It has now been almost two weeks of being on my own here in the apartment and I've got to say that it's been quite enjoyable. Jon returned briefly after a trip to visit Alex in Vienna, before jetting off again 4 days later to meet Damian in Barcelona, but apart from that it's been me on my lonesome.
One thing I've noticed is that nights seemingly drag on (this of course isn't helped by the fact that London is now basically pitch black by 4:30pm and that my current work means I finish daily at 4pm). So I'm home early, but it feels late and it's taking a while to grow accustomed to. But it's certainly nothing to complain about as it leaves a lot of hours into the evening to involve myself in a range of activities that I've been meaning to do for a while.
First up are the Online Courses that I bought about 6 weeks ago. I've signed up to all of them, but while I've only begun the 'Writing Children's Stories', I'm hoping to have the others on the go shortly. I have been really impressed so far at the professionalism of the courses, which naively (due to being discounted) I thought were going to be quite basic. I have found the opposite. I've already been looking through children's books as I read them at school, searching to see if what I've learnt in the course rings true and it certainly has so far. I've had no inspiration yet of possible plots that I could manipulate into a book, but have come up with the idea of using my nieces and nephew as a possible audience to target.
I've also been playing a lot of guitar (as per Nikki's instructions) and I'm hoping to 'wow' her upon her arrival back home with my mad skillz. I've also been following the push and sit up regimen she left for me, so I'm hoping she'll be impressed with that as well. In terms of exercise, I've also upped the ante and been for more mid-week runs, as opposed to just doing one big long one on the weekend. This proved fruitful as I got a PB for a 10km in a fun-run around Fulham last Sunday, crossing the line in 40:43. This was unexpected, but has certainly sparked my enthusiasm for running again. I'm hoping to sign up for a 10k again for the end of January and finally break that 40min barrier.
Cooking has been another hobby that I've been able to spend a bit more time on. As I type, a lasagne is bubbling away in the oven, covered in a béchamel sauce made from scratch. It certainly wasn't as complicated as I thought it was going to be, however it is time-consuming as elements need to cool, and simmer and rest. Fingers crossed the final result is delicious.
I've also been trying to improve my knife skills, and looked up a few YouTube videos to help with technique. Little things like hand, thumb and finger placement have a huge effect and while it feels uncomfortable to start, with practise I can see it becoming a lot easier.
So it's all little things. Little steps to getting my head sorted around how I want to spend my time. I've certainly spent time watching stupid videos online and trawling Facebook, but doing those things are so much more satisfying when you've made a beautiful meal from scratch or mastered a difficult part of a song on the guitar. It can only get better.
I'm primed.
One thing I've noticed is that nights seemingly drag on (this of course isn't helped by the fact that London is now basically pitch black by 4:30pm and that my current work means I finish daily at 4pm). So I'm home early, but it feels late and it's taking a while to grow accustomed to. But it's certainly nothing to complain about as it leaves a lot of hours into the evening to involve myself in a range of activities that I've been meaning to do for a while.
First up are the Online Courses that I bought about 6 weeks ago. I've signed up to all of them, but while I've only begun the 'Writing Children's Stories', I'm hoping to have the others on the go shortly. I have been really impressed so far at the professionalism of the courses, which naively (due to being discounted) I thought were going to be quite basic. I have found the opposite. I've already been looking through children's books as I read them at school, searching to see if what I've learnt in the course rings true and it certainly has so far. I've had no inspiration yet of possible plots that I could manipulate into a book, but have come up with the idea of using my nieces and nephew as a possible audience to target.
I've also been playing a lot of guitar (as per Nikki's instructions) and I'm hoping to 'wow' her upon her arrival back home with my mad skillz. I've also been following the push and sit up regimen she left for me, so I'm hoping she'll be impressed with that as well. In terms of exercise, I've also upped the ante and been for more mid-week runs, as opposed to just doing one big long one on the weekend. This proved fruitful as I got a PB for a 10km in a fun-run around Fulham last Sunday, crossing the line in 40:43. This was unexpected, but has certainly sparked my enthusiasm for running again. I'm hoping to sign up for a 10k again for the end of January and finally break that 40min barrier.
Cooking has been another hobby that I've been able to spend a bit more time on. As I type, a lasagne is bubbling away in the oven, covered in a béchamel sauce made from scratch. It certainly wasn't as complicated as I thought it was going to be, however it is time-consuming as elements need to cool, and simmer and rest. Fingers crossed the final result is delicious.
I've also been trying to improve my knife skills, and looked up a few YouTube videos to help with technique. Little things like hand, thumb and finger placement have a huge effect and while it feels uncomfortable to start, with practise I can see it becoming a lot easier.
So it's all little things. Little steps to getting my head sorted around how I want to spend my time. I've certainly spent time watching stupid videos online and trawling Facebook, but doing those things are so much more satisfying when you've made a beautiful meal from scratch or mastered a difficult part of a song on the guitar. It can only get better.
I'm primed.