Level 3 Lockdown Day #16

Well done everyone, we have made it to the end of lockdown.  Well I think it is the end of lockdown as such cos although we are still not back to normal there is a lot more freedom to do what we normally would be doing in Level 2.  I already have a couple things in my diary woot woot.  Have a theatre board meeting next week and am catching up with atlst one friend this wknd, am waiting to hear back from another.  We also are letting our broadcasters back into the studios from tomorrow, first booking is at 8:30 lol, Heiko couldn’t wait and I don’t blame him.  And as much as I love Ken it’s a yay that he won’t be my only company lol.

I must admit I am looking forward to things being more normal.  I know we still need to be careful, which I am sure most of us will be, but it will be nice to know that if I want to go for a drive I won’t get into trouble for it.  And that I can go to see friends in Napier.  And that I can wander into the shops if I want to browse before buying something.  It’s a nice feeling.  Also means the roads will be busier for when I am running but they have been getting busier in the past few weeks anyhow so it’s not a major.

Sometimes I think it was better before people like Bluebird and TipTop figured out the gluten free thing.  You may think that sounds weird to be saying that, but let’s take Bluebird and look at it properly.  Before Bluebird figured out the gluten free chips I would only have say a third of a bag at a time, cos although the other brands are definitely edible they are not quite as moreish.  Bluebird comes along and not only are their gluten free chips a tad on the expensive side, but they are amazing and totally worth the extra cost, just saying! And to all you out there who think I may be a frugal and possibly weird cos I won’t spring for something like wi-fi, well it’s because I like to be able to afford the really good gluten free stuff.  I mean if I have to eat this food I might as well have the best tasting of it hehe.  Anyhow back to Bluebird, along they come with their gluten free chips and you try to put the bag away after only eating some, but good luck with that, you will just reopen it and keep on munching, well if you are anything like me you will lol.  If you are wondering what started this pondering let me just say that I had dinner, was full enough but wanted to just have a snack, and now am almost one bag of chips down.  Good thing I bought two packets lol

Not quite sure what else to say, would say I haven’t done much last night or tonight but if we are literal then I have built a house, a lighthouse, a fence, most of a sunset and most of an ocean.  Yes I’m doing a jigsaw hehe.  Thought I would have started one earlier on in lockdown but was bored of all mine cos had just recently done pretty much all of them, but I got this one at mum and dads in the wknd (got dad to order it from one of his magazine things a while back) so now have a new one to do so yay :)

Plan to sort out the spare room this wknd, but have been thinking that since about Easter.  There is a clear path to the windows, with an off shoot to the wardrobe with the coats in it, so it’s not like it’s unusable.  But the couch is rather full of stuff so now that people can visit people again and I’m hoping some people come visit me, I really should make it so they can stay the night if they want to… Maybe, though, seeing as visitors are actually now a reality it will happen.  I do have one less thing in there to tidy though, knew I was smart leaving the overlocker at mums hehe.

Today was a pretty good day at work.  I say pretty good though all day both Ken and I were thinking it was Thursday and had to keep reminding each other that it wasn’t.  Threw me a couple times when I thought the wrong show was playing cos it was a Wednesday show not a Thursday show lol.  Plus someone took all the batteries out of our clocks :( that was just a cruel mean joke, not cool at all!  But I did spend a chunk of the arvo playing around with making headers for our website and some stuff for our Facebook page which was fun.  On our website we have headers that say when certain shows are playing, I normally make a few new ones every few weeks or whenever I have time and remember to do so.  Well today I made a few, and actually made a note of which ones I had done so I don’t end up with double-ups, and I will just save them and change them round every few weeks but if I’m busy atlst I won’t have to make new ones.  Also played around with trying different programmes for making the squares of coming up shows that we put up on Facebook.  May sound like nothing much but my personal laptop had the most user friendly for what I was doing programme but I don’t want to be doing them at home cos that aint fun, and the programme I was using previously at work was frustrating and irritating so I experimented and downloaded a few to try, played around with a couple online and then found one that does what I want super awesomely, even better than my laptop one so I am stoked as.  It was definitely worth the couple hours of playing around that I did.  Yay for slow days occasionally I guess.

Anyhow bring on Level 2 and a return to an almost normal life and no spike in Covid-19 cases.  I definitely do not want to go back into lockdown at all.  At this stage this is the end of the Lockdown Diary, however I am aiming to check in every week or so to let you all know how I am going, will see how busy I get though.  And when Cleo and I go on roadtrips or do something exciting there will of course be a post with pics shared.  

If you’re wondering the lockdown dairy has exactly 25,500 words (!) and is 36 pages long.  Well done all of you for getting through it with me, thanks :) hope you have enjoyed it.  I have enjoyed writing it, and it has given me something to do, which I have needed some days.

PS. Hey all, Penelope the Pixie here, just thought I would sneak in and say hey :) Dave the Dinosaur and me have convinced Jilly to give us our own time slot so every Sunday morning from next weekend we are going to saying hey to you all.  If 7am is too early for you, you will be able to listen to our show on the website pages cos we also convinced Jilly to do that for us.  I think she likes us.  And if you want to request any songs or stories or if you have any jokes we can tell just send them to Jilly and she will pass them along cos she is awesome like that :)  

See ya :)

Level 3 Lockdown Day #14

I think life might be going back to being more normal, and not just because we are heading to Level 2 slowly over the next few weeks, but because when I went to the supermarket today there was no queue and I also got pretty much everything on my list.  I didn’t manage to get gluten free chicken gravy but that is hard to find in normal circumstances, and there was no gluten free flour though this is not on my list as other people have got me some cos they are awesome.  I hope this is a sign of good things coming not just a lull cos the takeaway places are open again.  I am not sure if I will keep going with the fortnightly shopping or not.  Normally I duck in after work and pick up what I want for the next day or so, and if my list on the bench of other stuff (baking, cleaning, toiletries etc) is big enough then I do a special shop for that stuff and use that as a time to stock up on other stuff I may want.  Other than running out of fruit doing it fortnightly aint really all that bad, just means you gotta be more prepared, and have a semi organised pantry so you have somewhere to put all the groceries lol.

