Wow, things are a bit different

LondonLiz

Isn't life all a bit surreal right now?  I'm part of the work Major Incident team and trying to plan ahead  is virtually impossible right now.  We had a message drafted for staff that kept changing almost as we wrote it.  I’m guessing by Monday we may well be telling them something different again.  Plus I need to do some grocery shopping – just normal restock not hoarding for the duration - and hoping most of my list will be there.   If not I have to self isolate I shall be eating a lot of porridge!

Workwise I went for the safe-ish option.  I've accepted a short extension to the job contract (with a pay rise), and we've then agreed I'll be on a more flexible notice period in case another role comes up. So I sort of ended up with the best scenario as I have some security until I get another job without having to commit for too long. If it wasn’t for this blasted coranavirus I might just have left without a job to go to but that does feel a bit more risky in case other companies postpone recruiting or have to close up for a while.  Plus I would feel guilty just walking away with no one to replace me. Not helped as one of my very small team has now resigned and leaves early June as well. It’s not great timing but I guess life goes on even in a crisis.

I think they realise I am getting pretty fed up and am not madly keen to stay on– my boss and the senior leadership team are being very nice to me and thanking me for my efforts!   It’s not them though, I quite like my peer group colleagues and most of the senior team, it’s the general organisational culture and lack of respect from other people I am finding hard work.   

 MSE wise not great, the food budget is not on track so I shall have to keep on eye on that.  Top up sops and lunches are usual culprits.  Will overspend on entertainment as I have 3 social occasions this month – one down, 2 to go assuming not virus related cancellations.  But I underspent the last 2 months so YTD is OK.   I have a fabulous tracker spreadsheet for budget and spending now.  I am a little obsessive with it.

Kids next door are having a running race up and down their flat that reverberates through to my place and drives me insane.  Plus the shrieking that makes my ears bleed. They have been a pain for about a year now but steadily getting worse, some nights it goes on for hours, and even until nearly midnight.  They don’t seem to have a proper bedtime or any real discipline.  Constant thumping and thudding, jumping off beds and sofas and just running on heavy little bare feet on bare floorboards. I’ve knocked on the door a few times over the past few months and the parents apologise but it keeps happening.   Will complain formally via the managing agents if it keeps going.   Well that’s my little first world problem rant for the day!

 

 

 

LondonLiz

Well Boris could have timed that announcement about advising people to work from home a bit better. We'd already put some arrangements in place and getting ready for it to extend further by next week but this was a bit sudden.   It was too late in the day to get a message out to staff as many had already left and most won't see emails overnight anyway and not enough are checking the website regularly. 

Caused a right flap at senior level as there was a bit of a difference of opinion about what constituted a 'reassuring message' since we cannot promise that everyone can work from home, we need to decide what services to keep going if on a skeleton or shift basis, and even the ones whose jobs could theoretically do it are not yet all set up to do so.  We just need some time for our very small IT team to get our  slightly antiquated systems sorted out.  Some senior managers thought we should tell people not  to come in at all tomorrow and not to imply we expected people to,  some thought we should just acknowledge it and give ourselves a bit of time and not look like we are panicking.  Ended up sending a holding message saying WFH if you are already set up (and get this message), and further information will follow tomorrow for everyone.  So that means an early meeting for me - and I am going in too.

Stopped off at Waitrose on way home for just a few small needed items.  A bit of an expensive option but convenient location-wise and a man in the queue said the large Sainsbury's a bit further away was stripped bare, so glad I didn't bother trudging up there.  Weird things in stock/totally gone.  Lots of eggs & cheese left, nearly all the nuts and dried fruit gone (why?). Plenty of fresh fruit & veg but meat & fish sections pretty empty. Cleaning products aisle had had a plague of locusts through it.   I am not 'stocked up' but also won't be going hungry.  Feel very sorry for people further from bigger stores/on tight budgets/single parents trying to shop with kids in tow.  Definitely need to sort out a cash donation for my local independent foodbank too. We had a lot of help from charities when I was a kid and had nothing and I can't bear the idea of people being hungry or running out of other essentials.

Littlebirdie

Ah what a lovely idea. Actually giving a cash donation is probably much better than giving items. I'm going to do the same! 

LondonLiz

Well that was the week that was!  Seriously could not keep up with what was happening - every time we sent an email to staff or made a decision it got overtaken by a new announcement.  Got a bit crazy Weds/Thurs and I came home Weds night for the duration feeling uncharacteristically 'tired and emotional'.  Had a wee moment and went to bed early.  Hoping by next week we will all be in to the the 'new normal' but social distancing it will start taking a toll on mental health of we aren't careful.

