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Master of None

So, from this month onwards, I’m thinking a once-a-month update is a totally achievable goal. Anyway, here is a list of some of the things that have happened since my last post.

Stage 4

In July, after the second wave of COVID-19 cases, the premier put us into stage 4 lockdown.

Stage 4 means:

  • 8pm – 5am curfew
  • Staying at home if you are not an essential worker or have a permit from your employer to travel to work
  • Only one person from your household is allowed out to buy groceries
  • We may only travel up to 5km from our house and if you work outside of this you need to have proof and a permit from your employer
  • Masks must be worn at all times when outside unless exercising
  • You can only go out to exercise for 1 hour per day
  • All retail outlets except for groceries are shut (but click and collect is allowed for some business)
  • Take away and delivery only

At the peak of Victoria’s lockdown, the highest number of COVID-19 cases recorded was 725 in one day. I can’t even imagine how many cases weren’t recorded… all those people who knew they had it – or had a feeling they did – but couldn’t be bothered to get tested…

Anyway, we’re now recording about 40-60 cases per day, and stage 4 was supposed to last until this coming Sunday, but the premier is wary of easing the restrictions when the cases are still quite high, so Stage 4 has been extended until the end of September. Single people are now allowed to connect themselves to another household though and, if I’m not mistaken, the curfew is from 9pm to 5am.

I’m really glad they’ve allowed single people to visit one other household now. S has a friend who became single at the beginning of the year and now lives alone. We’ve been worried about his mental health and want to invite him to come and visit us, or at least urge him to find another household to connect with so he doesn’t feel so isolated.

Staying close to the surface

I decided to enroll in an online virtual assistant course to learn some skills to become a virtual assistant. It’s pretty amazing how a lot of the homegrown skills I have – basic webdesign, graphic design, social media strategy, audio and video editing, email marketing, etc. were things I picked up out of curiosity throughout the years of being online.

I’ve finished the course now and want to focus on podcast editing and creating graphics, and I think I’d like to work with businesses who are a little bit mystical and soul-led – whose passions are about creating safe spaces for people to heal and thrive.

Now I just need to fucking find these people and prove to them I’m worth hiring. That’s the hard part. Fuck I hate selling myself.

I’ve learned over the years that there are 2 things I absolutely love to do: learn something new and set up/prepare for whatever I’ve learned.

I master the basics, but then, nothing. I get that usual “Well, now what?” feeling but don’t know how to proceed. Or maybe it’s that I don’t want to.
It’s happened with almost everything in my life. Very rarely do I want to dig deeper into the new skill I now have.

I want to know a little bit about everything without really having to specialise in anything.

But also make money.

*facedesk

*facedesk

*facedesk

I bought a journal

Of course I fucking did. Another thing I can set up and start…

The other night, I started reading some of my old journals from 2015 and 2017.

I actually did finish a ridiculous amount of journals in 2017. Something happened that caused me a lot of pain and I poured out all my feelings and it was amazingly cathartic. I got through about 4 or 5 journals in the span of 18 months.

But I stopped writing in 2018. I stopped because I felt better and I’m sad that I lost interest just because the negativity had gone…

And then I started reading A Discovery of Witches and in book 2 – (spoiler alert) the protagonist and her husband travel back to 1590 London and she starts writing little anonymous diary entries in a book and of course, back in the present day, someone finds it.

[Sidenote: read the first book and then watch the first season of the tv series. Matthew Goode is *chefs kiss* as Matthew de Clermont.]

It got me thinking about how picking up my old journals was healing for me. I think I’ve always just used journaling as a way to get all my shit out and although I still want to do that I also want to use it to unlock some not-so-nice attitudes I’ve noticed.
I need to overcome some selfish stuff that I don’t like about myself so that I can move forward and be better. More giving, less calculative. Less… transactional?

Marriage < Wedding

S and I have had to stop our wedding planning because of COVID-19 and at first, I was really sad about the uncertainty of everything, but the pandemic and being indoors so much has made me realise how important owning our own home is to me.

I love this little house we’re renting. It’s old and wonky- the floor in the corner of our bedroom in which I am writing this post slants downwards enough that my office chair actually rolls me towards it. It’s also incredibly draughty. On a particularly stormy night a few weeks ago, I actually felt a cold breeze through the floorboards.

Even with all of this, I am quite happy in this little bungalow.

But it’s not ours. And I really want our own place.

Melbourne’s real estate has definitely taken a hit, but housing prices are still astronomical. The pandemic has made us both realise we really don’t need to live near the city. In fact, if my virtual assistant work takes off, we could live anywhere we wanted, and I’m loving the idea of living somewhere quite rural – on a bigger plot of land than we could afford where we are now. Maybe about an hour and a half outside of the city. Or even NZ so S could be closer to his son.

At the end of the day, a marriage with S is more important to me than a massive party that costs the same as a downpayment for a house. I really want a home – a place to call our own. It’s so important to me.

Anyway, those are my thoughts for this month. See you in October.