People on Furlough....

[northernringo]

1 hour ago, crazyfool1 said:

Thats the thing ... I’m on 12 weeks off full pay ... I’m very fortunate in that respect ... but at the end what happens ? I go back into a similar environment to the one I just left ? But hopefully with better nhs capacity at that point ... at some point I’m going to get it ? I’ve just got to hope my preexisting condition doesn’t cause me serious problems ... aargh 

Yea, my dad is in the same boat, he received a letter telling him he is high risk and to limit all contact with others. The letter was date two weeks ago today - I can't see there being a situation in 10 weeks where he is able to go back to work.

[Crazyfool01]

5 minutes ago, northernringo said:

Yea, my dad is in the same boat, he received a letter telling him he is high risk and to limit all contact with others. The letter was date two weeks ago today - I can't see there being a situation in 10 weeks where he is able to go back to work.

I’m not quite in the letter receiving situation ... for those the decisions are tougher still ... but how can we/ they go from complete isolation to normal ... it’s all bonkers  

[Neil]

just made my furlough claim for my employee (me). For once with HMRC it was a painless process.

[zahidf]

It's a rare thing, a government IT project with minimal mess ups (so far...)

[squirrelarmy]

6 hours ago, Neil said:

just made my furlough claim for my employee (me). For once with HMRC it was a painless process.

If you’re on furlough whose running the site? Or have you managed to find a willing volunteer to take over for no pay. 

[Ryan1984]

My company went into administration before Christmas and we were made redundant the Monday before Easter (no furlough, sadly).
 

I have a government-capped lump sum and one last payslip so not too desperate yet but will need a job very soon and think it’s going to be very hard in the current environment. Have had phone calls with ‘talent acquisition’ people over the past week or so at a couple of companies but they haven’t led to full interviews. Does grind you down a bit - especially when you read we might be social distancing for the rest of the year.

 

[Neil]

16 hours ago, squirrelarmy said:

If you’re on furlough whose running the site? Or have you managed to find a willing volunteer to take over for no pay. 

I talked an old friend into doing an hour a day on flexible payment terms.

That works at the moment. Fingers crossed it still works out as the situation changes, cos I'm worried that govt support will end in the summer but gigs and festivals won't be able to restart until next year.

[DeanoL]

On 4/22/2020 at 10:05 AM, zahidf said:

It's a rare thing, a government IT project with minimal mess ups (so far...)

Honestly it's pretty impressive how well it held up - something delivered very quickly, having to deal with a huge capacity and no soft launch - even outside of government projects that's impressive.

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

I’m technically on Furlough, waiting to start a new job but can’t until WFH ends.

What I want to know is what we will we all come out of this with? For me it’s the following:

I’ve actually got a semi decent tan, I hate sunbathing when I’m on holiday, for me it’s a waste of time. But with nothing to do and the decent weather lately I’ve spent a lot of time just sitting in the sun 

I’ve been exercising every morning and I set myself the challenge to be able to plank for 5 minutes, at the moment I’m at 4.

My drinking has gone through the roof, but I’ve also developed a very decent bar stocked with lots of different types of drink. I basically used to just drink beer but now I’m also a gin aficionado, I’ve got a decent stock of red white and rose wine as well. I’ve got a home brew brewing that will give me 23 litres of beer when it’s done as well.

And I think that’s about it!

[zahidf]

5 hours ago, DeanoL said:

Honestly it's pretty impressive how well it held up - something delivered very quickly, having to deal with a huge capacity and no soft launch - even outside of government projects that's impressive.

Despite other issues in govt response, the treasury so far has come up well from all of this.

[philipsteak]

1 hour ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

I’m technically on Furlough, waiting to start a new job but can’t until WFH ends.