Today was a very quiet day at work.  I only had one broadcaster to phone and record and I chatted with her too.  Phillipa is one that I think is very sane and understands how most people work.  Her show is Health Matters and an example of why I think she is sane and understands us average people is today we were discussing good habits food-wise in particular and she said you don’t have to cook a proper fancy dinner, it can be something simple, all in one pot, or microwaved frozen veges and something simple with it.  She also said that if you are having a pre-prepared microwave meal full of preservatives even just adding some frozen veges to it when microwaving it makes it a much better meal.  And she then pointed out that you should not focus on the things you aren’t doing (like cooking proper dinners) and should focus on what you are doing (like adding some extra veges), and I think that is pretty awesome cos most people will have lazy or off days and I don’t trust people that imply you should always be onto it and super healthy.  

            A way to tell that my day was very very quiet is that I printed off a list of all the people who are subscribed to our monthly-ish newsletter, and printed off a list of all our broadcasters (after updating it) and started updating the newsletter subscriptions.  I removed the really old people who don’t look at the newsletter any more, made sure that everyone on the list is in the right category (some ex-broadcasters are still in broadcasters group, while others that have started a show haven’t been added to the broadcasters group), and tomorrow I will add in the ones that are missing.  So yeah, super lots to do lol.  It is a good thing in a way as I have been wanting to tidy it up for a while so in some ways now being quiet is a good thing.  I also filled in some more time in the midnight-6am slots with shows from the archives, I think I am down to only having a few hours to do each weekday early morning now.  Finding the shows to put in the spare spaces aint that hard or time consuming, but setting them up play and adding them to the schedule takes a bit of time, and it’s something you don’t want to rush cos it could either not play, or it could play and no-one knows to tune in, or it might play but if I haven’t made a note of it on my spreadsheet we don’t get the credit for it which is the whole point.  Last month we were very much down on our 36c first run hours, however our repeat runs were up and our general playlist hours were well down, which is a woot woot for me cos it means I’m filling in gaps good hehe.

I was motivated to do stuff when I got back from mum and dads ystdy, and I was hoping that that would last a few days, however it appears that it is already faded.  The most I can claim to have done after work today was pull out the two pairs of shoes I’ve decided I don’t need no more cos I don’t wear them, and send pa a pic of a job I want his help with when he visits.  I have done some crocheting but since I did that while watching tv I don’t really think it counts.  So yeah, seems the motivation is gone already.  Kinda sad it didn’t last any longer.  Will be interesting to see if it slowly, or fastly, returns under Level 2.  I have a vague feeling it may be gone for good, well except for the odd moment, mostly cos it was kinda on the way out before lockdown so I highly doubt it will make a magical reappearance lol.

I am over promos for traveling and touristy shows on tv, I feel like it is unfair for them to be playing when there is no way we could go on a holiday to the places they are showing any time soon.  I know the shows have been filmed and as there are no new episodes being filmed for shows tv has to play something but surely they can pick something other than travel shows.  Maybe I am the odd one out, and no one else cares or they even enjoy watching them, but I feel like they are a cruel form of torture.

I had something else I was going to say, but my brain has switched off and some NRL show is on which is way more interesting than trying to figure out what my brain was thinking.  Plus there is apparently only 17 days to go till NRL restarts woot woot, would quite like them to update their app so I know when my boys are scheduled to play, but I spose I should have learnt how to be patient by now, haha like that will ever happen.  Haha watching this show and I was just thinking ‘man I would love to be paid to just talk about random stuff’, ummm JB you already are being paid to talk about random stuff with random people lol.

Anyhow, am off to go get my yummy as dairy free gluten free vegan friendly chocolate honeycomb ice cream which, sorry guys, but it totally trumps sitting here typing random thoughts for you to read.  Plus if I want to stay under 25,000 words I best stop now just in case I get chatty in the next couple of days lol

Level 3 Lockdown Day #12

Well my soul is feeling much better, and much happier, and nowhere as fragile as it was feeling.  No offense to Ken, he is a lovely man, however sometimes a girl needs more than just her boss, she needs her family.  And in this girls case she decided that she needed her parents.  The cracks were not only starting to show, but were getting larger and deeper by the day.  I know that travel in Level 3 is essential travel only, and this was essential.  For me to still be here, in the bubbly happy form you have all come to love, at the end of this lockdown drama there was an urgent need for parental love in-person, and many many hugs.  So on Thursday Cleo and I popped over to Mangakino, her for Bodecia and Febe’s company and me for mum and dad company and hugs.  And Glenny is chilling with Big Ted at the moment, he has said hi to Willis-E and Brown Bear as well (hey look Fishy, so many bears named and you still don’t feature :p).  

The driving over also helped mend my soul.  I don’t know about you but there is something about driving and good music cranked up that nothing can beat.  It doesn’t matter how good your stereo is, and I have had many dance parties at mine with my awesome stereo, there is something about the act of being on the move while singing at the top of your lungs with your bear chilling beside you that is just a basic human requirement, atlst it is for me.

It has been a lovely stay with mum and dad.  I have enjoyed not having to cook dinner, not even had to think about what to have for dinner.  I have very much enjoyed having someone to talk to in the evenings and the day, and even when it has been quiet (there has been a moment or two for those who don’t believe mum and I can have moments of not talking) it’s been nice knowing that there is someone else there, or someone to lean on while your on the couch reading or watching tv (Dad is a great person to lean on, if you didn’t know, but he’s mine, just saying).

            I worked a bit ystdy and today as I didn’t technically take leave for Friday, but just worked a bit more during the week and then was available by phone for if Ken needed me for anything.  Is quite handy being set up to work from home as does allow me to do things like this but it is still not as fun as working from work.

            Dad has pottered, like he is so good at doing.  And he has helped with the crosswords I brought over.  Sadly though, for most of them, his helping was in his handwriting so you can tell that I am not as smart as I would like to claim lol.  Mum’s helping was in my handwriting so I can take credit for her input hehe.

I am heading home tomorrow, although Ken said I could have longer off work if I wanted it is still nice having the routine of semi normal life going.  That and working from work is just plain easier than working from a distance.  Atlst I have fixed all the issues that cropped up while I was working from home, so if I ever have to again it should be a bit smoother.  Not that I am going to ever again but for the odd long wknd it is something I will keep in mind.