Checked earlier today that my gym was still open thinking well, I'll do that if they are taking reasonable precautions.  Then my PT emails me this afternoon saying 'see you in the park' on the weekend and I reply 'no way, the weather forecast is !!!!!!' and then find out I don't have a choice.  And he wants to meet at the chin up bars.... 

Food wise - Hope I can get some milk tomorrow or its going to get  a bit desperate on the morning cuppa front.  Need more breakfast cereal too but figure I can always buy my expensive gluten free stuff from Whole Foods if I really must.  This panic buying is OTT, heard from one of my siblings its gone mad in New Zealand too.  Tiny bit worried about the 4 siblings dotted about the globe.  All are high risk in some way, age/health conditions/obesity.  And not all of them taking it quite as seriously as they should - certainly one is still babysitting 1-2 grandkids daily and mother of said kids is not saying no for now as she is a key worker. Have indicated I don't quite approve but can't interfere too much.

Spending wise, ordered a monitor to connect the laptop to, as can't use that teeny screen for weeks on end. Took a fair while to find a cheap-ish one that can arrive fairly quickly. Argos totally sold out.  Hoping Amazon can do it by the promised Thursday delivery. Really need an eye test and new glasses but not sure how do-able that is now.  Will have ti see if local Boots Opticians can do it.  Also want to buy a small speaker to connect the laptop for conference calls but the cheap one I want means going to John Lewis Oxford St and not sure that qualifies as an essential trip?  Also have a return/swap for a damaged Argos item,  which means a bus journey.  But guessing I can't wait 3 months to take it back and it was not a cheap item.  Can also pop to Aldi if brave enough. 

All nowhere near as important or serious as some people are facing.  I read other people's diaries and know my problems pale into insignificance.  Take care anyone reading and stay connected.  Social media can be a force for good right now, if we use it right. 

LondonLiz

Does anybody feel like shopping now is a bizarre cross between a weird adult Treasure Hunt and the National Lottery? 

Will Sains Local have milk?  (And YES, a big delivery had just come in) Why has everyone sold out of rubbish bin liners? (No answer to this - looked in the funny little local discount shop I never go in, and got a pack of 20 for 90p.)  Does anyone anywhere have any eggs? (OMG, the last half dozen of organic, free range, corn fed, double the usual price eggs are there on the Co-op shelf).  And I got the main prize, chicken from the farmers market- winner winner!  (Market was limiting numbers in a any one time but still felt a bit too busy so shopped and scarpered).  And stockpile confession, I did buy another bottle of wine and some chocolate but these now fall into the essentials category not luxuries.  Of course this is humour as a coping mechanism, none of it's funny if you are not healthy, physically mobile or have someone at home to possibly put at risk by extended outside contact.   

Good news is Amazon outdid itself and delivered my PC monitor on Saturday.  Went to John Lewis to buy the little speaker I wanted for conference calls.  Oxford St was surreal. Virtually empty and most shops shut. Got in & out as fast as possible as it felt eerie and too sad for words.  Lucky I did as I hear JL is now closing from Monday and it wasn't available for home delivery.  Anyway with a few cushions on the dining chair and a cardboard box under my feet I'm now sorted for working from home.

Went to the little local park today for a workout session with my PT.  It was chilly but sunny and most people there seemed be trying to keep social distancing if not all succeeding. Hope to god it doesn't close like he Royal Parks and NT have, as it will be a godsend for some fresh air and exercise as the weeks go by.   But no point worrying too much about maybe's, just have to take it as it all comes.  On the good karma front, made a £30 donation to the national emergencies trust and chatted to my elderly neighbor (who tbh is a bit of an old bat!) through her window and checked in with some of the family abroad who are all OK so far luckily.

Reading lots of other diaries and wishing all those people self isolating or just needing to be extra careful with the social distancing all the very best. Don't stop posting.

LondonLiz

Had a proper emotional meltdown this morning as my tech wasn't working and I couldn't join a conference call or a later webinar. Felt such a idiot and that it was all my fault for being an incompetent luddite and so combined with not enough sleep, and watching too much rolling news I got a bit teary.   IT phoned me back in the afternoon and turned out an app wasn't loaded properly and there is probably an equipment problem with the laptop and microphone/sound connection.  Felt a bit less stupid and cheered up a bit .   But I now have to buy a headset and eventually claim it back on expenses which may be a challenge - I'm not the only one working from home unexpectedly and needing kit apparently.

