Just like that, my motivation is back. All it took was a bit of sun and a flood of compliments from my adoring fans expressing their utter adoration of my writing skills. It seems that I am perfectly able to capture the general mood without even trying, which I’m sure will be a skill that comes in handy in the future. I jest, obviously, I had a few people say that they relate to my boredom but I imagine that most people couldn’t give me their feedback as they got bored halfway through reading, which I can’t even be angry at them for because I probably would have too.
This week has been much more exciting as the few days of good weather provided a much needed boost to our moods. I remained inside for most of Monday, however, as I watched Django Unchained for the first time and, although I’m well aware this is hardly a unique take, it is an absolutely fantastic film. Tarantino might be a complete weirdo but he certainly does have something special about him, and Christoph Waltz is a brilliant actor, but that goes without saying. I have a significantly limited attention span at the best of times, so I was rather proud of myself for managing to sit through a 165 minute film in one sitting. I even said no to a request from Morris to accompany him to B&M, so you can tell how engrossed I’d become in the film.
On Tuesday, with the sun shining down on the righteous, me and bestie Lizzie set off for a picnic by the brook. We had some nibbles and a few drinks as we sat listening to music and it was absolutely glorious. It is genuinely amazing what a huge effect a bit of warm weather can have on your mood. Sitting by the brook in Hilton with Lizzie reminded me of our younger days, particularly the summer of 2011, when we’d spend the entire day wandering around the village, downloading songs from tubidy and updating our BBM status’ to include the names of every single person we were currently with. Ten years on, it amazes me that we’re still friends somehow, largely because of how obnoxious I am but also because ten years is just such a long time, it’s hard for me to actually comprehend it. We talked about everything and nothing and it was just nice to spend the day outside, in the sun, without a care in the world. We returned to mine for a BBQ in the evening but I’m pretty sure I managed to get sunstroke after just a few hours outside because I was in bed by 7pm with a pounding headache, feeling very sorry for myself.
The new plant I bought for my room last week is slightly too large for the pot I already had so on Wednesday I decided I needed a new one, which required another trip to B&M, for which I enlisted the company of my good friend Big Moz, as I had been rude enough to deny him my company on Monday. I even treated him to an iced coffee from Starbucks, which is the perfect example of how much the sun improves my mood. I’m pretty sure the woman who served us at B&M assumed that we were a homosexual couple because we were bickering over who was paying for the pepsi max and Sam was wearing a vest. After returning home and repotting my new plant, I met Liam and we went for a wander through the nature reserve, putting the world to rights and catching up on what we’d been up to. We sat for a while on a bench underneath some trees and as I listened to Liam fill me in on how things are going, with the birds chirping in the background and the sun beaming down, I was filled with a pleasant feeling of contentment.
I woke up on Thursday morning and, when I remembered I’d made plans to see Deville, I instantly burst into tears. I’m joking, obviously, as insufferable as she might be it’s not quite enough to provoke crying. We went on the hunt for easter eggs as she’d been asked to get some for her office and we grabbed a Starbucks as well (obviously). My friendship with Chloe makes me laugh because we’ve basically been doing the exact same thing for almost ten years now – meeting, eating shit food, exchanging gossip and smoking. It’s quite cute really I suppose, or at least it would be if I ever got the chance to get a word in edgeways.
On Friday I was blessed with the company of my good friend Adam Griffiths-Vernon. We went to get a Starbucks (no YOU have a problem), I took him for a stroll around the walkway that’s been built at the back of the new housing estate as he hadn’t been down there yet, and then we sat in my garden for a bit, chewing the fat. I hadn’t seen him since Christmas as he’s been down in Reading so it was a pleasure to catch up, although there was little I didn’t already know as we speak pretty much everyday (if I don’t speak to you everyday then I probably don’t like you). Once GV left, Milly and Tilley arrived for dinner. Although I’ve seen them a couple of times over the past few months, they were only brief encounters and it was nice to spend some proper time with them. Milly and I had a Dominos pizza each whilst Hayley and Tilley had chip shop, and then we all had Sweet Retreat for dessert, so by the end of the evening I was ready to burst. The laughter was non-stop, to the point where it actually started hurting my stomach, and it was lovely to finally be able to (legally) see them again.
Yesterday was the first time in a while that I felt some semblance of normality, and it was bloody brilliant. I descended on the city for the first time in a while for drinks on Darley Park with Elia, Lana, Sian and Lizzie. Armed with camping chairs and an obscene amount of alcohol, we laughed, drank, smoked and danced as the sun shone and the birds sang, and it was so nice to finally be back with my friends. There were obviously mishaps – Lizzie fell down a hill and cut her leg, someone spilt blackcurrant all over Sian’s jumper (the culprit remains at large) and Elia’s boyfriend, who joined us briefly for a few drinks, forgot that he was on antibiotics and shouldn’t be drinking, and as such spent the evening being quite ill. We took plenty of pictures, discussed the legitimacy of birth control in modern society, planned several events for the summer that will probably never happen and drank to the point where we all felt very sick, very quickly. Long story short, we were all in bed by nine o’clock, and it’s been reported this morning that Sian was sick in Elia’s sink. God I’ve missed my pals.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I spent today feeling extremely sorry for myself. I didn’t get out of bed until 1pm and all I managed to do this afternoon was watch The Big Lebowski (fantastic film) and eat an entire easter egg. Currently, I’m sitting in the garden writing this on my MacBook Air (did you know I have a MacBook?) with my music playing in the background and Hayley cooking up a storm on the barbecue. I’m back at work tomorrow which, even after three months off, I’m really not looking forward to, although I figure it’s a reasonable price to pay for the gradual return of normality. I’m particularly happy writing this blog because it’s the first time in a long time where I’ve actually seen people and had plenty to write about. With the future looking bright and the AstraZeneca jab running through my veins, I feel the best I’ve felt in a while.
Bring on Summer 2021. Stay safe.
