So. One year later. Huh.

What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Nothing much I suspect but it has been interesting reading back on some of the stuff I wrote this time last year. I’d already committed to a month of ‘daynotes’ for March 2020 – they were supposed to cover SDinGov and my time in Oslo. Instead they documented my anxiety about Covid and my early attempts to get prepared for a couple of months of lockdown.

I was definitely taking it seriously from the start and I was also clearly struggling with what it might mean in the medium term for work.

So 52 weeks later I am still taking it seriously and I’m still not 100% sure what it means for the future of (my) work but like most people I am reliving those early days a bit in my mind.

Those 52 weeks broke down something like →

24 weeks working for Essex County Council

2 weeks with Covid

30 weeks with Long Covid

1 operation

12 weeks on crutches

11 weeks working for the Welsh Government

100 Deliveroo orders

7 new pieces of art

6 new pairs of trainers

14 new (graffiti) t-shirts from artists

120 cans of spray-paint

3 new streaming services (Disney+, Starz and Apple TV+)

75 new graphic novels

1 company rebrand

93 blogposts

2 weeks of paranoia 

1 lockdown birthday (2nd in a week)

1 trip to pub for lunch with friend (Sara)

1 trip to bar for afternoon drinking with friends (Anne and Chris)

3 ‘home office’ locations

47 jobs newsletters

1 office rented

1 office given notice on

3 new desks

2 new office chairs

2 new computers

2 webcams

3 cancelled holidays

6 trips on a bus 

7 kilos heavier

1 vaccine shot

I’ve not been feeling great the last few days but despite that I am starting to feel like there might be some light at the end of the tunnel. 

I have had my first vaccine jab. I can walk now (not well and physio isn’t going great but I can walk.) My brain is much clearer. The clearest it has been since May when I caught Covid. I am reading again. Enjoying work more. Contributing more to more activities. Back to being a School Governor. Thinking about making future plans without (much) trepidation. 

So while it is still a bumpy ride things are trending in the right direction and after the last year I’ll take that.

How are you feeling?