Over the past week I have dyed my hair blonds, had a haircut, binge watched 60 Days In and bought myself Madden 20. In addition to this, we had the best BBQ since lockdown on Saturday, the government have slightly reduced restrictions (in a convoluted and confusing manner) and yesterday the government announced that the furlough scheme will be extended until October.
I have wanted to dye my hair blonde since the Summer of 2016. I had recently gone on gardening leave and was enjoying my 5 weeks off by watching the Euros. Aaron Ramsey and Lionel Messi (maybe others too) had all bleached their hair blonde and I wanted to do the same to mine for a laugh. At the time I decided against going through with it as I was due to start the new job and didn’t want to keep the style for a long time. Lockdown has given me the perfect opportunity to mess around with my appearance. I have grown a moustache and had been letting my hair grow. Dulcie asked me if she could bleach my hair blonde so I went for it. Whilst the dye was setting I looked like Draco Malfoy with my hair slicked back and the yellowy twinge coming through. It looked pretty funny once we washed the dye off and I then let Lana and Dulcie style it. I went for my old 14/15 year old hairstyle. This is a cross between a mullet and a wide mohican and weirdly looks more conservative than you’d imagine. I sent Marta, Pat and Anna pictures of it but did not reveal it to my friends until later that evening during the weekly Sunday quiz. It was funny watching my friends’ reactions. I received more compliments on it than I expected. Sam told me that it was “exceptional”.
The previous day (Saturday) we had one of the best barbecues. This was due to everyone contributing. I marinated chicken in a curry/yogurt mix and also marinated tuna in a Japanese style sauce. Nick made ribs, pineapple (for the BBQ) and sausages. My mum made the salads and some small burgers; Lana was the sous chef and Tao made regular burgers too. We had the BBQ in the walled garden and invited Richard (AKA Ricky) from next door to have it with us. He mentioned that he works for the property development company that has built the houses/flats by the new train station in Rochester. He also told us (with strong conviction!) that the World Health Organisation created cancer and that petroleum is put into all medicines. Nick and I didn’t challenge him on this but did find it amusing. At the start and end of the BBQ I carried the gas bottle to and from the garage. It was interesting to note that I found it much easier than the last time we had a BBQ (at least two weeks prior) and I put this down to the exercise regime that Lana and I have been following.
The day after the BBQ, Tao got me watching 60 Days In. This is a documentary on civilians spending time in jail to give feedback to the Sheriff on what can be improved and general intelligence. Whilst I enjoyed the show it was a typical US programme – far too many recaps, selective editing to increase tension and the whole programme could have been condensed into 8 episodes instead of 14. By binging this it has put me in bad sleeping/waking habits as I would stay up watching the episodes and then not get up when my alarm would ring the next day. I also bought Madden 20 from Amazon which arrived on that Sunday. It cost me £25 and has been a welcome distraction.
Other things I have been up to include: watching the new Rick and Morty episodes, staying in touch with Marta, continuing the exercise programme and fasting on Mondays and Wednesdays. I’m getting a bit bored with the squat challenge but Lana and I will have completed this by Friday 22nd May. I’m looking forward to having a review of the exercises we are doing and freshening it up. I was very pleased with myself yesterday as I managed to do 3 full diamond/triceps push ups – this is the most I have ever done and this also comes at the end of our chest/triceps workout. Marta has advised me to look into Pamela Reif for ideas on new workouts. My lower back pain has pretty much cleared up since doing Glute Medius exercises every day. It’s still not 100% but it has vastly improved.
Lastly, an update on COVID-19: Yesterday the government announced that it will extend the furlough funding until October meaning my income is guaranteed for another 4 months which is a relief. I’m not sure if this will still be at the 80% or if it will be reduced somewhat. Even if it is reduced it wont be too much of an issue as I am handing in my notice at the flat so wont have much outgoings. I’m also going to apply for more Account Manager type jobs so may have something new lined up soon anyway. The government have slightly reduced the restrictions (this was on Sunday) so now you can meet up with 1 person not from your household in a public place but must still maintain the 2m distance. You can also now spend as much time as you like outside and those that cannot work from home are now able to go back to work.
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