Generally work was awful, some people are really not 'getting it' being an exceptional crisis requiring exceptional management action, and they are being totally unreasonable in their demands.  And the tone of the emails are just all wrong, especially when so many others are working so hard to keep things going and this little group are sat there moaning from the sidelines. Same people that were being unreasonable before all this stated so no change there but they don't seem to get just how precarious the financial situation potentially is for the organization. It could feasibly go under longer term or have to merge with a larger organisation with more resources and they won’t like that one bit.  I want to tell them exactly what I think but will have to wait until I can leave for a new job and let rip then!

Anyway things to be glad for - rice pudding that came out lovely - with YS cream even, and another lovely spring day with the sun pouring in the lounge all afternoon.

Blackcats

Hello LondonLiz.  I sympathise about the technology.  It's a horrid feeling when you are at home and struggling with work related technology.  I work from home a lot and so I've got my IT set up quite well but it can still let me down at a crucial time.   

There are definitely a whole swathe of people who don't get it or if they do appear to get it they don't actually apply the rules to themselves.  Companies and businesses will take a long time to recover from this.
good to see your positives though, exercise and being neighbourly will help us through this.

LondonLiz

Hello Blackcats!.  IT chap said I'm certainly not the only one with tech problems and sounds like many are far  more luddite than me so that cheered me up a bit.   At least I knew to turn it off and on first.......

Who got up and clapped tonight then?   I didn't think anyone round me would do it but it was actually quite noisy on my side of the flats with lots of us hanging out our windows and several people on balconies on the next door neighbor block that overlooks us.  I felt a bit self conscious but my next door neighbours were whooping it up and having a blast. There was lots of waving going on even though most of us have never met - how we do neighbourly in London these days!

I went for a run in the park yesterday, which got the cobwebs out and was a lovely day.  Though I was a bit disappointed seeing people sunbathing and book reading on the grass, with other runners barging past ignoring any social distance.  On a separate note, why do men (its nearly always men) hate seeing a female runner ahead of them so speed up, race past you then slow down again so you then catch up and right now that means a wide berth to pass them (at which point they speed up again)  or having to slow down and hang back?  At best of times it's a cross between bemusing and irritating but right now its irresponsible. Don't get me started on the runner touching every tree as he passed it even if he had to go out of his way to reach it.   Some sort of tree-related OCD?  A weird tree bagging game?  Spreading the virus one tree at a time?  I'm mystified!

A week since I and many others us started the WFH COVID-19 journey. One down, I wonder how many more to go.

LondonLiz

Week 2 WFH. Went through 2 bottles of wine over the weekend, well over 4 days but still, at least 1 bottle more than normal.  Had 2 virtual drinks catch ups with friends which didn’t help and have another on later this week for someone’s ‘leaving do’ at work which is now on Zoom so no free drinks!.

Work is still flat out.  Trying to decide what to do about the Job retention scheme as the criteria means it has only limited opportunity for us. Whatever we do we have to decide what people/roles we might have to furlough – managers are being a bit cagey and reluctant to admit how much work has dropped in certain departments and cannot see that being secretive is not helping things. Organizational budget will lose over half a million in next 4 months and god knows how much by end of the year.  Really really hoping we don’t end up having to do redundancies longer term if income doesn’t recover.

Otherwise I’ve started running regularly now, a few old injuries warning me not to overdo it and the legs were achy today after the weekend’s efforts but so far so good.

Need to do a proper food shop by the end of the week as stuff is starting to run low.  Been putting it off a bit. The local mini supermarkets are not too bad and have kept me topped up with some basics, but going to one of the larger ones fills me with dread.

 

LondonLiz

Usual Sunday night:  do ironing for the week's work outfits, wonder if I have any chance of getting to to the gym during the week (probably not), consider taking lunches from home - realise have no food in house so give up on and decide to go to Pret,  debate where to go out for dinner with friends in central London, go to bed and set 6.30am alarm to get ready for morning commute.

Lockdown Sunday night:  what ironing?  - the leggings and a half way decent top are ready for throwing on at 8.55am, looking forward to online gym workout session on Weds, lunches will be the eked out last of the provisions from last weeks 'proper shop' after standing in a queue hoping for shelves to be stocked (they were),   send invite for BYO Houseparty on Friday night, go to bed but no alarm set as lack of commute will give ample time for a run & breakfast before sitting at kitchen table by 9am.   Highlight of week will be clapping for the NHS on Thursday.

Weather is gorgeous and spring is blooming, seems so unfair to be looking at it through a window. If London parks close because of selfish eejits not observing social distancing and acting like they are just on some unexpected Bank holiday,  I will be gutted.  In a big city, having access to  some grass, flowers, trees and being in a bit of nature is important, please don't ruin it for everyone else, especially those living in flats with no gardens, balconies or patios.