April 26, 2022: 8-year Blog-a-versary!

Do you believe it April? 8 years of writing and blogging, for something that started as a three-month journaling, April to June of 2014! I was struggling with a wannabee boss at a part-time job, and there wasn’t one thing in my life that seemed to have some stability.

If change is the most stable thing, then changes I got throughout these years: change of country and working language, of scenery, of social circle, of pretty much everything!

Apart from the pandemic, some personal tribulations and being a carer for a sick parent,

And here I am today, recovering from Covid19, after having avoided it for two years and with three vaccine doses, to slowly start another blog year and to look forward to further personal development.

I have settled in London, renting a room in a kind of communal living, like a student’s residence, and most importantly, I got myself a permanent job in the midst of the pandemic!

Looking forward to the new blog year and to the new directions this blog will take!

Happy Anniversary “April4june6.wordpress.com”!

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October 17, 2021: Designing my Perfect Life

Hello October,

I feel a bit more relaxed after a month in London, and I start wishing for more: so here I am, planning what I would love to see materialising in my life: everyday life, friends, home, career, anything. I would like a magic wand to attend to it, but sometimes, taking a step at a time is also great. I came accros my goals set in 2017 in an old notebook, and was happily surprised to see I have reached them, almost all!

In the meanwhile, there were times that looked disastrous, as if not only I was not reaching any goal, but I was also losing what I already had! Somehow, I kept my faith, in the middle of these adventures, and I can now talk from a much better place.

So, how do I create magic again? Apparently Good Things come to those who Create, so I will draw the best possible picture and I will see myself into it. I see myself aligned with my work environment, friends I can trust and who can be trusted and a mission that inspires me! A loving family created, pets, travelling to unite with like-minded people on Earth, Beauty and my personal Utopia materialised!

Can we be happy in the middle of unhappiness? Yes, because LIFE has always a way to get ahead, and by involving as many others as possible to this happy bubble of ours! May Happy Bubbles become many and include the whole world!

September 8th, 2021: Respecting our rhythm

Hello September,

Yes, I am in London again where everything is fast, and people are slowly but steadily going towards their pre-pandemic life styles; with precaution, vaccination and masks in the underground.

I still feel stressed, after living with my parents in our village at the South of France. It sounds idyllic, but with the lockdown and my mum’s health issues, it was difficult to keep the balance.

So, here I am, and I feel like a real holiday is in order: the kind of thing where you allow yourself to just BE, living fully in the PRESENT and admiring the birds, the food, the beach, each other, etc…

Without any form of guilt:

Rest and healing is not a luxury it is a necessity!!!

Holiday, here I come!!!

September 2nd: Back to London!

Hello September and hello London!

I am back!!!

My clothes and stuff is on boxes on the floor, I barely have space to walk and there are moths in my new room!

After moving in out and around between countries, and living with my parents during the pandemic, I am back to working face to face, with the mask as an accessory.

I bought a beautiful rose flower, a vase and a lavender pot to face the moths.

The rose was amazing and beautiful. The lavender pot that is supposed to serve as a remedy was half price. I wasn’t sure it will survive indoors.

These purchases reflect my current attitude:

Hope for a better future, with the rose

Fear with a plant that is not at its best.

I will give a chance to the lavender also, at least asking for advice to make it feel better.

Hope and fear might live in the same person.

But if we take more care of the hope, the fear might go away and do its job: guard us only when it is necessary.

August 26, 2021: Something got to change: blossoming

Hello August,

yesterday I caught myself feeling envious when seeing people coming back from holidays. Today I experienced a sense of vertigo and I realised it is psychosomatic. So, yes, I need to get off this negative train and get into another, positive directionl.

My feelings have been bottling up during the last months and I felt I didn’t really have anyone to share them with. I kind of felt alone with my challenges. I also realise that a holiday is not when you don’t do work. It can be more tiring if there is no learning, enjoying, and getting away from potential stressors, even for a while.

I can’t blame everything on the pandemic.

Or, even if it was the pandemic’s fault, I would still need to adapt.

Adapt and grow as a human being, not just adapt 🙂

I used to see some middle aged and old people who looked dry and bitter. They had stories they wanted to share about the terrible things that happened to them. Full of spite and then taking it on to the first innocent or less innocent who might be in front of them.

They could be right, or wrong. The thing is, if we don’t want to turn bitter and dry, and to blossom as human beings, there must be another way to regenerate and continue our path…

April 13 to 17, 2021: doing something new every day for 30 days, days 19 to 23

Hello April,

no, I am not cheating! At least not exactly! I have tried new flavours of coffee: from Costa Rica, to Guatemala, Brasil, Kenya and today Ethiopia. I have to admit Brazilian coffee was my favourite, followed by Kenya and Ethiopia.