Went for a run today, and I just want to say there are way more hills in Mangakino that there are in Hastings.  There were parts of the run where I was rather stuffed and it was a hard slog, and yes I walked some parts but never for very long so I am pretty happy with my effort.  I saw some nice looking houses, some not so nice looking houses, some rather weird looking house, quite a few houses for sale, a couple caught my eye and I slowed a bit to have a good look hehe.  Also found the fire station, kindergarten (a very bright yellow, and not in a good way I don’t think), school, swimming pool, sports grounds, St John building (couldn’t see an ambulance in there tho), and made it to the lake.  It was a rather long route to the lake hehe but it was worth it.  Got quite a few waves from people either driving or chilling on their front porches which was cool.  Even managed to run up about 2/3 of the hill back from the lake so I was pretty happy with that.

Level 3 Lockdown Day #9

Now I have thought the following quite often, but it seems much more relevant at the moment - if we could marry businesses I would totally marry Jarks.  There is more than one reason, cos come on if you are getting married it should be for more than one reason lol, mainly they just cook amazing food, total num num.  Also they are super friendly and friendly is impt in a partner.  And Jilly Jarks would be such a cool name, no one can argue with that lol.

Found my old Radio School stuff, and boy can I just say that if that was my best stuff I sure have come a long way lol.  Haven’t exactly practiced to become better or anything, I think I just have more confidence and care less about what others may think and that has made me better.  Now I just go with the flow and if I make a mistake I just go with it, back then I would have edited it out or redone it.  And if I was in commercial radio maybe I would still have to sound super excited about every single thing, but thankfully I do not.  I just have to sound happy and interested which is super easy.  Anyhow, have decided that as a treat I will take Ken my skite tape lol, I think he will get a kick out of it.  That and the NZ Music Doco that I made on a now completely forgotten but back then band that I loved.  That one was pretty good, probably cos I re-voiced and edited it lots.

Today at work there were many funny bits, to my mind atlst.  Made another Kidnappers Kidz, lol Penelope the Pixie just cracks me up every time, not only voicing her but listening back when I have amended my voice to be hers :) Definitely the best character I have created I think.  She came about cos Dave the Dinosaur (aka Ken) needed a new ad a while back and so his friend Penelope the Pixie came in to voice it and tell all the kids about the great show her friend did.  Then Dexter (aka David from Theatre HB) came in and took over Kidnappers Kidz and all the fun (for us) disappeared.  But since we have been in lockdown and broadcasters aren’t allowed in Dave and Penelope have been holding down the fort (yay hehe).  

            Also makes me giggle at the two different ways there are to make prerecorded shows, well in general, for the music ones.  You can just wing it, make it up as you go along and either say stuff off memory, or read it on Wikipedia (or somewhere else online) before hitting record then say it off that memory.  And if you make a mistake that’s not too major just correct and keep going, no bothering with over editing or anything, so long as it sounds natural and not too hideous it’s all good.  And then there is the research, write notes, record and if make a mistake re-record, edit very well and make sure it is super smooth way.  Guess which one is me and which is Ken? Lol, if you got that wrong you really don’t know me as well as you should haha.  I am definitely the wing it one lol.  Live is a different story of course.

            As we edit Ken and I both tend to have the awesome habit of talking out loud of what we are doing (delete, import audio, ok, etc) and singing to the songs as you make sure they blend in well after and before the speaking bits.  This is impt to know for the next part which is why I am mentioning it.  This afternoon when Ken and I were busy editing, him a NZ Music Month Special and me Kidnappers Kidz, we were doing our singing along and it was rather funny cos, completely by accident, he would sing a snippet from a classic NZ song from the 60s or 70s and then I would sing a snippet from a kids tune, then him a NZ song, then me a kids tune etc.  Lol it was rather hilarious.  Then quite by accident we both sang ‘file, import audio’ at the same time, and yes we both sing it the same way.  I think it might be time that we get some more people in our bubbles lol.

It is rather chilly this evening, and was today too for that matter.  I currently have a hot water bottle and a blanket; the heater is warming up my bedroom for when I go to bed.  We are meant to be dropping down to 2 overnight, brrrrr.  Guess winter really is coming.  Sadly though we didn’t get the thunderstorms we were promised today, both Ken and I were sad when we realised the sun was out for good.  Cleo didn’t mind though, cos she got to go out today, I didn’t wanna risk getting drenched on the way home.  I think she had fun chilling with Ken’s car all day, was some company for her atlst.

In one of the tv shows I am watching at the moment, the main chick has the worst dress sense ever.  In half the scenes I can’t even focus on what I should be focusing on because what she is wearing is just so bad.  She has newly come into lots of money, and was just a poor-ish person before that.  I can’t tell if she is meant to be very fashionable and fashion is just bad or if she is meant to dressing bad and we are meant to know that it is bad… I wouldn’t have a clue.  All I do know is that if she is meant to be fashionable all I can say is I will stick to jeans and hoodies thank you very much lol

Level 3 Lockdown Day #7

Look at that, a whole week of Level 3, aka Lockdown with Takeaways, completed.  Well done us.  I would love to say that’s one week closer to normality but hey, we have no idea when that will be so it’s not really is it.  It’s just one week down.  

You know how ystdy I said I had two people to record and one was a reschedule from last week, well Ken actually did that one (yay) and I got two others.  One I may have tuned out a little on, whoops.  She is one of those alternative health people that I don’t believe in what they do so I struggle to pay attention sometimes as I think it is all wishy washy and fake.  She totally believes it though so I spose that is the main thing.  And atlst she does the show herself which is good, I don’t have to come up with questions to ask.  The other show was our Philippine one, and Leah normally does it all on her own and sometimes rings and chats with Jesus (Gary) Domingo who is the Philippine Ambassador, however as we are doing all the shows by phone she did her part by phone then I rang and chatted with Gary which was cool.  Have met him, he came into the studios last year, and he is such a lovely guy.  Was cool getting the update on how the Philippines have been affected by this virus as well.  Sadly it seems that many of the Filipinos in NZ will have to leave soon as they are on work visas but aren’t earning due to lockdown, and a criteria of the visas is that they are working.  I suspect there won’t be much work for them back home either somehow, which is sad.

