This week I’ve been thinking about the things that are different. Not the big things that are obvious like not being able to go out to work and having to queue at the supermarket, but the little things.
The sky is clear of contrails. This was especially obvious as we had a few weeks of good weather and the sky was completely free of clouds. As I live fairly close to a major international airport I don’t think I’d ever seen a completely unblemished blue sky over my house before. This hadn’t particularly stood out to me until one day, a few weeks into lockdown, when I looked up and saw a tiny plane high overhead leaving its white contrail across the sky. ‘Oh wow, there’s a plane!’ Yeah, I don’t usually even notice the planes overhead in normal times, let alone get excited.
I’m hearing a lot fewer sirens. There’s a main road at the back of my house and police cars and ambulances go past so frequently with their sirens blaring I don’t even notice it most of the time. Now I’m noticing the silence. Is that because there have been fewer callouts for the police and paramedics or have they just not needed to use their sirens because the traffic is so light? I hope it’s the former.
I haven’t had one scammy phone call since lockdown began. Usually it was rare to go a day without one and often I’d get several a day. The ones on my landline were the most frequent and they’d usually be someone posing as an employee from Microsoft or my bank (or any bank) or HMRC or, more recently, a washing machine warranty company. On my mobile it was usually claims companies phishing to see if I’d had a car accident recently – ‘Hi, I’m just ringing about your recent accident’. Since lockdown, not a single call. I guess all the scammers have been furloughed. Rishi Sunak, if you’re reading this, please can we keep them on furlough even after lockdown? It’s bliss.
The spam on my blog has also dwindled. Instead of getting 20-30 spam comments a day I’m now going several days at a time without getting any and when I do get spam it’s no more than 2-3 a day. Rishi, if you’re still reading, can we keep the spammers on furlough forever too?
I’m eating less and healthier. I’m not even trying to do this, it’s just happening. Usually I’m rushing about, feeling stressed, tired and I’ll grab something, anything, to eat. That’s as likely to be crisps or chocolate as much as it is something healthy. I’ll also eat too much because I let myself get hungry and then eat quickly not realising when I’m full. And I know from way back in my student days that when I’m tired and stressed I crave sugary foods. Now, although I’ve got a few stressful things going on I don’t feel stressed about handling them. What a difference it makes! I can walk down the sweets and chocolate aisles at the supermarket and nothing tempts me at all. At home I’ve got time to prepare healthy food. I’m enjoying cooking and I’m eating when I’m hungry and eating just enough to feel full.
I’m finding it hard to focus on what I’m reading. I feel I should be getting through a tonne of books at the moment. Although I’m working I’ve still got more time than I usually have because not only am I not going to as many meetings and not having to spend any time commuting, but a lot of the stuff that was taking up my personal time has come to standstill. Instead I find I’m picking up a book, one that excites me and I really want to read, but after a few pages I put it down and pick up something else. I must have about a dozen books on the go now. I have no idea why this is as it usually only happens to me when I feel particularly stressed and over-tired and I don’t feel like I’m either of those at the moment.
Time has sped up. I know lots of people are complaining about the weeks dragging, but I seem to blink and it’s weekend again. How is that even possible? I was expecting to spend my gained time making sushi, experimenting with different cocktails, doing jigsaws, reading through my huge pile of magazines, catching up on writing blog posts, giving my house a thorough cleaning and getting to inbox zero. Have I done any of those things? Of course not.
What unexpected differences have you noticed? Do any of the things I’ve noticed sound familiar to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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