Back in the UK

It has been so long hasn't it - nearly 3 months! I was lying in bed, knowing that I couldn't stand not doing anything but at the same time, no one's awake for me to text so I thought I might as well get on this. It's a way for me to procrastinate (or resist) from doing work over the weekends. 

A lot has happened over the past 3 months, I'm now back in the UK. My new room here feels like my own and I start going to the office tomorrow, so that's a one hour walk (return) every day to look forward to. Being back here feels a lot different than it was last year. I don't hate it neither do I cry every morning wanting to leave anymore. I think the whole Malaysia trip, the length of it and the things I did there had definitely allowed me to feel content and I hope it stays like this for a while. 

I quarantined for 10 days when I got back, did a swab test twice and then was able to carry out what still feels like a very restricted life. We essentially still wouldn't be able to go out to restaurants/pubs (and sit indoors) for another month though we would be able to sit outside. Seeing how Ramadhan is coming up, I guess that helps. 

I've been hanging out with the #halalgang a lot and I guess, that has kept me socially occupied. We were meant to go up north to visit OY for easter but restrictions were still there at that point and we ended up going to Windsor for a picnic (on the wrong day because the weather was bad). It always feels good knowing that you have friends. I must say that this little friends group we have was only initiated because of the lockdown and that's one of my silver linings of the pandemic. I'm glad I now have people that I could just be me with rather than have to put on a facade. Talking about friends - I sort of miss my TEAL Team 2 mates, it has been so long since we met up and the closest we could get to planning something is after Ramadhan!

But in addition to that, I also now have 'more people' I could kacau to occupy me. I previously heavily depended on a one or two individuals to get through the day but being in Malaysia allowed me to get a lot more comfortable reaching out to other friends and in that sense, I'm feeling content and happy where I am. I'm also going through a phase where I have positive emotions and feelings and that's ALWAYS good - though when you include the overthinking it gets a bit annoying but I'm enjoying it. 

Work-wise, it has been a lot busy than I thought it would be since coming back but I'm definitely happy that I'm actually working normal hours again. But it also means that I'm putting more hours than I should (voluntarily) so we're back to me not balancing my life right. I have an exciting project coming up where I'm going back to doing mechanical engineering work - so there's a lot to catch up on especially because I haven't done much mechanical the past year. Then again, I know the people working on the project and I know that I'll be getting the support that I need to make sure it all goes well. Also, I have a very approachable mentor so though it might get stressful - I'm extremely excited about this new, steep learning curve! 

I think that's it for now, Ramadhan Mubarak everyone.