Glenny has enjoyed this evening, mostly cos I was trying to find a story to read for the kids show this coming wknd so obviously had to read a few of them to see which ones read best out loud and which ones are fun to listen to, and fun to read.  We have narrowed it down to two…. Not sure which one will do, might record them both and have one up my sleeve in case I need it next wknd, or maybe I will use both.  Who knows.  Guess those listening on Saturday morning will find out lol.  And yes one of the books that made the short list may technically be my brothers book but since it is in my house I fully think it is now mine, and I am pretty sure that I have thought it was mine (along with others that someone wrote his name in) for a while now lol.  The other story that made the short list, if you are wondering, used to be Dad’s but he gave it to me so it is legit mine :) hehe.  And yes I do have plenty of books that are mine, but not all the good ones were mine so I just claimed the ones I wanted, cos seriously me and Glenny read them the most anyhow so we figure that they should stay with us :)

Aint really done much else today.  Went to work, took Ken some Banana Loaf I made ystdy and he agreed that it was rather moreish.  It is definitely not lasting more than a couple of days, but then it runs the risk of going stale if it stays around too long and we would hate for that to happen.  Other than recording a couple shows, I did the invoicing (will send them out tomorrow as Yvonne does the statements for me and she was having technical issues today), caught up on editing and just the normal day-to-day stuff.  Ken and I caught up on our rather blah wknds, I must admit non-lockdown Monday’s are way more fun cos you have decent catch-ups to be had.  I did manage to miss the heavy rain we had today, no idea how I missed it but Ken also didn’t point it out.  He waited till we were leaving and when I saw the rather wet ground and commented on the fact it musta rained to say ‘oh yeah it was pouring down and you didn’t notice’ with a laugh.  As he knows I like the rain I think this was rather mean.  It did explain why he offered me a ride home in case of rain though lol.  I chose to walk home as I figured the rain was over and I was right, been no more rain and the sun even poked it’s head out while I was walking home.  

I am now going to start a new crossword.  HB Today are putting extra puzzles in the papers at the moment, including big crosswords (I like the big ones cos the chance that I will know an answer goes up the more clues there are lol), so Doffy and I have been doing them together.  Almost like old times, but I send him pics of how it is going as we go through and he gives me a few answers each time, till I concede and let him just finish it lol.  But since they are all being done in my handwriting I’m pretty sure that means I am the one finishing them cos I am super smart :) hahahahahahahahaha :)

Level 3 Lockdown Day #6

Well we made it through the wknd.  Gotta say this wknd was worse than the previous lockdown wknds, to me atlst it was.  I think it is because during the week I got to go back to semi normal and got to go to work which was real good.  Yet ystdy when I woke up I was back to being alone and not being able to do what I wanted to do.  

Friday was a good day, Ken and I decided we had to finish early cos it was a beautiful sunny day and there is little to be happy about somedays so we would take it where we could.  I could have gone for a run or something when I got home, but I didn’t.  Complete lack of motivation is all I can say.  

Saturday I spent the day moving with the sun.  It was that nice, not too hot, just pleasantly warm sunshine and since today and the next few days are forecast for rain I figured it was my duty to enjoy the sun and to make the most of it.  That and no motivation to do anything.  I did finish two books though, so I technically achieved something lol.

Today I decided to not do anything as I didn’t want to risk getting rained on.  Well that was my excuse, in reality I think motivation has just given up and gone on holiday.  So I’ve spent the day doing very little, but I was fully justified as the rain has just arrived, so see it did rain lol.

I ordered Jarks for dinner last night and have decided that I shall try and order from them once a week as my contribution to supporting local.  I say try cos I normally want them on a Sunday but they are shut on Sunday’s, nothing new as they were always shut Sunday.  I got a pizza and chips (my usual when I’m on my own cos then I get leftovers for the next day hehe), and I got a bonus small piece of brownie which totally made my day.  Not sure if I got the bonus brownie cos everyone is, or if its cos they have my details saved as I have made quite a few bookings with them in the past.  I don’t mind either way, it was a lovely surprise which I am just super happy about.  It is definitely the small things at the moment that make a big difference I think.

On Friday my heart was broken, well not really but the expression seems to fit.  Was chatting with some of the theatre folk and one of them mentioned that the theatre wouldn’t open again till level 0 when things were back to normal.  Now it is probably something everyone already knows, everyone except me, which is why it was said so casually but I was not aware that there was a level 0.  In my mind things were going to go level 2 then back to normal.  Finding out about that extra step, which could be a very long one, just threw me a lot.  Shattered my already rather fragile bubble.  Atlst I am I able to visit my family for support, oh wait a minute, no I can’t cos we live in a dictatorship, which is pretending to be a voted in government when they didn’t actually get the majority of the votes.  Yeah, can you tell someone is not super happy with things at the moment.  I know there is a virus going around but there are times when I think getting sick and maybe dying would be a better option than what I have at the moment.  Atlst Cleo is ready to go for a wander when I have had enough and just need to go get some family time.  I don’t really want to break the rules but hey, sometimes a girl just has to do what a girl’s gotta do.

Anyhow to end on a bright-ish note, get to go back to work tomorrow woot woot.  Being the start of the month I have to do invoicing, so not my favourite job but altst it’s something to do and will keep me occupied for the morning.  I also think I am recording a couple people via phone so that will be good.  One I was meant to do last week but her baby had just woken up and was making a bit of a drama in the background, so we rescheduled for tomorrow.  Can’t remember who the other one is, but am sure I will be reminded tomorrow haha.  Also have some shows to edit so will have plenty to do, and company while I do it which is the best part, yay for Ken lol.

PS this diary thing has over 20,000 words in it now.  Hopefully we are back to normal enough that I don’t need to keep writing this before I get to 25,000

Level 3 Lockdown Day #3

Wow three days of Level 3 already, the past couple of days have flown by, thankfully.  I was beginning to think that all the clocks had permanently stopped working, but happily this was not the case.  Was so good having a reason to wake up and get up on Tuesday, I hadn’t realised how much I missed that.  And going into work, wow, just so good, and knowing I could stay there all day was awesome.  Ken and I both had massive grins on our faces when I walked in lol.  I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t have enough work to do as I was only doing half days at home and was keeping up, but it’s amazing the small things you can do at the studios that fill in a day.  Mostly recording and editing shows, and I’m not even mad at Ken for giving me all the ick or challenging to edit people, not yet anyhow, am just glad to be back and chatting with people.  Have also done some shows for NZ Music Month as that starts tomorrow.  We have a pretty good deal going where Ken aka Big Daddy is gonna do shows that feature the older kiwi music and me aka Everybody Loves Jill is doing shows with the more recent (mainly past 20 years) kiwi music.  Suits us both very well which is great.  You may wonder why I am called Everybody Loves Jill, well when looking for my theme tune the only song I could find that wasn’t Jack and Jill was called Everybody Loves Jill and yeah, it just went from there and now I am known as Everybody Loves Jill when I am doing a music themed show lol.  It totally doesn’t hurt that I think everyone should love me anyhow so it plays well into my personality as well lol.  I also made the kids show for Saturday, if you want to have a laugh either tune in at 8am on Saturday or look up Kidnappers Kidz on our website after 9am on Saturday and you will hear me as Penelope the Pixie, high squeaky voice and all.  It’s a bit of a laugh and lots of fun hehe.

