pw-diary

[pw-diary]

January 2021 [UK]

So! It was time to get back to the UK. Unfortunately, we had to make a COVID test to get on a plane, and we had to spend our own money (or as Nikita, you could get a note from your family doctor and do it for free). The test was 50€ which is bonkers! I am writing this post in June 2021 and trust me - 50€ is nothing in comparison to 200+€ that you have to pay now. This amount of money is a sum of:

1. COVID 19 test before the arrival to Latvia - 50€

2. COVID 19 test before the arrival to the UK - ~80€

3. Mandatory 2nd and 8th day test that you have to book before the arrival to the country. ~100€

Judging by the situation there is at the moment in the world, it seemed that countries won’t drop these rules anytime soon, so it makes me very sad and depressed knowing that I can’t plan my trip to Latvia as I cannot afford paying that much money. This is absolutely awful. I could suffer this whole year from not being able to attend any events and spending all my time at home, but this is just devastating... it makes me feel like my youth is lost as I don’t understand when will this nightmare end and I start having watery eyes very time I think about it.

Anyway, let’s continue. I don’t want this diary to be sad.

We managed to get on our plane and we arrived to the UK without any problem. Now 10 days of self isolation awaited us.

Even before we got back, I told Nikita, how much I want to play Mafia: Definitive Edition, which he played with Alex back in November. I wasn’t watching their gameplay but I heard some parts which made me very curious. Gosh, that game is absolutely amazing! We played that game together and I must admit, that it’s so beautiful and so well made, I think that it’s one of my favourite games of all times. The story is dramatic and the graphic is so delicious, it’s a piece of art! There is Hangar 13 studio in Bristol and I wish they could hire me... Alas, I suck at 3D art and I doubt that they would need an illustrator there. Maybe I can apply for a managerial position after I graduate 🤔...

Oh, and about that! I applied to MSc Management course at University of Salford so I am a student again! A completely different course from my BA Illustration and Animation degree from Coventry, but that’s what I was aiming for. I hope it will give me more luck when I start applying to jobs after I graduate. Either I become a business lady, who can help marketing team by creating designs or I will become a visual artist, who can multitask and do other additional promoting jobs... Or even manage a team of fellow artists lol. But I am still too far from that goal.

Anyway, getting back to January 2021.

After we finished Mafia: Definitive Edition, Nikita advised we should play GTA V and wow... that game was made in 2013 and its still sooooooo good! I always heard of that game, when I was in school but I never payed attention to it or played it. The only thing that made me disappointed about Mafia is that you can’t interact with the world that much but its different with GTA. GTA devs new exactly what they were doing. The story didn’t have the charm I like, but probably because it takes plays in our time... And I think that modern world kinda lost its Beaty because how fake it is. On the other hand that’s what GTA is trying to show. My favourite character is Michael. He is such a dorky old man. But Franklin and Trevor are cool too!

Another thing worth mentioning is that before applying for the Student Finance, I had to send my ID to prove my identity. They sent it back to Salford too early, so I was worried that I won’t be able to return back in time and they would have to send it back to the Student Finance Office. So I redirected the delivery to the local post office and here is a thing that made me laugh soooo much.

I got this email saying that my local post office received the letter and here is the signature that they left

I was very confused by it, since it didn’t look like a signature. It looked more like a drawing. So I turned it upside down.

It says

COV

19

[pw-diary]

January 2021

Alright, so it’s January! I still had 17 days till my flight, but there were some uncertainties regarding it, as Latvia banned all flights to or from the UK because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Thankfully, the ban was lifted the same week we had to fly back, so we got back to Salford on 17th of January. This entry will be about my stay in Latvia up to our departure.

Me, my dad, my grandmother and Uma went to Dobele. I recall being in Dobele only once when I was in primary school and I must say that it changed a lot. They renovated a park and an area around Dobele castle ruins, making it look very pretty. I really enjoyed this cute sign.

On our way back we passed by a lonely pyramid house that I used to adore when I was young. There is absolutely nothing around this house and I always though how lonely must be a person living there. Apparently, they sell cars at that house now.

I tried not to meet anyone during this trip because of the big number of infected people in Latvia, but I made a few exception just because I couldn’t stand finally being so close to my friends but not being able to meet them. I had a social distanced walk with my friend Sasha and we had a lot of fun. I really liked her gloves so I decided to take a photo of it. Just look how beautiful they are.

And again I walked a lot around the neighborhood during this trip, as I mentioned in the December’s entry. Looking at all the photos I took, I remember all the tracks I listened back then. Some of the tracks were:

The Weeknd - After Hours

Glass Animals - Exxus

Lana Del Rey - Art Deco

Etc.

We also went to Riga Old city and I was amazed by the wall on Trokšņu iela. Some very serious Queen fans were there and left some nice drawings of the band members.