What I want to know is what we will we all come out of this with? For me it’s the following:

I’ve actually got a semi decent tan, I hate sunbathing when I’m on holiday, for me it’s a waste of time. But with nothing to do and the decent weather lately I’ve spent a lot of time just sitting in the sun 

I’ve been exercising every morning and I set myself the challenge to be able to plank for 5 minutes, at the moment I’m at 4.

My drinking has gone through the roof, but I’ve also developed a very decent bar stocked with lots of different types of drink. I basically used to just drink beer but now I’m also a gin aficionado, I’ve got a decent stock of red white and rose wine as well. I’ve got a home brew brewing that will give me 23 litres of beer when it’s done as well.

And I think that’s about it!

 

A beard. I take far too long to get past the scruffy stage. Not an issue right now.

Now I'm  symptom free,  starting to exercise more. Hopefully keep it up, but unfortunately I know myself too well

Reading books again. Still no where near the level I used to when younger, but definitely increasing

 

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

1 minute ago, philipsteak said:

 

A beard. I take far too long to get past the scruffy stage. Not an issue right now.

Now I'm  symptom free,  starting to exercise more. Hopefully keep it up, but unfortunately I know myself too well

Reading books again. Still no where near the level I used to when younger, but definitely increasing

 

Ah forgot that, I tried the beard. I gave it about 6 weeks and it honestly looked horrific on me, I was getting more and more depressed catching sight of myself in the mirror. I really wanted to push through and just keep going, but I couldn’t. I’ve got really horrible wiry grey hair on my chin and it just looked horrendous. In the end I gave in and trimmed it and I felt so much better for it.

[philipsteak]

5 minutes ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

Ah forgot that, I tried the beard. I gave it about 6 weeks and it honestly looked horrific on me, I was getting more and more depressed catching sight of myself in the mirror. I really wanted to push through and just keep going, but I couldn’t. I’ve got really horrible wiry grey hair on my chin and it just looked horrendous. In the end I gave in and trimmed it and I felt so much better for it.

Not gonna lie, 5 weeks in and it still looks like shit, but I'm never going to have this opportunity again. And I do hate shaving so to remove that from my life would be brilliant

[stuie]

8 hours ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

My drinking has gone through the roof, but I’ve also developed a very decent bar stocked with lots of different types of drink. I basically used to just drink beer but now I’m also a gin aficionado, I’ve got a decent stock of red white and rose wine as well. I’ve got a home brew brewing that will give me 23 litres of beer when it’s done as well.

And I think that’s about it!

Exactly the same! Never drink at home normally, unless it was a couple while I was getting ready to go out, or wine with friends and dinner.

Now, the recycling bin is a disgrace.  There will be new alcoholics after this shituation and I fear I may be one of them! 

[circus92]

7 hours ago, stuie said:

Now, the recycling bin is a disgrace.  There will be new alcoholics after this shituation and I fear I may be one of them! 

Yeah - the recycling lorry has just gone down our street a few minutes ago and the constant sounds of glass clattering was notably noisier than usual 😂

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

I hate the little walk of shame every day as I go out to put the empty bottles in the recycling bin, there is always at least one neighbour hovering about. If I’m lucky the neighbour who lives directly opposite and whose front door faces mine is normally leaving the house for their daily exercise.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Deaf Nobby Burton

[Kalopsia]

I don't know where to say this or if I even should say it but I'm struggling. I know I'm really fortunate and this makes me sound really shallow but I just feel like I'm stuck in a pit and I can't seem to climb out. All I ever do is overthink and right now I've got too much time with nothing filled and so all I can do is think about everything past mistake, future errors I haven't even made yet and my sexuality something I've battled with for years. I have my exercise which gives me a nice perk up for about half a day if I'm lucky but after that it's just negative at the moment. I'm sorry to message on here but I just don't know what else to do? 