Today I learnt something very very impt, apparently if you have more than 2 alcoholic drinks per day this affects (lowers) your immune system.  This is super impt as I always figured any alcohol would not be good for it, or at the very least it would be 2 per week, the 2 per day feels rather generous.  But since a nutritionist told me I think it must be valid and true.  Also do you know how many attempts at spelling it took to get spell check to realise I was trying to spell nutritionist???? So many, so so many.  Spell check is only good if you can vaguely spell a word to start which is sometimes so annoying, it should just know!  Anyhow, back on topic, doing that show over the phone was quite funny cos Heather couldn’t see me pulling faces when she was listing the vegetables we should be eating at the moment, yet she still knew I was pulling faces, cos I always do lol.  

So my week so far, Tuesday went into work.  Was really good.  And I figured out a fix to the computer issues my computer was having which was so good.  It was getting rather frustrating and if I had been at work and able to try things here and there I prob would have fixed it a week or so ago.  Tuesday evening I didn’t really do anything.  Wednesday, work again, yay.  Left early to go for a decent run.  Now that it is getting darker earlier I need to leave work a bit earlier to get in a longer run as the street lights aren’t that great around my area and as I don’t have company while running I just feel more comfortable being home when it gets dark.  The chances that anything bad would happen are slim, but they are even slimmer if you don’t take the risk hehe.  Today Ken and I both thought it was Friday, and we both were mega procrastinators, not that we had anything bad to avoid we just didn’t feel like being there.  Tomorrow should be interesting…. Tonight I plan to just chill, I have already had dessert, may have dinner later, or more dessert, the options are totally open hehe.

Glenny is enjoying not being an assistant anymore.  He says he is much more suited to ‘guarding’ my place than assisting me work.  And to be fair he aint that great at assisting so it wouldn’t be hard to be better at guarding lol.  I think he just likes doing his own thing and chilling out while I am at work, earning the money that lets us stay living here.  But hey I can’t really complain cos my stuff is always safe when I get home, maybe not where I left it but it’s still here so I can’t claim that he aint doing his job.

I have also started a quiz for my 35^th birthday, as my gift to you all :) Yes I may have been bored the other night and was looking for something to do, turns out this was it hehe.  If you would like to see a specific kind of question topic included just let me know and I will see what I can do :) It will be released on my birthday so you do need to be patient, however there is also plenty of time for you to do some study, 94 days to be exact hehe

Lockdown Day #33

Should’ve been at Lions tonight, with a dinner provided, instead I stayed home and cooked my own dinner.  Not quite the same really.  But we have made it to the last day of official lockdown.  Congrats to us.  I hope we mostly have our sanity intact, or in my case no less sanity than I started with, which may be questionable, depending on whether you think holding complete long conversations with a stuffed toy including laughing at stuff he says is sane or not.  I think it is sane enough which really is all that matters lol.  I said earlier this was the last official day of lockdown, I say official day as technically nothing much changes tomorrow for a lot of people, and I have heard level 3 being called lockdown with takeaways which is not far off really.  For me I’ll be going in to work, but to be fair that was coming anyhow whether the levels changed or not, I was already going in more often and for longer by the end of lockdown as I wanted the company.

For me the last day of lockdown was a pj day.  It started out as one, as many of my wknds do, and I was planning to get changed when I was going to go do something, however I never ended up doing anything, just reading in many locations and watched some tv, and did some baking.  I was going to go for a run but I really wasn’t in the mood at any stage and life is too short to do stuff you are not in the mood for I think.  So it was a pj day, till I had my shower just before and then guess what, I changed into pjs hehe :) 

I text Ken this morning to say enjoy your extra day off hehe, I know he doesn’t like lockdown cos he likes being out doing stuff so an extra day off for him is not something he would be a fan of, and I got a reply to say that today looked like a good day to make peanut brownies in Hastings lol, little did he know I was going to make some anyhow.  I thought it would be nice to make him some as a thanks for letting me come back into the office to work.  All the Access Stations have had one staff member working from the station and the other staff from home during lockdown, but I know that many of them are now letting another person work from work as they have people in single person bubbles that need the company, it’s kinda the humane thing to do really.  I do love how supportive we are all in this industry, I mean sure there are issues and politics like anywhere (actually more than some places I think) but when it comes down to it everyone is there to support everyone else when it is required.

I am not sure why, cos I mean I have been doing it for the last ages anyhow, but lockdown has exaggerated the fact that I am the only person that ever does the dishes here.  That chore has gotten more and more irritating as lockdown has progressed and has been done more and more reluctantly.  Maybe its cos it needs to be done so often, and things like vacuuming are done so less frequently, but whatever it is, I can’t wait till I don’t have to do them so often.  Probably doesn’t help that I am having to cook and use plates etc more than normal cos I would often eat out or pick up something from the supermarket that didn’t require cooking.  Atlst Jarks is open for delivery or contactless collection in level 3, wahoo, I can’t wait.  Have decided it needs to be a treat though, for making it through the work week.  Not yet decided if will order on Thursday so can have leftovers for lunch on Friday or if it will be a Friday treat, whichever way yay that I can order from them again.