In general, I really enjoyed my stay. My parents seemed happy and since my dad didn’t have to go to work because of the pandemic, he had more time to spend at home. So this virus did remind us that time is a very important resource.

I already miss Jurmala

[pw-diary]

December 2020

Woah, it’s been a while since I made a post on this blog. I am writing this entry in June 2021, but I would like to make past posts up to December 2020, because I think it was a very interesting time for me.

In December we flew to Latvia and we had to self isolate for 10 days because of the Coronavirus (ugh, of course...).

My parents lived in the new house for almost one year at that point but because it was my second trip to Latvia since they moved, I still had to explore the neighborhood... and that’s what I did during self isolation. You are not allowed to visit social places, but you can go for a walk, where you won’t meet other people.

Valteri is a very quite neighborhood with forest surrounding it. My friend Ira has lived there since 2009 (I might be wrong about the year), so I already knew the main roads that lead to that part of Jurmala, but I never explored the forest and smaller streets within Valteri. Luckily it was snowing this December, so it was truly a magical feeling. I explored every corner of Valteri, while listening to The Weeknd through my Air Pods. I can definitely say that my favourite place is Rubeņu iela with nice, new houses surrounded by forest. I am sure that in 15 years it would look completely different and unfortunately there won’t be much left of the beautiful pine tree forest, as I could already see the ‘land selling banners’ peeping from behind the trees.

After 10 days passed, I was finally free so my dad decided to give me a tour around Jurmala!:D We visited Dzintaru Mežaparks where... nothing changed since the last time I’d been to Latvia. I was though surprised to see metallic seagulls at Turaidas iela beach exit. I think that it’s very cute and I am sure that tourists would find it amusing just like I did. I hope that seagulls won’t shit on their metallic counterparts. It would be ironic though.

I also took a bike ride to Vaivari, since I do not know that neighborhood that well. I even managed to get to Nemo Camping, which made me nostalgic and sad. It used to be a dream place for every child in Jurmala, when I was young, and now it looks old and abounded... even though it still works.

A day before the last day of December, our whole family decided to go to Ragaciems to have a walk on a beach. Our family included Uma, who is a very naughty dog. My dad asked me to take Uma’s leash before I leave the house, but I was distracted by my mom and sister, so naturally - I forgot to take it and I only realized it as we were approaching our destination. We improvised and made a leash out of the towing rope that we had in our car. It kinda worked.

The next day it was finally the main day of the year - 31 of December. We had delicious food and a Christmas tree. It was a hard year and I really hoped that 2021 would be better year...

[pw-diary]

July 2020

I am not going to speak to much on what happened in July, because I accidentally transferred all my photos from my phone to my laptop. So I don’t really remember what happened that month!😂😂😂

On 10th of July Itsu in Spinningfields reopened its doors for the first time after the lockdown. I decided to go and get myself some sushi. Apparently, I was the first customer that day and I got a discount card, which gives me a right to purchase anything in their store with the 59% discount until October! Wohoooo! Those sneaky sushi sellers! Now I am going to be broke because of them!😂😂😂 still, I was very happy with this pretty pink card!

We also went to do a viewing at Queen’s Brewery Court. The place looked amazing! Very industrial! Just the way I like it! Unfortunately, we thought that since the bills are not included and the heaters only the rooms are electric, the bills would be too high for us to pay. Therefore, we decided to stay at the Waterside Village, where we live right now. There are some issues regarding this place, as our recent accommodation is already given to other tenants so we would have to move to a smaller flat. I hope I will not go crazy with so many people in a one small flat!😂🤦🏻‍♀️ Here is a photo from the viewing day! Me and Nikita went to Aldi afterwards and we saw this MAJESTIC message in the wall!😁🌈

That’s all I will write this month! Hopefully future me won’t be too mad at me for not writing much about this month. To make myself happier here is a picture of me looking at pizza!🍕

[pw-diary]

#arctic monkeys #hah #awesome meme

[pw-diary]

June 2020

The post about June comes a little bit too late, but it is alright!

On the first days of June we went outside to take some promo photos for the upcoming release called ‘Deconfession’ by Nicky Miles. We took some photos near St Paul’s Church in Salford and other locations around that area. Nicky was not happy with his hair since the last time he got a haircut was back in March before the lockdown. In general I really like the photos we took.

On 19th of June we released ‘Deconfession’. We had some problems with this track a week before the release, because some people didn’t like the old name and we didn’t want to disappoint those people. I had to change all the visuals overnight, so we could send this track to distributor in time. In the end I am happy, with final result!

On the day of the release we had a small party in the kitchen for our small team. I guess I like making everything extra!😂 Hopefully in the future I would afford a normal banner and a better presentation of our food!

