Does anyone have any happy stories about bouncing back from burnout? Preferably ones which don’t involve having to leave employment for a while? 😅

Just enrolled for a 2 day course in delivering massage to those with complex needs. The communication & body language aspects sound super interesting. I’ve not yet had time & energy to set up my side business (soon!), but I keep my skills sharp by giving massages to friends and loved ones.

:)

Got my uni assignment back with a mark of 95% 😳 Really feel like I’ve hit my stride with studying now. If life allows, I can definitely see myself finishing the degree and actually graduating.

Off to the Leeds Testing Atelier next week and looking forward to seeing some familiar faces. It’ll be great being back with the testing community once again, I’m excited for a whole day of awesome talks and chats.

Happy Beltane 🔥☀️❤️

Today I’m thinking of my friends who are no longer with us. I seem to have lost quite a few over the years, and it’s giving me some pause today.

Been so busy recently that I forgot about Bluesky… what have I missed?

Spent far too much of today doing my uni assignment. It’s been rewarding so far - I’ve been exploring a website prototype and critically analysing how accessible and usable it is from the perspective of a user with additional needs. Next, I’ll be implementing some suggested improvements. It’s fun 😁

Picked up FFXII: The Zodiac Age in the Steam sale. Let’s go nostalgia, I remember playing the original on PS2 as a teenager and being blown away by how far games had come since I was a little kid.

It’s a Sisters of Mercy kinda day 🖤

I never learned how to type properly, like a lot of people I’ve just been winging it. For the last few weeks I’ve been trying to learn to touch type & I’m finally getting to a point where I can manage slow speeds semi consistently. I still default to my old style & have to remind myself not to.

There’s a really big, old, crusty ginger cat that hangs around my neighbourhood and I hadn’t seen him all through the winter months. Given how dishevelled he looked, I feared the worst, but I saw him again today. Tentatively, I approached him and gave him some strokes & he let out the biggest meow ❤️

My doctor has told me to give up all tea, even decaf, even herbal. As a Brit, I’m finding this unfathomable.

Buckling in to watch the new episode of Industry. Been looking forward to this.

Back at work today! I’m feeling fresh and rested for the first time in months. Let’s see how long that feeling lasts.

Just passed my driving theory test last night, which means I can officially book a practical test. That’s a whole challenge in itself - between the bots and scalpers and massive backlog, it’ll be at least April/May before I can do it. Not that I’m anywhere near ready - lots more practice needed.

It’s always a struggle to think for the rest of the day after a driving lesson. It seems to totally exhaust my brain. Hoping that it becomes easier soon - I’ve been learning since April and I still find it quite overwhelming. Guess I must be a slow learner!

I feel somewhat bereft now that my massage course has concluded. Even though I know I need the rest, I really want a new learning adventure.

Stay awhile and listen. 🔊🎶 (Matt Uelmen - Tristram Village)

Today I got the news that I passed my exams for my massage therapy course 😁 It’s taken a lot of hard work over the last 6 months and I am so glad it’s paid off. With how stressful it was, I feel like I need many massages to recover 😂

Time for a cosy Sunday afternoon read. Brain is still feeling super slow but hopefully I can handle this.

Driving in Leeds be like… (glad it’s not me who has to do it)

Burnout is a crafty fucker - it let me think I had just about scraped through all of the big obligations I had, and then loudly announced itself by sitting me on my arse after a stomach bug and not letting me get up again. Even yoga feels too strenuous right now. Guess I’ve gotta take it easy.

Looking at gaudy Rightmove listings whilst listening to the build music from The Sims is becoming a new favourite pastime.

The agony of finding a song which I want to play on loop all afternoon but it loops terribly 😭

Japan Railway Journal is just so delightful. Thanks NHK World for making this available to me 😂 I love being able to do deep dives on various Japanese trains for no reason.

Now that the wedding is all done and dusted, I can actually focus on other things, like trying to meet new people in this city of mine. Or… I could get a motorbike license and drive many miles down the road to my old city and my long term friends. The license feels more doable 😅

At some point I’ll post about testing and development again… but at the moment I’m far too excited about other things, like the fact I’ve just bought some lovely new kitchen knives. The catalyst for the purchase was the fact I bruised my palm chopping some butternut squash. That was a step too far.

Hey everyone, I’ve been away a while and it’s because I got married! Hoping to finally have some headspace for online things again. Sorry to those who already saw the old post!