Not quite sure what else to say, aint really done much worth noting these past couple of days.  I will be continuing this on into level 3 though, just if you were wondering.  It might not be quite as regular, guess it depends how busy I end up being at work and how much boredom I feel in the evenings.  But as life won’t even be remotely back to a version of normal I figure it will be worth writing about.  Also as I am going to have to learn to work without motorsport going on in the background that could be an interesting adjustment.  I am also going to miss The Sound, but shhh don’t read that part too loud cos they are kind of a competitor, a big giant we can swish you with our little toe kind of competitor really.  Good thing we are such a small fry and hit a totally different market to who they aim at that we don’t get on their radar lol

Lockdown Day #31

Happy ANZAC Day.  And happy start of bday countdown for me, 99 days to go :) I may not have a public holiday for my birthday yet, but the start of the countdown is a day off work so I know the universe knows its impt hehe.  I didn’t get up early this morning, I thought about it last night and decided that I would sleep in instead.  Ken got up early though and him and Neen stood by their letterbox, Ken said someone on the street started playing the bagpipes and then someone else joined in on the bugle which I think is pretty cool.  Can also say my neighbours are not the sorts of people that would do that so I didn’t miss anything lol.

Today’s post was going to be a bit of rant post as I was angry at the world earlier today, however I went for a run and about half way along decided that I needed to leave all my anger on the sportsfield and that it would be better for me to turn the negative thoughts into positive thoughts.  I must admit I had Carol Reid in my mind while doing this.  Carol does a show at work all about the power of positive thinking and how we think so many thoughts every day, many of them the same as the day before, and the day before etc, and that often the thoughts are negative as that is easier for some reason.  But the more you think negative the more you believe it and feel it.  To make things seem better all you need to do is change your thoughts to something positive.  An example she gives that I really like is instead of thinking ‘I am tired’ think ‘I am recharging’. With the first one at the end of the day you will still be tired, and probably worn out and unhappy, but with thinking you are recharging at the end of the day you will feel recharged and you won’t feel bad for not having done something as you needed to recharge.  So instead of thinking negative thoughts, I made myself change my thinking in the second half of the run, so now instead of being in a lonely bubble of one, I am in a loved bubble of one.  Instead of being angry that I can’t see my friends and family, I am happy that they are all safe and well.  You get the idea.  Yes you can call me new-agey or whatever you like, but if I had the money I would go on one of Carol’s courses as I think they would actually be very beneficial.  My head likes the negative a bit too much sometimes, it’s an effort to get the positive in there but hopefully some of it sticks for a while this time.

Glenny and I did our remembering and thanking those who fought for our freedom at morning tea this morning.  We concluded that while this is probably not the freedom they envisioned they were fighting for, we are still free, the majority of us have chosen to listen to the government and stay in our bubbles and respect others as that is the sort of people we are.  And atlst this sort of being told what to do is not a full time every day thing like it is in some countries.  It is sad though that there are still people fighting wars around the world.  I doubt there will ever not be a war or fight of some kind but it’s a nice thought to think that maybe there won’t be one day.

Other than that we aint done much today.  We caught up on recorded tv, we avoided doing anything much.  Oh I did make pancakes for lunch and I think I can now claim to be a pro, twice in a row without setting off a smoke alarm makes you a pro right…? Lol.  Oh did some crocheting as well today, and I finally managed to clean my bathroom.  I can safely say that a lack of time is definitely not why I don’t have a super clean place.  Also tidied up my spare room ystdy, and I did laugh when I was finished and realised what I had done.  This will probably make some of you laugh cos it is very typical me, and it is likely to make Doffy shake his head and wonder what he did wrong with me, don’t worry Dof I’m pretty sure it’s genetic hehe.  Anyhow cleaning my spare room, it was when I was done that I realised my cleaning of the spare room was actually just me putting stuff in the wardrobes and the sewing desk and shutting doors and stuffing stuff under the couch lol.  I mean it looks nice and tidy at first glance and I’m sure that is what other people are doing when they ‘clean’.  No one actually cleans and sorts stuff out, do they?

I have put it out to the universe that it has less than 99 days to sort this all out (atlst within NZ), I have not celebrated my birthday alone yet and I am not about to start this year.  I made my feelings on this very clear, so the universe knows what it has to do.  We tend to have a pretty good and understanding relationship and I did not get negative vibes from it when I was pointing this out so I feel confident that by my birthday we will be able to catch up again.  

Am semi watching MotoGP at the moment, a repeat from some previous race obviously.  I am pretty sure that I would not survive on a motorbike, they seem to fall a lot and the falls look very painful, and they have loads of padding and it wouldn’t be cheap padding at that level.  Knowing my awesome ability to not balance very well I think I would be a disaster waiting to happen.  That and the fact that my hands suck and can’t grip stuff very well, pretty sure you need them when riding a motorbike.  Lol couldn’t undo my hot water bottle to empty the water out ystdy so I couldn’t make a new one, it’s funny now but at the time it wasn’t quite so amusing.  Figure if I don’t learn to laugh at stuff like that now life could get more irritating than fun and we all know I like the fun stuff most, so laughing is what I shall do.  Plus I’ve been told by more than one person that I have a very happy laugh that lights up my whole face and it would be rude to deprive the world of that sort of amazingness, well deprive Glenny at the moment but hey he totally counts hehe (and look Fishy, you still aint been named hahahahahahahaha :p lol)

I’ve told Glenny that our boys will start playing at the end of May (NRL for those of you who are confused), he thinks I am being a bit optimistic and he says it will be delayed for a few weeks due to, you know, stuff.  He is probably right but that is not as fun as thinking we will get new sport to watch soon.  And no I’m not being totally unrealistic, I understand that my boys will probably still lose but hey new games to lose are way better than ones we have already lost lol.

Lockdown Day #29

Only one more day of work under lockdown conditions, and believe me it’s one too many in my mind.  I went into work this morning and I really could have just stayed there and worked from there.  So did not seem fair that I had to go home again instead.  But tomorrow is the last day of working from home (fingers, toes, everything crossed) and come next week will be back in the office.  Not sure if will be working a normal week or less hours as there is less work, time will tell on that one.  Did have a bit of a laugh when I got home though.  Cos I was running home I left my phone at home, and when I got home turned out Ken had rung me half an hour after I had left work, but I obviously wasn’t home yet.  Poor Ken thought I meant I was running straight home, but that would have been less than 2km, instead I ran around Cornwall Park a couple times, then up to the Sports Park, went round that a couple times, then back to Frimley Park and around that one.  All up was 14km, woot woot.  Super proud of my effort, and the fact that when I finished I wasn’t puffing super hard, my legs were dead and the rest of my body was super tired, but it gives me hope that with a few more runs my muscles will build up good and I will be able to run a few extra km on top of that.  My average pace is the same as my old average pace as well so no complaints there.

