Well this is going to be quite a depressing monthly round-up, isn’t it? Oh how I wish I could have written about all of the things I had planned in April.
I was due to finally see James Arthur live, and also Niall Horan and Lewis Capaldi for the fifth time each and my parents were due to spend a week with me here in the city, both of them having never been before.
But the Coronavirus descended on us all in March, ruining any future plans that we had for the next few months. We’re at the beginning of May now and I was due to go to Puerto Rico this weekend (sad times) and didn’t have that much planned for the remainder of the month (thankfully).
However, I wanted to make sure I kept up this little monthly diary, even through COVID-19 as it’s something to look back on if anything. And where better to be during a worldwide pandemic than right in the epicenter of America?
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE ‘RONA
Let’s get it over with at the beginning, shall we?
At the beginning of April everyone was still a little cautious. I had just moved into my new flat and everyone was conscious of going outside, getting on public transport and being close to other people.
But as the weeks went on, the more relaxed everyone seems to have become. There are more and more people outside, the streets around where I live are crowded at the weekends if the weather is nice and some of the interns have even ventured into Manhattan.
Personally, I haven’t been in New York for 51 days, but who’s counting? I miss it terribly, but we’re riding it out and not being stupid. It seems weird that we only have another three months to go in our jobs and yet we can’t make the most of our last few months here or travel to other states.
Here’s hoping it gets better and we can have a good summer in NYC!
THE DAILY EMAILS
Since I have nothing better to do and a lot more time on my hands, I’ve started clogging up people’s email inboxes with daily messages. I send them every morning before 10am as the first thing I do when I sit at my desk and find it very therapuetic.
I talk about my evening before, maybe what I cooked, what I watched on TV and what happened in the daytime. Then I share some good news from around the world to lift spirits away from the ‘rona. If I’ve read a book, short reviews go in there too.
Then I list three things I’m grateful for which can be anything from my morning coffee to good weather. The last part is where I talk about a blog post I’ve recently written, a subject that I want to delve deeper into or something that I think will be of value to the reader.
I promise it’s not all Netflix! If you would like to sign up to receive a daily (weekday) newsletter, you can subscribe here.
THE NYC MARATHON
Well, not quite. But almost. I’ve started running. I know. You can pick your jaw up of the floor now.
I hate running. I always have and probably always will. You’ll only ever find me in the weights section of a gym, as the only cardio I like to do is dancing in a nightclub or walking miles to the nearest bar.
But, since I don’t have access to a gym right now and no weights to squat, I’ve had to do something before I gain the COVID-15. So I’ve started to run. I was kind of spurred on from the 5km for 5 challenge I kept seeing on Instagram.
Now, before you get too ahead of yourself, I can’t run the length of myself never mind run 5km. I’ve started running 3km twice a week, and am trying to up it this week to either three or four times. Once I get comfortable running 3km, I’ll aim to increase the distance, but for now I’m trying to run as much as possible without having to stop and walk and to bring my time down too.
You can keep up with my running diaries on my Instagram stories.
NERD ALERT
Since I’ve had a lot of time on my hands this month, I’ve started some online courses. Because, what else is there to do?
I’ve finished a Google Analytics Course for Beginners and started a Harvard Course in Contract Law and started a Proofreading and Editing Course. If you would like to know more about these courses or others you can take advantage of in your free time, check out this blog post.
As well as the online courses, I’ve been reading more than ever, too. I’m way past my target of 12 books in 12 months, now on book number 20. I upped my target to 30 books for the year, but I think I may just be able to complete the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge. I remember thinking 52 would be impossible when I set my goal of 12 at the beginning of the year.
If you would like any recommendations or would like to read reviews of all the books I’ve been reading, you can find those here.
EXPLORING NEW JERSEY
This past month I have seen more of New Jersey than I ever thought I would in the 12 months that I would be living here.
Every weekend, since we can’t go into New York, we choose a new area of New Jersey and walk to it and have a little wander.
We often frequent Jersey City, Grove Street and Hoboken but have since ventured out to Weehawken, Liberty State Park and Journal Square. We walked a total of 52,000 steps at the weekend, in the sweltering heat. I got a little (lot) sunburnt but it was well worth it.
I’ll be an expert on the state of New Jersey before you know it.
MOVE OVER GORDON
Other than watching Netflix (I’m almost finished The Crown and have just finished Normal People) I’ve been doing a lot of cooking.
At the beginning of the lockdown, I was ordering in takeaway quite a lot and after a few weeks, it was starting to show and I was starting to feel the effects.
I don’t think I’ve had a takeaway in over two weeks now and have been cooking every evening after work and even on weekends. I’m basically the new Gordon Ramsey, but some would maybe say otherwise. I’m trying and I’m learning.
So that’s as exciting as my April came to be. Plans cancelled, parents unable to fly over and more time spent inside than I ever cared to imagine. I doubt May will be much different, but here’s hoping it will begin to bring positive news for the remaining months I have in New York.
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