![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
1. For the first time in years, I actually have a book that I'm reading. Not one that I've started and abandoned, not an overly ambitious pile that I've got out from the library, and not even an audiobook. An actual, honest-to-goodness book. Seriously, it's been years.
I'm making my way with all the speed of a drunken snail through Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes. My concentration is still almost non-existent, so I read for my 10 minute bus journey each morning and then, if I feel like it, for another 20 minutes at lunchtime. But nothing after that, as my eyes just travel over the page without seeing the words.
Even so, I've managed to get through three-quarters of the book, and am really enjoying it. In many ways, it's the perfect book for someone who reads in small chunks, as each chapter is different to the one before. There's no real narrative, no one narrator and no actual story. There are through-lines of characters and themes, but that's about it. The style varies, but is always readable, and some of the prose is just wonderful. There are lots of lists, which naturally appeals to me, and lots of facts mingled in with varying interpretations. The only downside is that I think I'm now going to have to read Madame Bovary to make more sense of what I'm reading (no fore-knowledge of Flaubert is actually required!), and that could prove trickier.
Still, at 30 minutes a day on my phone or iPad, I've got through more of a book in a fortnight than I have in 2 years, so I'll take it!
2. The crippling fatigue has lessened to overwhelming tiredness, which is something I'm more used to coping with. Even so, I am Unamused by this, as I'd been doing pretty well for most of December and January. Nothing's changed, so I'm going to plod onwards and wait for it to lift again. Bah.
3. I'm still undecided about when to go and see Black Panther. Annoyingly, the cinema I have membership of doesn't have a post-work/school showing time, only morning, afternoon or 8.40pm, which is out of the question on a weeknight. In fact, the first 5.40pm showing isn't until a whole week after the film comes out. If I go to the 3D showing, I could see it on the Friday. Decisions, decisions...
4. Despite my exhaustion, I made it through Pilates last night, which was immensely satisfying. I ache a lot around the shoulders today, and desperately need more strength in my upper arms, though, so I need to get back on the 'during the week' practice as well. There are too many exercises that rely on me being able to support myself on all fours, which I can only do for about three minutes at the moment!
5. The other thing I need to pick up again is my running. I got about 5 weeks into Couch to 5K last year, and LOVED it, so much. I never thought I would, but actually miss running. The difficulty is that the only time that works for me is early in the morning, and that definitely doesn't work for me at the moment. Still, like the Pilates and the Whole 30 and the reading, I think there'll come a point where it just clicks, and I'll get back to it. My energy levels are so much better when I'm active, but finding that activation energy is just too much for me at the moment. In the meantime, I'm leaving my running shoes out, just as a reminder.
I'm making my way with all the speed of a drunken snail through Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes. My concentration is still almost non-existent, so I read for my 10 minute bus journey each morning and then, if I feel like it, for another 20 minutes at lunchtime. But nothing after that, as my eyes just travel over the page without seeing the words.
Even so, I've managed to get through three-quarters of the book, and am really enjoying it. In many ways, it's the perfect book for someone who reads in small chunks, as each chapter is different to the one before. There's no real narrative, no one narrator and no actual story. There are through-lines of characters and themes, but that's about it. The style varies, but is always readable, and some of the prose is just wonderful. There are lots of lists, which naturally appeals to me, and lots of facts mingled in with varying interpretations. The only downside is that I think I'm now going to have to read Madame Bovary to make more sense of what I'm reading (no fore-knowledge of Flaubert is actually required!), and that could prove trickier.
Still, at 30 minutes a day on my phone or iPad, I've got through more of a book in a fortnight than I have in 2 years, so I'll take it!
2. The crippling fatigue has lessened to overwhelming tiredness, which is something I'm more used to coping with. Even so, I am Unamused by this, as I'd been doing pretty well for most of December and January. Nothing's changed, so I'm going to plod onwards and wait for it to lift again. Bah.
3. I'm still undecided about when to go and see Black Panther. Annoyingly, the cinema I have membership of doesn't have a post-work/school showing time, only morning, afternoon or 8.40pm, which is out of the question on a weeknight. In fact, the first 5.40pm showing isn't until a whole week after the film comes out. If I go to the 3D showing, I could see it on the Friday. Decisions, decisions...
4. Despite my exhaustion, I made it through Pilates last night, which was immensely satisfying. I ache a lot around the shoulders today, and desperately need more strength in my upper arms, though, so I need to get back on the 'during the week' practice as well. There are too many exercises that rely on me being able to support myself on all fours, which I can only do for about three minutes at the moment!
5. The other thing I need to pick up again is my running. I got about 5 weeks into Couch to 5K last year, and LOVED it, so much. I never thought I would, but actually miss running. The difficulty is that the only time that works for me is early in the morning, and that definitely doesn't work for me at the moment. Still, like the Pilates and the Whole 30 and the reading, I think there'll come a point where it just clicks, and I'll get back to it. My energy levels are so much better when I'm active, but finding that activation energy is just too much for me at the moment. In the meantime, I'm leaving my running shoes out, just as a reminder.