My assistant was a big fat meanie ystdy, he stole my book and wouldn’t give it back till I had finished work.  I found this rather annoying cos there was a tad too much work to do and I wanted to read my book but he wouldn’t let me :( He also took over the couch so I had to work from the table.  I must admit I am looking forward to getting my table back when I take all my work stuff to work on Tuesday.  My assistant was much more useful today when I decided to have a short nap around afternoon tea time and he co-operated by blocking the sun and making it dark hehe.  Am a little bit surprised that I have made it to day 29 before having a nap, it was worth the wait though hehe.

Today felt like it should’ve been the wknd, even Samara agreed.  We don’t know why, and it’s not like it even really makes much difference at the moment but today definitely had a wknd feeling about it.  Not sure what I am up to this wknd, but am sure I will find something to occupy myself, or I will stare into space and time will slowly tick by.  But whatever I do I will get through the wknd and eventually I will make it to next week and level 3.  There are things I could do if I find some motivation, some things I want to do as well, but I am not convinced that there will be any motivation lying around waiting to be used.  Hopefully I am pleasantly surprised though.

I am really enjoying the autumn colours that are making their appearance in the parks and streets at the moment.  I often seem to speed through autumn and not really appreciate the colours that Mother Nature gives us, even though it is my favourite time of year.  I mean I see them, and I think oh wow, so pretty, but I don’t stop to walk slowly and just appreciate.  So ystdy that is what I did, I went for a walk to just look and appreciate and be thankful that we live in a country that has so many parks and open spaces even in the cities and big towns and that we get this prettiness every single year.  Some of the trees were super cool cos they were a patchwork of green, yellow and amber.  I tried to take photos but they just didn’t do it justice so after a while I just walked around taking mental photos.

On the awesome as news front, my favourite bookstore is open from next week, delivering books within Hastings, Napier and Havelock North. YAY!!! I mean, I don’t really need any more books, but I do love this bookstore and the staff are awesome, and yes they order books to my sometimes very specific specifications (has to be a certain height, and a particular cover lol), but that is what makes them so awesome I think.  Plus they are super friendly, and in normal circumstances Lou delivers me any books I order to my desk at work when she comes in for her weekly radio show.  It’s a awesome but dangerous relationship lol.

I know lockdown hasn’t ended yet, and I know it technically continues at level 3, I’m mean it’s basically still level 4 cept you can go to work if you work in an industry that can work at a distance from the public and other workmates, but still I thought I would list some of the positives of lockdown.  We all know the negative aspects of it without having to think to hard I think, but the positive things can be harder to focus on and realise, yet thinking positive can apparently do wonders for mood and motivation, plus I like looking on the bright-side so here we go:

-       Glenny never would have let me put him in a jar had we not been in lockdown, and that is one of my fav pics – still making me laugh lol

-       At the start of lockdown I was barely run/walking 3km, now I can run 14km

-       Doffy’s list has gone down

-       My list has gone down

-       My bdrm is super awesome (ok so me and bro painted it before lockdown but I have had plenty of time to appreciate our awesomeness during lockdown hehe)

-       I probably never would have realised my kitchen could be rearranged without lockdown

I know there has been more but they are not coming to mind right at the moment so they are not being included at this moment in time.

And just before I go, did you know that you can put a virtual poppy on a RSA headstone by going through the Auckland War Museum website.  I think it’s pretty cool, and here is a link if you have someone you would like to give a virtual poppy to :)

https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/search 

Lockdown Day #26

So first off I would just like to say welcome to my 400^th blog post.  For those of you that have been here since the start, well done :) and thanks, and for those that have joined along the way, glad you were smart enough to find the awesome hehe.

Second, seems our lockdown has been extended, but not by as much as I was expecting, just till the end of the long wknd we have coming up.  Kinda sucks they have stolen our day off from us, but then since I was never a fan of ANZAC Day being Monday-a-nised in the first place I’m not actually that bothered.  Bit sad that I can’t go to a dawn service on ANZAC Day but thems the breaks.  Pondering going for an early morning run instead, not at dawn cos the lighting around my area is not very good and does not make this female feel safe when out alone after dark, but earlier than normal get up time.  We will see though cos I’m also not a fan of morning running, well running before I am properly awake and coffeed or tead.  Am sure I will do something though, even if it’s nothing lol

So from next Tuesday (28^th) we go to level 3 for a minimum of 2 weeks.  The skeptic in me says that will be extended.  And also not much changes really for me.  I probably should still work from home at level 3 but yeah I won’t be, I will be going into the studio as per normal times.  Ken and I have made sure our desks are atlst 2m apart so we figure we are safe hehe.  Plus we don’t use the same studio all that often so won’t be sharing that stuff either.  He prefers Studio 2, I prefer Studio 3 if I’m by myself, Studio 1 with others lol.  The main part of level 3 that I think is sucky is that you are allowed to include close family into your bubble however you can’t leave your region so you can only actually expand your bubble if you live in the same area as your close family :( Depending on how long we are stuck in level 3 depends on how tempted I will become to test how impossible it is to travel btwn regions.  Atlst Ken has already agreed that when we go to level 2 I can go visit Mum and Dad for a few days and I will just work from their place like I have been working at home so won’t need to take much leave, maybe just a couple hours a day so I don’t have to work as long :) is super nice having an easy-going boss like I do at the moment.  Sure makes it easier when you have to go out of the way for something work related.

Am currently watching the Billboard Music Chart Top 20, mostly cos I am feeling lazy and don’t have a remote for the radio (I did have one but it didn’t work how a remote should work in my opinion.  I can’t say it didn’t work cos it kinda did, in a way.  No matter what button you pressed it turned the volume up, that was all it would do, so I got rid of it.) and SkySport is being boring and this was the best thing on.  However I can safely say I am not missing anything by not listening to a modern music radio station, ever, these days.  This music is really not good.  I would have skipped everything so far.  The only thing it has going for it is that it is making me want to get up to turn on the radio.  And for those of you wondering the only radio stations I listen to are Radio Kidnappers (duh lol), The Sound, and occasionally Radio Sport.  I am definitely not missing out on anything.  

