving into back work is my favourite as I really enjoy working on this area of the body. So lots of back bends leading into bow pose. We were then given some pretty ingenious holds for the upper back by holding a V with our forearms out front from warrior two.

Balances. Always a problem for me and I still tried my best even when they could only see me on a little computer screen. Balances with strength holds are even bloody worse but I gave it my best shot! I didn’t even fall over even though I still have a slightly weak ankle from a trip a few weeks back. Go me haha!

Gratitude

A big thing in yoga. Gratitude – yes I am definitely feeling it. For having brilliant colleagues, for all the key workers regardless of what work they are doing, and for staying safe. I was thankful to be on my mat today, just focused on how my body was feeling, what it could do today and my breath. Namaste

A gorgeous spot not far from where I live in Edinburgh.
Photo by Daniil Vnoutchkov on Unsplash

Header Photo by Manja Vitolic on Unsplash

Birthday

It was my birthday a couple of days ago. I got a message from a work mate saying “happy shittiest birthday ever”. Haha I am glad someone said it. During a near lockdown in Scotland at the moment it isn’t easy to do anything we would normally want to do. But here are the brilliant things (yep a list) from my birthday.

1. Drop off food

My folks managed to get me a wee package involving wine and a dinner. Typically they left out the crispy potato things I like but I sourced them at Tesco. Along with more wine (bubbly) and some flowers and a cake. Might as well buy my own flowers for my birthday…right?

I might have mentioned before my lack of kitchen skills. But I entered the ‘tiny’ kitchen and actually cooked my dinner; something I generally like to avoid.

2. Messages

Loads. From work colleagues across the country. Ones I see now, ones I haven’t seen in years. All family though. Its that kind of job. I’m still getting some pinging through now two days later. Usually inappropriate. Usually hilarious. All of them made me laugh. Some I even snort laughed at.

I also had messages from mates that I still see and some I don’t manage to see often. Its pretty great that we all stay connected.

Definitely a few new connections in there too. I love the fact that even people on WordPress who I have only known through our blogs are also in touch. Appreciating the banter…you know who you are :-).

3. Music

Wether you have been my DJ, my playlist provider or even my FaceTime rendition of happy birthday played by guitar and sung, I have danced around my living room, my bedroom and my tiny hallway. I have refrained from dancing in the garden as there are far too many flats with people in them who, lets face it, have nothing to do other than stare at the mad folk outside. I have sat in the garden though whenever there is a bit of sun.

4. Girls night in

FaceTiming with the girls who all had a glass of something has been such a laugh. They tried to sing happy birthday to me (I muted them haha). Staying in is the new going out. At least you can always find a seat. At my new age of forty fecking three people might say I need it.

The other great thing about this is that its not that far to get home. No thinking about how I am going to walk down from town on a Saturday night. No taxis required. Just a few skips through to my bedroom and woohoo…bed!

5. Neighbours

I have lovely neighbours although occasionally we can’t be arsed with each other. They are mental (I am just quirky…there is a difference) but I like them for it.

My old neighbour who used to sing very loudly in the garden, old in age and also old in the fact he had to move across town, phoned me to say happy birthday. Two of my other neighbours made me scones and made me cards. Hey they were Christmas cards, but they scored out the merry Christmas and changed it to Happy Birthday.

Worst or Best?

Can I go for somewhere in between? I had a laugh so it wasn’t bad. I can think of things I would like to be doing though on my birthday though that I couldn’t do. At least I was off work for a couple of days. At least I have a lot of people, connections and laughs.

I also think that if you do have your birthday during the COVID-19 crises then you should be allowed a second one when this is all a bit better.

Does that make me a queen, a princess or just a little demanding? 🙂

This one is only here because it made me laugh 🙂 x

So apparently video dating is a thing

It’s bad enough being single and having to date normally. In a ‘lockdown’ (or near lockdown) dating is not really something that can be done. But some creative, somewhat annoying, people have come up with alternatives.

Options

Yep there are options. No one needs to put down the dating app if they don’t want to. Swipe right and sort out a video date instead. Oooh hurrah. I feel like running to my phone and swiping right just to have to chat to a complete stranger about COVID-19 – what else is there to talk about nowadays. Obviously I am being sarcastic here. It might actually work for some people. Others will just amuse themselves for a while ;-).

People already dating are doing video ‘dates’. I get the rationale for this a bit more. It is tough for people who have been dating and now can’t see each other. Living together is probably not an option at that point in a relationship. No one wants to end something too quickly and living together may just tip people over the edge.

Married – I am sure you guys will have options too. It may be understandable when you get sick of each other to FaceTime from different rooms…just to keep it all normal.

Single?

If you are single and happy with that then fabulous. Because lets face it you are staying single for a while longer. Its a contact thing. People say physical contact isn’t necessary and maybe for some people it isn’t. I think its an important part of anything though. Anything else is just a great connection. So maybe we should just be happy making connections whilst missing the physical contact. Who knows. If ever there was a time to say it was shite being single – nows the time.

As they say though – worse things happen at sea.

Photo by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash

One day at home

The whole situation at the moment is serious so apologies for this seeming light-hearted. But I’m knackered and off for the day.

Day

Honestly – it was spent watching news. News. News. Then a walk to the shop to buy wine. Expensive wine as there was hardly any left. I feel like I have watched too much news.

I played a little bit of piano. Then I watched the news (again). I am already feeling thankful that I have to work. I am also feeling thankful for every type of key worker and really feeling for everyone else who can’t work. Feeling for those who are uncertain about their livelihoods. Everyone has to deal with some form of shit in this situation.

Evening

Do I really need to conserve my wine? There must be enough stock in Scotland.

Facetime (Social distancing is serious!). Living on your own – A good thing…a bad thing. If I had to / at any point have to stay at home for 7 days it won’t be a great thing even if it would be a necessary thing.

Wine. Wine. Wine. Piano. Music. Dancing on my coffee table (its big enough don’t worry).

Music choice – pot luck. Here are two of them ;-). They both remind me of connection. Of people. They both make me smile.

Leith’s just down the road….not a fan of that Edinburgh club but I appreciate the cup final version done by Hibs fans in 2016…just couldn’t post it 🙂

Its a short post. I can’t think of much to say this week. Other than stay safe and chin up.