As for many of you, my way of living changed drastically with the lockdown at the end of March here in the UK. My job is mainly lab-based, so only being able to do computer work at home was a significant change. But it also took off a lot of pressure, and the importance of things shifted. The need for constant output, including this blog, somehow vanished, and I had finally the time to think.
In April, the work I could do from home was minimal, and I started to sew face masks in my ample free time. A lot of them. I've probably passed the 100-mark by now. I gave away the first rounds for donations, and I still need to sort out how much I collected and passed on to different charities. Then it got a bit much to handle just by email, and I set up my own online shop here.
The last batch just went online, in case you still need one. The weather in April and May was so lovely that I spent a lot of time gardening in the backyard. I didn't plant anything in the last two years, and now I finally had time again. There are different kinds of lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, radishes, spinach, rocket, pak choi and a range of herbs. I enjoy watching them grow.
At the beginning of Mai, I was feeling like a change. As much as I loved my long purple hair, I had it just tied back most of the time. When the roots were due for bleaching, I decided on a whole new colour and love the bright turquoise now. With the help of my boyfriend, I cut off a large chunk of the length, except for the back, turning it into a mullet mohawk with a purple strand.
I also started to redesign Zebraspider. I spend a lot of time thinking about how I want to bring this forward in the next years and what to focus on. Don't worry, it won't be completely different, but everything evolves over time, and my branding should match. Nothing is public yet, but there will definitively some changes this year. I'm excited, but there is still a lot of work to do.
One thing that stuck in my head from full lockdown was that there is not suddenly "more time", but slowing down has probably kept me from burnout. I'll write about my thoughts on mental health another time. How was this for you?
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Sabrina (Tuesday, 18 August 2020 11:39)
Wie schön von dir zu lesen!
Ich habe die ersten Wochen des Lockdowns in Deutschland tatsächlich als entspannend wahrgenommen - ein bisschen unstrukturiert und dadurch nicht ganz optimal, aber plötzlich war doch viel Druck rausgenommen. Mir persönlich hat das zumindest eine Weile sehr gut getan (auch wenn mir natürlich klar ist, dass es für viele Menschen auch alles andere als entspannend war, zB wegen Kinderbetreuung, häuslicher Gewalt oä).
Liebe Grüße,
Sabrina
Janina (Tuesday, 18 August 2020 13:13)
Hallo Sabrina,
schön auch wieder von dir zu lesen! Und es tut auch gut zu wissen, daß es anderen ähnlich ging.
Vielen Dank und liebe Grüße,
Janina
Svea (Sunday, 23 August 2020 22:01)
Hallo Janina, schön mal wieder von dir zu lesen. Hatte mir schon ein bisschen Gedanken gemacht... auch ich hatte den Eindruck, dass sich einige Menschen mal wieder auf die wesentlichen Dinge besinnen und Zuhause arbeiten war ganz schön, da unsere seit März zur Fernbeziehung gewordene Beziehung so mit weniger räumlicher Trennung verbundenen war als es bei Normalbetrieb der Fall gewesen wäre. Wobei kein Schulbesuch für viele Schüler sozial echt übel war. Ich war überrascht, dass selbst die totalverweigerer freiwillig bei Öffnung in voller Anzahl auf der Matte standen. Übrigens sieht das türkis großartig aus. Liebe Grüße, Svea
Janina (Monday, 24 August 2020 17:45)
Hallo Svea,
ebenso! :D
Ja, das auf's Wesentliche besinnen bringt's gut auf den Punkt. Kann ich verstehen, am meisten vermisse ich auch Freunde zu treffen.
Vielen Dank und liebe Grüße,
Janina