[mcshed]

9 hours ago, Kalopsia said:

I don't know where to say this or if I even should say it but I'm struggling. I know I'm really fortunate and this makes me sound really shallow but I just feel like I'm stuck in a pit and I can't seem to climb out. All I ever do is overthink and right now I've got too much time with nothing filled and so all I can do is think about everything past mistake, future errors I haven't even made yet and my sexuality something I've battled with for years. I have my exercise which gives me a nice perk up for about half a day if I'm lucky but after that it's just negative at the moment. I'm sorry to message on here but I just don't know what else to do? 

Don't beat yourself up about feeling down this is hard it is hard in a way that is unlike anything we've experienced before. The folks in this forum are pretty decent so there is anything you need to unburden yourself with then this is a sensible place to do it. If you are finding your daily exercise is improving your mood is there anyway you could get more exercise into your routine? Exercise bike in your house, or cycle to the shops on your shopping trips, something like that. 

This will pass.

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

9 hours ago, Kalopsia said:

I don't know where to say this or if I even should say it but I'm struggling. I know I'm really fortunate and this makes me sound really shallow but I just feel like I'm stuck in a pit and I can't seem to climb out. All I ever do is overthink and right now I've got too much time with nothing filled and so all I can do is think about everything past mistake, future errors I haven't even made yet and my sexuality something I've battled with for years. I have my exercise which gives me a nice perk up for about half a day if I'm lucky but after that it's just negative at the moment. I'm sorry to message on here but I just don't know what else to do? 

No man is an island (I’m just quoting the John Donne poem, before anyone picks me up on gender issues) we’re not meant to live like this, it’s not normal but it will be over before long. I get exactly how you feel and have felt the same on many occasion during this. I consider myself in a privileged position, I’ve got a nice garden and pretty much everything I could reasonably want within the confines of my house. The weather has been amazing this week, and once I’ve done my daily exercise and walked the dogs I’ve tended to sit out in the garden with some music on and drink. Beer one day, G&T the next, maybe wine another day. In many ways it sounds like a dream, and when you compare it to what some of NHS and key workers are going through it is, so that’s why I feel guilty any time I start to feel bad about it, but it’s not that simple. Many times this week I’ve considered myself a bit like Will Smith in I am Legend. On one had he’s got a great life, great apartment, loads of leisure time and activities, great car (that bit isn’t really appropriate for this scenario but still) But he hadn’t got a great life really, has he. Because he’s completely alone in the world just surviving. So it’s completely natural to feel how you do because this is not normal, but it’s not permanent either. Try to think of this time as a blessing and something that you wouldn’t get the benefit of again. Try to think about coming out of it with something to show for it. You mention exercise, is there a specific goal you can try and achieve from this? A certain weight? A change in body shape? I exercise every morning then do a plank at the end, my aim has been to get to 5 minutes, then it will be 10 as well. I also find it helps to have structure. I plan my day out and still have a routine. I’ve been watching a lot of Netflix etc, but I don’t do this until the evening. I don’t know how your house is set up but I’ve got a lounge and I watch TV in there and I don’t go in there until the evening to watch it so I’ve got a bit of structure and division between that and everything else.

[Kalopsia]

On 4/25/2020 at 9:35 AM, mcshed said:

Don't beat yourself up about feeling down this is hard it is hard in a way that is unlike anything we've experienced before. The folks in this forum are pretty decent so there is anything you need to unburden yourself with then this is a sensible place to do it. If you are finding your daily exercise is improving your mood is there anyway you could get more exercise into your routine? Exercise bike in your house, or cycle to the shops on your shopping trips, something like that. 

This will pass.