Here you are! Anything else which could be new and exciting? Well, I have tried three recipes of morning smoothies and today I managed to wake up at 5am. Although this is not exactly my accomplishment. The cat has a stomach issue and she was supposed to be on a diet (the vet’s idea, not mine!). She didn’t exactly appreciate it and she was more effective than any other alarm!

Writing fiction is also progressing. My heroine and heroes are going to Bali, in Indonesia. In that way I can travel in my imagination since I am constrained in my movements.

Anything else? Hmm, yes, something new is definitely learning multiple regression analysis in Statistics. I had tried to avoid Statistics for years, but somehow some of my best friends are using stats. And somehow, I got to learn this method for my everyday job.

So this is new, and definitely, it will take a big part of my time this weekend!!!

By the way, a cup of coffee might help with this!!!

April 7, 8 and 9-Doing something new every day for 30 days, days 13-15

Hello April,

yes, I have followed through. After a smoothie with bananas, honey, ginger, peanut butter and protein powder, it was time to buy a jumping rope and then to try it. Oh, I have also tried a salad with biological kale, yesterday.

So that leaves me with something new to do on April 9, and I was happy to get it out early in the morning. I enrolled to an online class for public speaking with udemy. But I also intend to take google’s free course. This is something useful if I transform my blog into a blog one of these days. And with every possible activity online, our interlocutors will be spared from nausea because we move our head constantly in zoom conferences. At least I do.

Yes, it’s charming to move in real life. But in front of a screen it is like an experimental film.

So, yes, I can try it.

And see what will come of it.

It’s also a good exercise to put oneself out there and focus on whatever message we have.

https://learndigital.withgoogle.com/digitalgarage/course/public-speaking

April 5 and 6, 2021- Doing something new every day for 30 days, days 11 and 12

Hello April,

you know what I did? I realised I might be a “super recogniser”, one of those people who can recognise others despite age, style, etc differences. it all started when I recognised a child actor in the early 2000, as a grownup comedian in a very different role.

Ok, you think this isn’t enough? Well, I took an online test, provided by the Open University and the University of Greenwich.

And I got a very decent score. Now there are a couple of other tests to pass also.

So this qualifies as one thing.

And today, I bought biological Kale for the first time. It didn’t look nicer, but I convinced myself, so I hope it tastes ok.

Oh, yes, and a mini bottle of Proseco.

The next step would be to take my Champagne glasses out of the cupboard and to drink the Champaign I have kept for special occasions, no matter what, even if I become drunk.

It has been challenging to celebrate and to celebrate myself with my mother suffering from health issues in the same house.

But the thing is, no matter what happens, we can always choose to feel good, and we can share and spread happiness around.

Oh, yes, I found my new action today: a reference letter for a childhood friend! It definitely qualifies as one!!!

https://forward-festival.com/article/vogue-faces-of-fashion

https://www.superrecognisers.com

April 2nd-4th, 2021-Doing something new every day for 30 days in lockdown, days 8 to 10

Hello April,

I am not cheating, I have done something new every day!

So, for April 1, I have called the vet to ask how to bring the garden cat, Felix for his vaccines. You see, he might not take it nicely to get into a box. I also bought vegan protein powder for my future smoothie.

April 2, I have prepared myself a smoothie! With kiwi, strawberries, protein powder and milk.

April 3, I went to a sports doctor to ask if I can exercise again and if I do anything harmful without being aware; apparently not, so I am getting back to exercising!

April 4, today, a walk in the direction of my old school. I realise I don’t like seeing my school a lot. Yes, I should be grateful to be a literate female, in world where girls might get married before they reach puberty and they might not learn to read and write.

Maybe it has to do with my dream to go far away and change my life. I actually did, and even though I am back due to lockdown, I appreciate everything that happened in between. All the goals I have achieved. And even those I didn’t, maybe it wasn’t the timing.

The Best is yet to come!

Turmeric Banana Smoothie with Ginger

Turmeric Banana Smoothie with Ginger

March 31st, 2021- Doing something new every day for 30 days, day 7- Jajouka music Morocco

Farewell March,

I spent most of the day wondering what new and exciting thing I could do from home, after my usual working from home and a horrid weather.

Finally, I have discovered this enchanting Moroccan music “The Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar”, and I am happy I run into them online.

These excellent musicians play an enchanting rhythm, they have influenced a lot of western musicians also, such as the Rolling Stones. Not to mention, that apparently, this music has a healing effect.

And yes, I personally danced to its rhythm, you should also try it!!!