There are advantages to not working

[severina2001]

I've been so unmotivated for the past few weeks. I think it's this long, long quarantine just getting to me. I am a person who enjoys my own company but now I'm really longing for a nice visit with my sister and brother-in-law. Forcing myself to work is a chore so sometimes I just don't, which is really gonna hurt my bottom line come end of the

Comments

[haldoor]

I feel for you having to suffer such a long quarantine and missing your friends and family interactions! I think I'm a bit like you in that way - love my own company, but after a while, you just need the interactions. I hope it ends for you soon. We've just been thrust back into it with some new cases in Auckland, so we're currently on Day 3 of the latest lockdown after 6 months of freedom, and I can see them lengthening it as my hubby just told me that 2 more people close to the cluster that caused this new lockdown have also tested positive... we're getting an announcement this afternoon to update if we have to stay home longer.

I'd be like that for work too if I had to motivate myself into it. I've been (un?)lucky in that working for the government, we've been really busy so I haven't had time to slack off until recently. I know I can't motivate myself into exercise, so that's been sadly lacking.

Your fun stuff sounds excellent! I wish you had a cord so you could show us photos of the puzzle! I did one last time we were locked down - 1000 pieces that my daughter gave us and it was really difficult! I've been doing jigsaws for years so 1000 is usually about right, but this one had SO MANY pieces that could have fitted (and absolutely seemed to) in many places, so it was hard to get right. I doubt any of us will ever do that one again! I did another one of the same size after that which seemed like a breeze in comparison, and restored my faith that I wasn't just losing it!!!

I wanted to check Preacher out; maybe I will soon! I've been devouring a Chinese show on Netflix called 'The Untamed' which is so so pretty, even though I barely have any idea what's going on. Very slashy though, and is apparently based on a m/m graphic novel, so don't quite know how 'close' the two so-pretty-it-hurts lead characters will actually get, but I'm in for the long haul now...

The snow sounds lovely (apart from the blizzard!), but I am glad it's summer here! We've just had a few days of rain - which we sorely needed as it's been drought-like here since last summer, and we're on water restrictions as trhe dams aren't high enough - and now the sun is out again and the cicadas are buzzing away madly! ;-)

You're doing well with the book count! I'm only on book #3 for the year, and am still working my way through #2, which is not holding my interest as well as it should be!

[severina2001]

I was thinking of you the other day when there was that underwater earthquake in your neck of the woods. I heard them mention the possibility of tsunami's for Vanuatu which I felt like was in your general vicinity. Then I looked up some distances and discovered that the distance from NZ to Vanuatu is the same as from Toronto, Ontario to Calgary, Alberta... which is to say, NOT CLOSE AT ALL. lol

See, your country is SMART. At the first inkling you lock down tight (and it appears that none/few of your countryfolk are dicks about it) and so you've come through this a lot better than most. Here it feels like we'll never get out of this.

I don't think I could manage a 1000 piece puzzle! LOL Maybe when I get some more experience. My sister bought me two 500-piece ones for Christmas, and I kept texting her photos as to my progress. It actually felt quite accomplished when I'd get on a roll and fill in a nice chunk. Sometimes it's the little things. They're kind of addictive, too. I told my sister I would probably hold off on the second one but I can already see that I'm going to have it open by Saturday. :D

Great to chat with you!

[haldoor]

Thanks for thinking of me! Parts of NZ did actually get tsunami warnings,. although of course it was fairly unlikely anything would make it this far. We do get a few earthquakes in the Pacific (and in NZ itself of course), but so far nothing major for a while, thankfully.

Yes, I have to admit, our government has been really on the ball with the Covid19 stuff, and MOST of our "team of 5 million" as our PM calls us (LOL) have been really good at responding positively. There are still a few dicks out there, but generally they are in the minority, thankfully. Our alert level has just been reduced to Level 2 again overnight, which means we can go outside again, but gatherings are limited, and there are certain restrictions on in shops and eateries, etc, plus masks are mandatory on public transport (including planes), and anywhere with large groups of people. On Monday, all going well, we'll be back to Level 1 - which is where we'd been for 6 months before the latest lockdown - which means pretty much back to normal apart from masks and travel in and out of the country.

Once you get used to 500 piece ones, you'll be champing at the bit for a 1000 piece puzzle! We gradually worked our way up to the 1000 pieces some years ago. I've seen a 2000 piece puzzle in the shops, but it looks quite large and I don't think we'd have room for it anywhere other than the dining table and since we use that daily for family meals, it's not really practical!

See, you already want to do another 500 piece one! They are so VERY addictive! Last time I sat down to put a few pieces in our last one, I was there about 3 hours and finished it completely!!!

[severina2001]

Oh yes, I think for a lot of us here in North America -- at least the people I talk to -- your part of the world has the reputation of "beautiful, but scary." LOL Do you have the same type/amount of scary/deadly/huge bugs that Australia has??

Last night I opened up the second puzzle and put together the border and a little bit of the middle. Addicted, I tell ya. :D

[haldoor]

No, we have very few dangerous bugs or indeed animals here. No large predatory mammals, no crocodiles or other dangerous lizards and the biggest birds are hawks that only go for small mammals (not cats, anyway!) in the countryside, and suchlike. There's a couple of dangerous spiders (which are tiny and I've never seen one) which are imports from Australia, but they are not common. We do have giant weta (sort of grasshopper-like native bugs) that are the size of a mouse, but they're not common at all (and only in particular parts of the country), and are basically harmless anyway. The common weta found locally are basically harmless too and are more like the size of a large grasshopper, but we don't see them that often either. I have dealt with them, but it's no different from a large spider - you put a jar over them, slide paper underneath to contain them, then put them outside in the bush. And that's IT. Unless you worry about sharks (we get great whites), but even then attacks are rare.

Oh that's great - I'd be like that too - so hard to resist a new puzzle! ;-)

[severina2001]

Okay, so if I ever win the lottery, New Zealand is a go! I am ridiculously terrified of bugs so the very thought of weta -- even grasshopper sized -- is enough to make me want to cry. I've seen those huge ones because of Lord of the Rings, and OH MY GOD. I means, bugs THE SIZE OF A MOUSE. I'd have a heart attack right on the spot!

I love learning about new places and dreaming of visiting them someday. C'mon lottery win!

[haldoor]

You must come here one day if you can (and travel is actually possible...), as it's really a great place and fairly safe. You can easily avoid weta - they aren't running around the streets!

BTW, I lived in Ontario for a year at the beginning of the 90s, and I loved it there. Travelled right across the country to visit penpals after my job ended, and loved Canada so much, it'd be the only place I'd consider living in permanently after NZ!

[severina2001]

I remember you telling me that you traveled Canada but not that you lived in Ontario. Did you live in Toronto?

[haldoor]

I lived on the outskirts in Mississauga for half the time and then moved out to a little town half an hour further out called Georgetown.

[severina2001]

Aaah okay. Mississauga is only about 30 minutes from where I live. We were practically neighbours. :)

[haldoor]

Woot! Who knew? ;-)