 

On 4/25/2020 at 10:17 AM, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

No man is an island (I’m just quoting the John Donne poem, before anyone picks me up on gender issues) we’re not meant to live like this, it’s not normal but it will be over before long. I get exactly how you feel and have felt the same on many occasion during this. I consider myself in a privileged position, I’ve got a nice garden and pretty much everything I could reasonably want within the confines of my house. The weather has been amazing this week, and once I’ve done my daily exercise and walked the dogs I’ve tended to sit out in the garden with some music on and drink. Beer one day, G&T the next, maybe wine another day. In many ways it sounds like a dream, and when you compare it to what some of NHS and key workers are going through it is, so that’s why I feel guilty any time I start to feel bad about it, but it’s not that simple. Many times this week I’ve considered myself a bit like Will Smith in I am Legend. On one had he’s got a great life, great apartment, loads of leisure time and activities, great car (that bit isn’t really appropriate for this scenario but still) But he hadn’t got a great life really, has he. Because he’s completely alone in the world just surviving. So it’s completely natural to feel how you do because this is not normal, but it’s not permanent either. Try to think of this time as a blessing and something that you wouldn’t get the benefit of again. Try to think about coming out of it with something to show for it. You mention exercise, is there a specific goal you can try and achieve from this? A certain weight? A change in body shape? I exercise every morning then do a plank at the end, my aim has been to get to 5 minutes, then it will be 10 as well. I also find it helps to have structure. I plan my day out and still have a routine. I’ve been watching a lot of Netflix etc, but I don’t do this until the evening. I don’t know how your house is set up but I’ve got a lounge and I watch TV in there and I don’t go in there until the evening to watch it so I’ve got a bit of structure and division between that and everything else.

Thank you both for your kind replies and suggestions! Sorry I've replied quite slowly but I've tried to keep off my phone over the weekend as I've heard social media isn't the best for mental health, I'm feeling a touch more positive and have tried to keep myself busy in the garden when not exercising and kept the music on a  constant loop (the neighbours probably haven't had the most peaceful of weekends😅) 

 

Anyways I'm rambling now, thanks again. 

Edited April 26, 2020 by Kalopsia

[DareToDibble]

I bought a bike about a week ago after going on a few rides on hire bikes. I’m actually really enjoying it. I’ve built up to 20k cycles in the last couple of days. I’ve never really stuck with a form of exercise before but I think I will with this. I hate running with a passion so this is perfect. Has anyone on here lost weight from cycling? I appreciate it won’t be as effective as running but would be nice to know it will help.

On the flip side I’ve also been playing a lot of Xbox and getting through Disney+ at a fairly impressive rate  

[dotdash79]

I lost 3 stone from riding, biggest change was when I was commuting by bike 5 days a week and really trimmed down.

it will make you want to eat everything though. 

[Homer]

18 hours ago, Kalopsia said:

 

Thank you both for your kind replies and suggestions! Sorry I've replied quite slowly but I've tried to keep off my phone over the weekend as I've heard social media isn't the best for mental health, I'm feeling a touch more positive and have tried to keep myself busy in the garden when not exercising and kept the music on a  constant loop (the neighbours probably haven't had the most peaceful of weekends😅) 

 

Anyways I'm rambling now, thanks again. 

Great to hear you are feeling better. X

[DareToDibble]

2 hours ago, dotdash79 said:

I lost 3 stone from riding, biggest change was when I was commuting by bike 5 days a week and really trimmed down.

it will make you want to eat everything though. 

That’s awesome! How long was the commute?

I’m currently cycling every other day and about 20k each time. So far it’s pretty much sent me to sleep the minute I get home ha

[DJL]

On 4/26/2020 at 8:10 PM, Kalopsia said:

 

Thank you both for your kind replies and suggestions! Sorry I've replied quite slowly but I've tried to keep off my phone over the weekend as I've heard social media isn't the best for mental health, I'm feeling a touch more positive and have tried to keep myself busy in the garden when not exercising and kept the music on a  constant loop (the neighbours probably haven't had the most peaceful of weekends😅) 

 

Anyways I'm rambling now, thanks again. 

Great to hear you are feeling better. Not sure I have any relevant words of wisdom as I am not being furloughed till Thursday but while wfh what has kept me sane has been focusing on interests I haven't had time to before. Not necessarily challenging self improvement directly but just what I like - my consumption of new music has gone through the roof.