It’s week 96 and as the dust settles on Christmas and we step into a new year, here’s hoping the non-stop antigen testing regime won’t be a feature for too much longer
• SO the decorations are down but we’re still wearing the Christmas pyjamas. That’s how things are looking around here, this first week of 2022, traditionally the toughest week out of all 52 of them. Other evidence that the festive season has been and gone is the large, and entirely untouched Christmas cake (I must remember to let that tradition slide next year), and a tin of sweets with just the Bountys left rattling around (does anyone actually eat them?). There’s also a serious sense of dread and fear in the air as it’s dawned on me that I deferred a lot of semi-awkward tasks (read that as blatantly ignoring emails), to deal with ‘after Christmas,’ when that felt like an absolute eternity away. Except now it’s here, they all have to be dealt with this week, and there’s not even the the reward of a day time nap on completion. They’re not called January blues for nothing. There’s a lot to be said for routine all the same I tell you!
• I’m presume I’m not alone in absolutely hating my house right now either. It’s always the same isn’t it when you take down decorations and the place looks so bare and grim? Once you get over the shock at how filthy the place is (where does all the dust come from?), the urge to redecorate is huge. That’s probably why I’m loving Angela Scanlon’s Your Home, Made Perfect on Netflix right now. I also devoured the new season of Emily in Paris (pure rubbish, but watchable rubbish) over the holidays. Like the rest of the world I watched Don’t Look Up, but as I kept falling asleep, the jury’s out; I saw Sandra Bullock in The Unforgivable (unforgivably bad) and the new series of Succession (it took a while to find its stride but I loved it) and I’m now eagerly looking forward to the return of Ozark and the final season of Ricky Gervais’ After Life. I was going to say I should probably try to get out more but sure when you’ve to be home by 8pm, and do endless antigen tests what feels like before, during and after, it hardly seems worth it. I don’t suppose there’d be any option to get the government’s €100 energy credit to go towards the TV licence instead? That’s something else I need to sort this week.
• Speaking of antigens, I need to stock up. Again. It’s become a bit of a knee-jerk reaction now, that if I see them, I feel the urge to buy a few more. It’s a bit gas how they’re part of the daily routine in most households now isn’t it? Swabbing the five-year-old used to be a two-man job, but even she couldn’t be bothered keeping up with the drama any more. On the other hand, I’m still not a fan, and I’m sure there have been occasions where my husband could have been just a little more gentle. Anyway, we’re probably one of the very few households that haven’t had a visit from Omicron – yet. And as much as I’d love a little time alone, the reality is that self-isolating and adulating are not very compatible. I’m really grateful that the schools are reopening though, even if I’ve no idea what it means for case numbers, testing and all the rest. Chaos I’d imagine. I have registered the five-year-old for the vaccine, but I’ll admit I did feel a tiny bit uncertain. I’ve no idea why though, as I didn’t think twice about any of her other jabs. Too much doom-scrolling, probably, I think which is never a good thing.
• What is a good thing, a very good thing, is how secure online shopping has become, even if the hoops you have to jump through to actually spend your own money, often times feels a tad excessive. My problem is that my internet connection isn’t great so by the time I’ve checked all the various security ticks and clicks my session might have timed out, or I’ve hit a connection glitch or whatever. It’s unbelievably annoying right in the moment, but what it’s meant is that over the past month I’d say more than half of my intended purchases were never actually purchased at all despite my best efforts. I haven’t missed any of them either, which is why I’m going to try a 72-hour cooling off period for all treat purchases this year. How did I get so wise? I really don’t know.
• In a completely unrelated matter, I’m very, very tempted to get a tarot card reading to get a heads up on how the year will pan out. And yes I saw something about it on Instagram, and yes, I am that easily influenced. I know it’s a complete cop out and that the grown-up thing would be to make out a spreadsheet, and plot out the year’s goals in quarters, take control of my own destiny, but sure where’s the craic in that? I’ll think about it as it qualifies as a treat buy. In the meantime, it’s back to the emails and to figure out how to get the tree to the recycling centre. If anyone’s in the area and would like to oblige there’d be a Christmas cake and a few Bountys in it for them.
