Making Use of my days off

My mother called to ask if I’d be visiting home this weekend, I said I wouldn’t, she pressed for a reason but gave up, quite frustrated. She called me later in the day, we chatted for 20 minutes this time, the conversation didn’t seem to be coming to an end so I invited her out for a meal, she then asked if my sister would want to go so I invited her and now she’s asking to invite my cousin.

I did some shopping, I bought chicken, salmon, cereal, milk and bread. I helped out an old woman by reaching the top shelf and picking the a bottle of milk for her. I went out again later in the day to browse TK MAXX and then buy a saucepan along with tea towels from Home Bargains.

The following day I applied for a new credit card, it’s better than my current MasterCard when it comes to benefits. My council tax has now been sorted and first council tax payment taken, I’m considering making additional payments so it will be one less thing to worry about, I don’t want to set up a direct debit as it would be more beneficial to make manual payments via credit card.

I went shopping again and bought chips along with oil, I can now cook them with the pan. I went out again but my confidence was crushed when a security guard at a shop called me “mate”. I wanted a flu jub but had an awkward moment in Boots when someone asked me if I was in the queue, I said no but it turned out to be the queue I wanted so just wandered around for a while.

I’ve started watching “Star Trek: The Next Generations”, it’s like Dr Who but with a bigger cast, many of the characters are annoying.

Will get into gear soon

Despite not having updated for a week, very little has occurred. I returned home on Saturday as I said I would, I ate some food and watched television, I then eventually left with some packed rice.

I still had 2 days free before having to return to work but I didn’t do much with this other than play “Persona 5: Royal”. I chatted with my sister over Whatsapp a fair bit, I gave her my 3DS to take to university so she can play some video games in her down time, she was asking which moves her Pokemon should keep.

It was then back to work and it was great because due to moving over to a new system that the night team haven’t been trained on yet, we no longer need to respond to emails. There’s barely any work to do, it’s extremely relaxing. The big guy told me he has been called into a disciplinary due to absences and asked I accompany him as his witness. I feel uneasy about this.

Due to an UberEats discount code, I ordered some pizza to celebrate my last shift before getting 4 days off again. With the first of my days off, I completed “Persona 5: Royal” and got the Platinum trophy. I also spent the night watching the NHL Stanley Cup final with my LDR Swedish boyfriend. It went into double overtime so we were very tired by the end of it.

A trio of days

A short story I forgot to recall from Wednesday was that I took the lift to the ground floor of my flat and shared that lift with a woman and her boyfriend, for some reason I didn’t like them. When we got to the ground floor, we left through different exits. I went to check the local hairdressers and then returned, the couple also returned at this time. I sped ahead of them into the left and hit the “close door” button.

On Thursday, I made it my mission to get a haircut, I went to one that always seems empty but was told I need to book in advance so I went home and called them up, they fit me in for an appointment in an hours time. The hairdresser was mostly professional but made a racist remark about a Chinese customer using a white first name. The other woman getting her hair done complimented me hair, said she’d love to have hair like mine and couldn’t believe I was getting so much chopped off. I said that I simply couldn’t take care of long hair, it’s now at shoulder length. I didn’t appreciate the hairdressers application of straighters to my hair while cutting. Felt that was disrespectful to my natural curls.

Friday was a good day, I went out to a Thai place with two of my sisters, cousin and aunt. It was good food and good value for money. First time I had Thai food and it was brilliant though I couldn’t finish my dish, it was very filling. My sister has now moved out and lives on her own, I believe, so I took my food to take away and gave it to her. So no longer living with her boyfriend?

I then went to my mothers and relaxed for a bit and chatted. The plan is to return tomorrow, my mother promised rice.

Over the course of my time off from work, I’ve sunk almost 60 hours into “Persona 5: Royal”.

Being a bit social

On Saturday I had plans with my cousin to visit a tea room, she drove us there and we had a full English breakfast (halal), tea and bought some cakes on our way out. It was a nice little trip and I enjoyed experiencing something different. She insisted on paying for the meal as I’m paying for our hotel when we go to London in January.

After this excursion we went to my family home and I chatted with my youngest sisters who were both also visiting, a male cousin and my mother. We watched some Hamilton and my sister and mother both liked it. I said I’d visit again next Friday (I’m getting Thai food with my cousin then anyway).

The following 3 days have seen me just playing “Persona 5: Royal”, I’ve barely been outside, the only day I did was Tuesday as I needed shopping and to attend a laser appointment. I didn’t do well at small talk, the only good line was in response to one of the women saying they put on weight during lockdown, I said that “We all have”, I copied this line from a response from a female co-worker when I remarked that I had put on weight.

I did a bit of window shopping, I liked the clothes in NEXT but would rather buy online as it’s easier to return.

I am still to do my laundry.

Finding my groove

The time since my last update has been uneventful, hence the lack of updates. Saturday was a day free from work so I chilled out and finished watching “Preacher”, it’s not good enough to recommend. I like that it introduced me to a song though, it’s called “Blood on the Risers”.

The next 4 days straight were spent working, nothing interesting happened during this period, I’m speaking to co-workers less, I’m burned out from the job. My manager returned, there were rumours he’d left.

I now have the next 12 days free from work due to 4 days of holidays that I used up. I’ve started by playing Persona 5: Royal, it’s just as enjoyable as the first time I played it but I can only play in small bursts.

The two big changes in my life are that I’ve set up my Amazon Dot, I just use it to play rain sounds, it makes me happy, I love the idea of it raining outside, even being caught in the rain or sleeping on a bus shelter bench. The other game changer is that I’ve mostly been able to stick to my George Foreman chicken diet, likely eating a deficit on most days. I’m concerned though that despite eating chocolate Weetabix, I remain constipated.

My bills are higher than expected:

• Rent: £475
• Electricity: £70
• Council Tax: £100(currently applying for a single person discount)
• Broadband: £24
• Water: £25
• Gas: Unknown
• Food: £200

This leaves me with around £400 each month.

I have little human interaction, all my got this week was a short chat with the pizza delivery man, he offered to bring my food up to my flat but I refused. I think he was hitting on me due to how persistent he was.

I have yet to muster the courage the clean my clothes in the laundry in the basement of the building.

My family have not made contact.

Almost Settled

Monday and Tuesday were day where I worked. On the Monday, the big guy fell asleep and me and the taxidermy woman bitched about him. I’m feeling quite conflicted about this, I don’t want to rock the boat again or fall out with anyone. I woke up around 2pm on Wednesday and went back to sleep around 10pm in order to fix my sleeping pattern.

On the Thursday, I posted my council tax form, I wanted to shop around the town centre a bit but didn’t feel confident enough. I later bought myself a George Foreman lean mean fat reducing grilling machine along with a pair of chicken fillets, Nando’s marinade and Nando’s hot sauce. At home, I gave the machine a whirl and was impressed by how easy it is, I can see myself never having takeaways again, also losing weight because chicken fillets are very low in calories and are filling. On this day, I also reached the max level on Fall Guys and have now won a total of 9 episodes.

Today, Friday, I bought more meat and Pepsi max, I played the new PS Plus game for the month, Street Fighter V, I think I’m done with it though, it’s not much fun. I also called up the electric company and was finally able to set up an account with them, they want £70 a month, they’re basing my estimated monthly usage on the amount the last tenant used. This is clearly too high, not sure how to get it fixed though. No one knows who the gas supplier is though so I guess I’ll just have to leave that. The only thing left on the to do list is laundry, I’ve never done that during my time here, not had to but I feel uncomfortable thinking about it.

I’ve arranged to eat at a Thai place with my cousin in a few weeks, other than that, no upcoming plans.