Revising 2020 Goals

The school term started this week. Even though I have no children myself, it was still a bit of a shock to the system. Thanks to COVID, "real life" has been on pause for so long that now some sense of normality is returning it is all a little boggling to the brain. With autumn on its way and the end of the year drawing closer, I cannot help but reflect on the goals I set for myself this year. 

How naive to assume that the world wasn't going to crumble before us.

My goals for 2020 looked a little like this:

• Remove more plastic from my weekly shop;
• Replace my plastic razor with a more environmental alternative;
• Try more new recipes;
• Go on lots of adventures;
• Try new things;
• Be happy and healthy.

 

Obviously, I cannot blame my lack of achievement entirely on COVID. Some of these goals were made with the assumption a new job would be following sooner rather than later. Alas, nearly a year after my last day at Costa and I am still without employment. Not for lack of trying, the job market is hard at the best of times. I just decided to tackle it on expert mode.

But, all things considered, I have been laying down the ground work.

During the early stages of lockdown, the plastic in my weekly shop probably dropped considerably. Sadly, this has less to do with me and more to do with panic buyers. I could not get pasta for weeks! It has been creeping back up alongside stock levels returning to normal. However, a refill shop has opened in my town. They stock fruit, veg, and dry cupboard ingredients. Now, it is just a matter of amassing jars and tubs to keep my dry ingredients in so that I may refill to my heart's content! Naturally, it is going to take some time to form the habit. Morrison's is easy and convenient; and sometimes I don't remember I need dry ingredients until I see them there on the shelf. The key is to be kind to yourself while you make mistakes.

My next goal was to replace my plastic razor with something better. Now, I could spout all the reasons why I haven't done it yet but I will be repeating myself. Instead, I can tell you the steps I have taken. Back in February, I made a start on researching environmental alternatives to disposable razors. I now feel like I am in a more informed position so that when I am ready, I can make the change easily. I am leaning towards getting a safety razor rather than subscription box because (while beautiful) the latter are still disposable and relying on someone else to deal with it properly. Safety razors fit in more with my lazy shaving style. I.e. keep using the blade until it is so blunt that your legs somehow look hairier after shaving.

Why yes, yes I am a classy bird.

Third on the list: try new recipes. Now, the failure on this one can only come down to me. Sure, I have been experimenting with a slow cooker regularly but that is less following a recipe and more "see what is left in my cupboard at the end of the week and pray the flavours go together". Having said that, I did try making boiled sweets recently! They came out pretty well, even though I did not have a thermometer at the time. I will definitely be trying those again, once I get a few more flavours in stock.

The idea behind the "try new recipes" was genuinely less cake related though. I love cooking but tend to cook the same four-five meals every week. I still have not braved making curry from scratch and I tend to not venture outside of Italy for my dinner inspo. This is something I would like to change. There are some amazing curries worldwide and every week I watch the Sorted boys get up to all sorts in their kitchen. Maybe once my cupboard is stocked using the Refill Emporium I will feel more inspired to cook my way around the world.

Adventures. Oh how I have missed you. When lockdown started, my partner's bike business boomed. Seemed like everyone and their uncle dug their bikes out of the shed and brought them to him to fix up before getting back into riding. He was due to get busier anyway, with the start of spring and good riding weather. Neither of us were expecting the boom which happened. Since March, he has been non-stop, all day, everyday. While good for business, this sadly has eaten into our adventure time. Sure, we get to go on plenty of walks with the dogs but we have not ventured further afield since my birthday when we walked the Wrekin.

Again, COVID has impacted this. The places we would go have been temporarily closed and travel has been restricted. Plus, diving has been suspended until recently because it could not be done safely. I would like to go on an adventure before the end of the year and am hopeful that with the re-opening of centres and no travel restrictions that we might be able to do so. On the diving front, I am actually quite happy to leave it until the new year and new dive season to get back into the pool and ocean, respectively. I left diving in a bad place at the end of last season, thanks to the mental health situation, and need to reacquaint myself with it. In my own time.

Try new things. Does living in lockdown count as something new? Certainly something I have never experienced before! During lockdown, I have pursued sewing more. While not new, it is still a skill which I am acquiring and using a sewing machine is mostly new to me. The biggest "new" I have tried this year would be online gaming. I had always been a bit fearful of online platforms when it comes to gaming. No real reason, other than I did not want to rely on others for my own gameplay. Neverwinter saw to that and destroyed it. A DnD MMO, it has enough solo gameplay for me to play anti-social and not feel too hampered when I feel like avoiding party dungeons. But, the option to do a dungeon run with randos is always there.

The other new online gaming is something I am sure a lot of people have been exploring. I love board games, always have, but I am still relatively new to the more modern board gaming hobby. With not being able to meet up with my regular group, I have had to find ways to play online. Thanks to Board Game Arena and Table Top Simulator, I can! And I have discovered so many amazing games through both platforms. My "to be bought" list is getting ever longer. Through both those platforms, I am trying something new every time I play!

My last goal was a big ask, considering how I was back in January. Weirdly, it is the one I am probably doing best with. Sure, I still have a long way to go but I am feeling sturdier in my health and happiness than I have in a while. In some ways, I have lockdown to thank for that. The enforced time inside and away from others has really given me a chance to work on myself without the guilty feeling like I should be doing something else. Because what else is there to do?

I guess everyone's main goal for 2020 now is to make it out alive. It has been a hard year and I'm sure the last few months will provide their own surprises and difficulties. (Trump getting re-elected in November anyone?) The thing to remember is that 2021 is not magically going to be better. COVID is not going away any time soon and I'm sure restrictions will be in pace for a long time yet. But the new year should bring new hope. Relief that 2020 is done and hope that 2021 won't contain "murder hornets".

Do I have any new goals or adjustments for my existing 2020 goals? Looking at it, not really. I may not have fully achieved them but I have paved the way so that I can achieve them. All things considered, that is not bad for the weirdest year in living memory.

 

 

 

Listening to: Final Fantasy Guitar Collection