This is a pandemic, after all.

And I am feeling it, with all its ups and downs.

However, what is a better time to spruce my blog up a little than a pandemic? What do you think about my new theme? I had fun setting it up, and I will work on it for a while, to improve it even more.

How are you surviving the pandemic? What coping mechanisms have you found?

I am looking for a job (which has become way more difficult to find). I am also volunteering for Bar Scienza – that has now become a second family – and Chembites.

In the meanwhile – when I am not too much in the downs – I am focused on self-improvement and learning new skills, mostly social-media related (on LinkedIn Learning and Future Learn). I find it stimulating and it does keep me distracted from other, more worrying thoughts.

I also have my eyes on the “Become a Journalist: Report the News” Specialisation on Coursera. I will get there, maybe in a quieter time, with a fewer downs and less I-need-to-find-a-job anxiety (Ansia in Italian). Also, how would it be to become a professional journalist?

Last but not least, I am experimenting in the kitchen, with results that would make my Italian grandma turn in her grave. I am just glad she could not see the gnocchi I made last night. However, it was a very funny experience – especially for my parents that were on Skype while the mess was happening (please notice the amount of flour on my laptop).