Assistant update…. Not even sure what he has done today other than get up.  Am sure he has done something… surely… oh he says he looked after my phone while I went for a run, that was nice of him, and he says he looked after my wallet while I pondering buying some gluten free bread online – not sure about where you are but here all the good gluten free bread is sold out every time I go to the supermarket and I am not quite desperate enough to buy the bad gluten free bread cos that stuff is horrific.  Now I know you are asking why don’t I just make some bread, well I don’t have enough flour left for that and the gluten free flour is also sold out here, and the brand I get you can’t get online from them so the making my own bread option is out.  The other option is I just don’t have bread for a while, it is doable as I often do it, the only issue is then I have to cook more and we all know I’m not so down with that.  Am running out of microwave meals, so I either have to face supermarket queues or cook actual food which I do technically have…. Bring on level 2 and Jarks being open again, I think I am having withdrawals…

Went into work today, moved a couple of files around and sent a couple emails to pretend that I had a reason to be there even though Ken knew I didn’t and I just wanted to say hey lol.  Told him that I would be back in later in the week whether lockdown was lifted or not.  Gotta love the piece of paper that says I’m allowed to go into work, not that I have ever been pulled up and asked where I am going as it is within 2km from my place, which I’ve heard is all good for us big town people to wander.  Also ran into Steph (from work, not friend) today, she lives around the corner from me and is also in a one-person bubble, though today she had her granddaughter with her.  She has been looking after her on and off to help her daughter out.  Was nice to have a catch up with her, at 2m apart of course hehe.  I normally get massages off her every 6 or so weeks, obviously had to skip my one during lockdown but have let her know to let me know when she is back and able to massage as I’m keen to go back.  She is a bit concerned that not many people will be wanting to go back and it is a luxury kind of spend but hopefully for her she has more than she is expecting.  

Oh by the way, you guys have read over 15,000 words in this lockdown diary, well except for Brudda who has skim read over 15,000 words but as he is skim reading he is likely to miss that comment, and if not well it’s not like he can come hit me cos we are on lockdown lol :) I think I have just found a bright side to lockdown lol totally leaving it on that high note :p :)

Lockdown Day #25

I feel like I have had a rather unproductive wknd, there has been a lot of reading and some DVD watching, however when I stop and think about it I have done a bit so it wasn’t completely unproductive.

I did some painting in the bathroom which is another thing off my list (note, my list not my slaves list, yes there are two lists of jobs for around here, I am not that evil that they are all the slaves jobs lol).  It’s been something I’ve been wanting to do for a while but just never got round to it.  I am happy now it’s done though, kinda wondering why didn’t do it sooner cos it wasn’t that hard, well other than trying to get the ladder in there and then up in there, a few interesting words expressed during that lol.  The only stuff left that I want to paint at this stage I can’t till lockdown is over, for one it’s because I need to get paint I don’t have for it, and the other it’s cos I need Doffy to look at putting a different door handle on it before I paint it.  If I don’t paint it first then he’ll have no hassles with the new door handle, if I do paint it he will have hassles and I will have to repaint bits of it anyhow so I figure it’s easier to not paint it at this stage :) hehe.

I also went and got some petrol for Vee and Cleo.  Cleo now seems to think that since she saved me heaps of money I should buy her a present with the leftover money that I normally would have spent on her.  I spent ages trying to explain to her that I couldn’t buy her a treat cos all the shops were shut, and she just kept saying that she deserves one cos not only did she save me money but I have been neglecting her and not taking her out for drives like I normally do.  Somehow I don’t think she understands the concept of lockdown, so I may need to buy her a pressie for being a patient girl when this is all done.

I mowed the lawns, now that I have petrol for Vee.  Probably could have left them cos they weren’t really all that long but it had been two weeks so I figured Vee was probably bored and she deserved to get out and do some work.  After mowing the lawns I went and had a ‘chat’ with the lemon tree.  The chat may have been me going to ‘talk’ to it with a pruning saw… I think I left the chat feeling happier than the lemon tree, though I was nicely restrained and didn’t go overboard at all so the lemon tree shouldn’t be too annoyed.  Plus it owed me one from when it broke the truce so we are now even again.

I went for a wander in the park and took my phone with me hoping to get some photos of the rabbits playing by/in the hollow tree that I have seen heaps recently.  Of course now that I had my phone with me the rabbits weren’t out having fun, couldn’t even see them chilling in the tree so it was bit disappointing.  Maybe next time when I go and I don’t have my phone they will be back.

I technically did work this wknd, but not on purpose and not really.  Had to help Ken with loading the weather from home ystdy as he was having a few issues, easy enough over the phone though I did have to log in to check one thing.  But for a not doing any work in the wknd wknd I think I did pretty good.  We had a short catch-up chat as well which was nice.  And I had a nice chat with Aunty Susan today, though I did decide she was evil after the call as she may end up making me spend money thanks to a couple of things we talked about and websites she recommended I check out.  So evil in the loving kind sense lol.

Have also been doing a bit of crocheting and depending on what happens tomorrow and if we stay in lockdown or if we move to level 3 depends on how much more I can do on one project.  I am going to need more wool for one of the projects, I did suspect this when I started but didn’t think I would end up doing much of it before getting bored.  Seems I aint bored yet, or is it that I am so bored that it no longer matters….?  It’s hard to tell some days.

Am going into work tomorrow, it was going to be to discuss what Jacinda says but that was when we assumed that her announcement was going to be at 1pm, like all her others have been, but now that it is at 4pm I am just going in to catch up with Ken and to enjoy another person’s company.  Am so super thankful that I am able to do this, I have no idea how I would be holding up if going in to work every few days for a little bit wasn’t an option.  I don’t actually have anything to do at work tomorrow, can do it all from home, so it is literally going in to see Ken.  Oh and to collect my present, Ken got me a surprise last week but my bag was so full of groceries and I couldn’t carry it home, but at work I have a 1kg bag of jellybeans waiting for me yum yum :) :) :)

My bear (he is not an assistant during the wknd cos there is no work being done) was a bit of a pain last night.  For some reason he decided that we couldn’t share his side of the bed like we normally do.  I have no idea what brought this on as normally he is all good with us sharing but nope not last night.  I also have a random scratch down my side which I would blame him for but I am not quite sure what part of him could scratch me… it’s a puzzler that one.  Also 3 bruises on one knee, 2 on the other, no idea who gave me those but pretty sure it’s not something I have done… another puzzler