A Look Back at March

Posted 1st Apr 2021 1 Comment by Zita Norton

Did you know one year ago I had just got back into the country and was quarantining?

Thankfully we avoided the hotel quarantine in Melbourne (which turned out to be quite the fiasco) by 24 hours…

We were in Japan and had left waaaaay back at the beginning of March, before COVID19 even had the name “COVID19”, before it was a pandemic and before lockdowns + panic buying.

Alas, this March has been a little different.

For starters, I have not been stuck overseas woo!

Let’s try and go through this month’s shenanigans as cohesively and chronologically as possible.

First up! It was my darling sister’s birthday. She turned 19 and is just a delight.

We went out for breakfast with my brother and just had a wonderful time as siblings (translation: we took turns ganging up on each other).

What’s next?

Ah yes, my eye test! I have one eye that’s far sighted and the other is short sighted. It’s called antimetropia.

The good news is I bought the CUTEST glasses.

So I’ll be wearing glasses pretty much permanently now, as soon as they arrive!

I also slammed right back into playing Stardew Valley.

I started a new game on my Switch and omg. I forgot how much I love this game. I get to be a FARMER without having to go outside.

Delightful.

The end of March then got suuuuper busy!

With work: I’m still currently in the process of rebuilding all of our Kajabi stuff (except courses) in ActiveCampaign. It’s been full on but the task itself is pretty straightforward. It just takes all of my concentration + energy. Buuut we’re nearly done which is exciting!

I also picked up the keys to my house!!!!

And work has officially started on it. Paint has been purchased, the eviction of every spider has commenced, carpets are due to be replaced and I’ve had some branches cut down that were too close to the house.

Also someone came out and installed a phone service booster and I was lowkey quite frightened. It’s a very high roof okay? He did a great job though!

On top of that, my housemate and I also started painting!

The interior walls of the house are currently a mix of boring beige and a gross eggshell blue/green. So it’s being painted white with the occasional feature wall!

goodbye nasty green, you shall not be missed

We’re hoping to have all the ground floor bedrooms done by Easter, so that new carpet can be laid. I’m VERY excited for this.

My parents also sold the family home, which was very bittersweet. I haven’t lived there since 2012, but it was still an odd feeling to realise that it’s not My Home anymore.

No rest for the wicked though! I had a PACKED weekend after picking up my house keys.

It was my lovely friend Laura’s birthday so I went to her party. I’ve known Laura since 2012 and she’s the reason I’m a VA. I’ll have to write a blog post about that one day.

Laurs and meeee – literally don’t know where I’d be without this woman’s support & guidance 💜

Then it was off to Melbourne the next day! I left around 4:45am to catch the train in the next town over.

I was heading up there to surprise my mum for her birthday!

I co-ordinated with my brother and mum’s housemate to surprise her and it was really, really lovely. We went to a beer hall for dinner (I’m allergic to alcohol but they made some delicious mocktails omg) and just had a really nice time.

Definitely worth the 12 hour round trip.

March is the month of birthdays, because then a few days later is was my brother’s birthday! He turned 22 and is currently living his best life at uni, and whilst I got away with posting a photo of him on his Facebook wall, I don’t think I’d get away with doing it here. 😂

Next up, Godzilla vs. Kong.

First up, you need to know Godzilla is my boyfriend.

This is a long running joke between myself and my friends, in which my love for Godzilla has transcended any and all boring Earthly love.

Yes, Godzilla is my soulmate and I will not be taking any questions or criticism at this time.

King of the Monsters? King of my heeeeaaart

(Sometimes I write things like this and then I remember I originally set up this blog with the goal of being professional and writing solely about VA/OBM stuff. Oops 🤷🏼‍♀️)

The POINT is that my boyfriend Godzilla was very good in this film. I actually LOVED it. I went with my wonderful friend Elle; we did dinner beforehand, made a whole evening out of it!

And I also realised that the last time I went to the cinema was to see Godzilla: King of the Monsters back in 2019.

2020 was NOT the year for cinema visits.

But if you want to watch a very fun movie with some beautiful shots and delightful throwbacks to the original Japanese movies, I highly recommend.

Note: I love EVERY Godzilla. The original Godzilla movies are chefs kiss and I also highly recommend watching Shin Godzilla, which features a very different Godzilla (he is no less loveable, thank you very much).

Right. Moving on, before it gets weirder (is that possible? Idk).

Let’s talk about the books I’ve read this month!

The Whisper Man by Alex North ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A chilling thriller that explores the delicate relationship between father and son. Not for the faint of heart, this book involves child murder and extremely damaged relationships.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Enemies to friends to lovers. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: it’s my favourite gotdang trope. AND it has fake dating. Could it get any better? Set in an office, two assistants constantly attempt to one up each other.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A windswept Irish island. A wedding. Too many secrets. I really liked the interweaving stories of each character and how it all comes together in the end. I was a little disappointed with the ambiguous ending and I found the writing style difficult to get into, but the mystery and character backstories were fascinating.

Springtime at Wildacre by Lucy Daniels ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lucy Daniels also wrote my FAVOURITE series as a child: Animal Ark, so when I discovered this book contains the characters from Animal Ark all grown up, I was sold. This was cozy to read, 4 stars simply because I got a little bored at times.
Trigger warnings for: pet death.

North Korea Journal by Michael Palin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An illustrated journal of Palin’s two weeks in North Korea. A fascinating insight into a country shrouded in secrecy and danger.

Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea by Nancy Atherton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Scottish isles, a huge storm, secretive villagers and a young family in hiding. I LOVED this cozy mystery.

The Push by Ashley Audrain ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A haunting thriller that combines motherhood, abuse and something potentially much more sinister, with devastating results. This one had my heart aching.
(Trigger warning for abuse, child death, neglect)

By Book or By Crook by Eva Gates ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another cozy mystery, this time set in a lighthouse library. A murder and missing Jane Austen originals set the scene for an interesting mystery. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters, but it was overall a nice read.

My fave March book is North Korea Journal by Michael Palin. I also watched the BBC companion documentary and it was fascinating. It’s available on Youtube if you’re keen!

I’ve got some VERY exciting books lined up for April, including some Japanese ghost stories that have been translated into English, a book on anti-racism and a horror novel set in an ancient forest.

And lastly, a Mikasa update!