Rosalia Rambles

Tag: alcohol

  • Redundancy Review: Day 99, “Day-by-Day”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: Redundancy Review: Day 1, “A New Beginning” – Rosalia Rambles)

    Good morning Gregorians and Julians, welcome to Day 99 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    No matter what I write today, this post is going out. There is no way in hell I am missing the day 100 milestone tomorrow by making a combined post, so whatever comes out of my head through my hands will be published today even if it is the most random tripe I can think of…

    …that felt oddly good to write.

    Main thing I want to talk about today is how it feels currently to try navigate each day at a time in an effort to treat my burnout. In short: it is tough.

    The reason I am adopting a day-by-day approach is because my energy reserves to navigate each day feel exceptionally low, and most of that reserve is used to trying to stay focused, nourished, and not like I want to put my head into a shredder – which inevitably leaves me with very little strength after work to do things I enjoy or do the things I want to.

    In that regard, plans need to stay flexible. Tonight I feel like I have enough energy to actually cook something, and try something new that I have been wanting to do, but yesterday I had no strength at all whilst desperately craving comfort, so pizza did the job nicely.

    And because I have no idea how I will be feeling tomorrow, I do not feel comfortable making a plan for food tomorrow without knowing how my body is going to hold up… and that is okay.

    If I can make it through each day relatively unscathed, then I will take that as a victory until I can get better.

    There is no shame in taking things day-by-day, especially when things feel tough right now. I am in a position that is sustainable so long as I keep things measured, and I do not need to go beyond my limits unless the situation truly calls for it.

    Plus after having to deal with prescription-related drama over the last two days, actually being able to take it easy some nights has really helped with my stress levels. I love what the NHS represents but goddamn if years of underfunding has not taken away a lot of its shine… come to think of it, it has been a while since I have had a left-wing rant on the review… should fix that soon…

    Anyway, back on track, and running right into the review segment.

    Several hours and one gashed knuckle later (damn knife sharpeners), I was finally able to try what I wanted to review: a low-alcohol cider from Marks & Spencer (M&S)

    For newer readers, I am not someone who can enjoy full alcoholic drinks due to a mixture of tasting the underlying alcohol in most things hard and being a lightweight, so my primary way of enjoying drinks like cider is through low/no alcohol variants.

    This particular variant is the one I have the easiest access to, with the M&S being fairly local to me – only a ten minute walk there and back at most compared to a near forty minute round trip to get to Asda.

    Even for being low alcohol, translating to 0.5% by volume rather than the usual 4-5% that cider normally is, it goes down pretty smoothly. I have an incredibly soft spot for apple cider in particular and this had the perfect blend of sweet & tart flavours for a wind down after the day I have had.

    A short review, but I want to get this out today so I can have Day 100 stand alone tomorrow. Thank you for reading this edition of the Redundancy Review, wherever you are I hope you can find the time to relax and enjoy the comforts of your favourite drink.

  • Redundancy Review: Day 6, “Sluggish”

    (for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: https://rosaliarambles.wordpress.com/2025/06/11/redundancy-review-day-1-a-new-beginning/) 

    Good morning slugs and snails, welcome to Day 6 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

    Part of what I have been emphasising in this series and my job search in general is the idea of staying in a routine – keeping to a regular wakeup time, having a regular breakfast, and writing this series of course.

    However, I am finding myself wanting to adjust exactly what my routine entails in terms of sleep schedule. Thus far I have been trying to operate on what has been my average working routine, waking up at around half 7 to start doing things at 8 and working through to around half 4. 

    The issue with this is that I have lost the reasoning behind that routine. I liked coming in early at both jobs I have had because a lot of other people would start later than me, and having a longer amount of time before the daily stand ups started let me organise what tasks I wanted to get done before everyone else came in.

    So I am doing a trial run of setting my alarm an hour later, and taking a more flexible approach in how I tackle the day in terms of what I get up to. Whilst I am eager to get back into work for a variety of reasons, there is no denying that I still have some degree of burnout from my previous roles and having some extra sleep each day will probably make me more effective at what I need to do.

    In terms of the job search the main thing I am waiting for right now is waiting to hear back from a handful of roles I feel extremely passionate about. Considering how effective seeing people’s LinkedIn posts have been in finding roles I am interested in, it is actually paying off more to scroll the main feed and search out recruiters/roles rather than actually going to the “Jobs” section of the site.

    That said, I am still available for writing work if you want to hire me. I can range from concise and to-the-point writing or developing a long elaborate piece that explains everything in minute detail – if anything I have written interests you, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

    Considering how warm it has been lately near where I live, and the temperature gauge on the fan in my room is reading a lovely 29 degrees Celsius, I think today’s review will benefit from being my other choice of hot weather beverage outside of a milkshake.

    I fall into two specific categories when it comes to alcoholic beverages:

    1. I can’t drink, on account of being on medication that is advised to not drink while I am on it
    2. I don’t drink, specifically because even without the medication I am a goddamn lightweight

    Outside of that, I am also not the biggest fan of the taste of alcohol – it always hits the back of my throat in an unpleasant way. 

    All this to say, I was absolutely elated when I saw the Asda near me had stocked Old Mout Berries and Cherries No Alcohol Cider. My partner introduced me to this stuff near the end of 2021 and, along with other no/low alcohol ciders, has become one of my treat drinks of choice.

    Especially prevalent in the no alcohol version is a greater appreciation for the flavours of the fruit in the drink itself. Getting a pleasantly tart hit of cherry followed by the smooth & sweet flavour of raspberry makes each sip a delight, each component having its time to shine without an overabundance of alcohol.

    My preferred way to have this is usually along with some kind of spicy food, with my top two picks being either my homemade chicken wraps paired with some kind of hot sauce, or an Asda Pizza Counter pizza topped with sliced jalapeno. I can not think of a better way to relax in the evening.

    Think that covers everything for today. Thank you for taking the time to read my work as always, and I hope you are able to stay cool in the summer heat – treat yourself to something cool and refreshing.

    For more information on Old Mout, visit their website here: https://www.oldmoutcider.co.uk/