Somewhere in the middle of the month I decided to cut my hair! Yes, maybe I exaggerated a little bit, but I decided to chop a big chunk of my hair. Nikita was shocked ahaha! But it’s just hair! It will grow back!

We also did few streams over the month since Nikita got new DJ decks. The last stream was the most interesting as I was painting in the background. The canvas was huge, so the final result is a little bit sloppy, but I still enjoyed that experience!

Oh! And the most important thing! I got my final results! I graduated from university by getting First Class in BA (Hons) Illustration and Animation! Finally it is over! I was not expecting that I would get the first class! Probably my tutors pitied me! Ahaha! Anyway, let’s hope that this First Class would get me somewhere in the future!

[pw-diary]

May 2020

May was a very strange month, as at the beginning of May I submitted my last university work. Even though it was a happy and long awaited moment, it left me with an empty feeling inside. What do I do next? How do I continue living? How will I earn for a living? And the situation with COVID-19 didn’t help. I sent a lot of CV’s to different companies, which offer jobs for artists, but so far I haven’t gotten any proper reply. I think it’s because my portfolio is not good!:( I hope I will be able to find an art related job over this summer.

I finally bought myself a moka. It was very cheap and you can see that just by taking it in your hands. I was very disappointed at first but now I am angry at it anymore.

Nikita ordered himself a new DJ controller, which, I assume, is better and more professional. He even taught me how to DJ, but I am quite shit at it!:D

My accommodation contract at Sovereign Road in Coventry ended at the end of May, but before that I had traveled by train to move my stuff to Nikita’s place. It was my first time since March going anywhere else outside Salford. I was very surprised to see that Deansgate was blocked completely for cars and now you can see strange object blocking the way. I am curious whether Deansgate will become a pedestrianized Street, or is it done only temporarily...

I also got to travel by train from Manchester Piccadilly. Everyone had to wear a mask so we wouldn’t get infected. I also forgot what it feels like to travel by train in Britain. Maaan, trains are so expensive!

When I arrived to Coventry - it was sunny. And I also felt safer walking on the streets there, than in Salford.

On the same day, I put all my stuff in different bags and boxes. It was very tough as I didn’t take a break from the moment I had arrived there at 13:00 until I packed the last bag at 21:00. I felt very fit after that, but I know that it was a false feeling as I had Burger King after I finished!😂😂😂 (Burger King is shit, btw! I’ve eaten there three times in my life and it always made me disappointed)

That evening was very beautiful! I even felt sad that I was leaving.

The next day, Nikita’s friend Eduard came to pick me up with all my bags. I was so happy that he helped me to move my stuff as I cannot imagine, how I would have done it myself. We had a very nice conversation on our way to Manchester but I felt very tired, so he probably thought I was strange! Haha! Like it was hard to form a proper sentence.

I also had some issues with my bills, as I couldn’t understand, why we need to pay more for gas and electricity. So Nikita took a phot of me, while I was sorting everything out and it is absolutely hilarious!

[pw-diary]

April 2020

I decided to make a blog about my life. I used to do this when I was in Italy because it was part of my university module. Hopefully, I would keep it updated every month.

So this is my first post which I wrote in April 2020. I have been stuck at my boyfriend’s house in Manchester for 1,5 months because of the COVID-19 outbreak. It sucks a lot, but I do not want to discuss it.

Since everyday feels like the same day - nothing interesting happened to me at the beginning of April. I was mostly drawing Dr Robotnik, because I recently watched Sonic Movie and it is amazing! I was trying to push myself to post everyday so now I have a lot of drawing of him which makes me proud. I also decided to open commissions since I need money to pay my rent and I got commissioned straight away!

I usually look through my photos to remember what happened during the month and I found this strange photo on the news the other day. It can happen only in Latvia!:) that’s good that no one got injured.

On 8th of April the pink moon occurred, which basically meant that it was slightly larger than average. The moon itself wasn’t pink but it was large for sure. I tried to take a picture of it but I failed miserably!:D

On 12th of April it was my boyfriend’s birthday. We agreed that I won’t buy a gift for him, but I decided to make a small surprise anyway. I made him fluffy pancakes with strawberry and cream. I can say that I feel very proud of them.

On the next day I finally finished reading Homestuck! Woohoo! I read it once back in 2013-2014, but I hadn’t finished it. Homestuck is amazing! I guess it influenced me a lot and reading it the second time brought me so much joy!

I found a new brush which I really like! It’s a pixel brush which makes drawing looks very touch! But I like it!

For now I have to focus on my final major project. The deadline is the first of May and I need to finish everything before that! My animation is almost done but I need to pay more attention to the presentation, as it doesn’t matter how good your project is. What matters is how you present it!🤷🏻‍♀️💫