Diary Entries

Covid Isolation - Plus and Minus The days slip languidly how easily my old ways disappear of weekly shop and cafe jaunt dinner out with make up on no longer tempt excess. My home, my sanctuary with kitchen, garden, dog and spouse a soft, well rounded love how fortunate I am to be retired today. Outside turmoil brews spotlights our unjust world the weak and poor are left exposed this pandemic cannot change ingrained racist minds.

2020... the year our lives has changed. So many surprises... shocking events...devastations ... sadness and pain. Life couldn't be anymore different than the way its always been. We meet people we know down the street we say hello from the distance, no hugs no kisses just a loud conversation so we can hear each other. People aren't at ease any more. There's uncertainty, there's confusion and concerns on their faces. But on the positive side we realized who we really are, who we really care for and whats our purpose in life. Humanity had never been stronger and resilient than we could ever imagine. We will and we shall persevere for as long as we need to in order to overcome this unfortunate event in our lives. There should always be a rainbow at the end of this crazy storm.

[Then the Highway] I'm not kidding. It wasn't childish when I tried preparing them for the waves of unrest we'd experience. They didn't trust my educated guesses. They didn't trust me even though I was the only member reading any real work. I washed the cat today. I'll miss him for sure. None of this is his fault. He wouldn’t even know if it was. We're about to hit the road because I've proven my value too late. There's some voluntary work in the hinterlands. I feel constricted by my past here anyway. It was the mess of this specific world, my living space. The rusted steel on pavements equally eroded formed the terrain over which flowed superstitions, deprecations, deceits, all in a confused sea that made our thoughts and actions strange. I'll concede, this world at least made me stranger than my genes might have determined. But my own free will couldn't on its own have blessed me with isolation before isolation was normal. I've often played an insincere and foolish role on stage. I've often been a goof. It took a lot before I tried not to be one. Now, I'll be an unskilled worker, a pseudo, and a hobo. But the aimless and the violent competition will stay where it is, devouring itself, ignoring the inevitable end of it's Earth; an end that is without a doubt, within at most, half a billion years. I'll be leaving my sense of security here with this equally whimsical place. Among our obvious differences, there are two more I can think of between us. 1) I think I can say I tried not to be the idiot in this story. But 2) You've had all the power this entire time, I'm sure you've known.

In this day and age, connection is both a blessing and a curse. Courtesy of technology, it is possible to reach out to people half way around the world in real time, something our ancestors during the Spanish Flu can only dream of. The curse of it all is one can only hopelessly watch in horror, dismay and despair as society is dangerously close to repeating history, and not the better part of it, in real time. Amidst the chaos, one can't help with the feeling of loneliness, despite all the connections as nothing can compensate for that feeling of warmth, comfort and assurance at an exchange of hugs or something as simple as holding hands. But, with the instructions from the Commonwealth and State government, this is the new norm now, a "contactless" world (oh the irony). Loneliness is contagious. But so is love. And for those that tried their best to spread love, regardless of methods and irrelevant of circumstances, I thank you, from the bottom of my heart. You, unknowingly, may have brighten up someone's day.

My diary file Life right now being a student has been a little weird. During COVID 19 I loved doing cooking, baking and swimming, my mum made me go for lots of walks and it ended up being lots of fun. In the house everyone has gone mad it has been hard during this time, we fight a lot more than we used to and I have started to get angry a lot more. They still have the school open for students to go and do their work there if their parents have to work, that student would be me. Coronavirus started through a bat in China and a lot of people have died from this, this has been really hard for some people. My life has changed because of COVID 19, for online learning, we use an app called stile, Stile is an app that teachers can put up work for us to do. Some mornings I have a class zoom at 8:40, Zoom is an App that students use to see their teachers and we can talk through it as well. My favourite subjects would be English and art, I love art because it is a way for me to express my feelings during this time, English is also really fun because I love it and I don’t often like writing but this is fun ( ps this is English now, that’s why it fun ). Staying on screens all day was not fun you think it would be, I get a headache from it and it hurts your eyes a lot.

A BOOK LAUNCH: That No One Can Attend I'm dismayed at the havoc Covid19 is causing world-wide and then with its effect in my own small writer's world. For me, lots more thinking time and thus more poetry written on the best side of it, but wondering and heartache too. No! Never! A Cautionary Tale, my latest work that I've co-written with my daughter Lisa, with lots of library talks scheduled - all cancelled. Well not quite! Hachette, our publisher, was happy to go ahead, not quite as planned, with Jessica Rowe and come-who-may. This was theirs and ours very first experience of A VIRTUAL LAUNCH? But who would attend? It's not to say there wasn't quite a bit of work on the publisher’s side to get it scheduled, planned and orchestrated. Especially with the wildcard child appearance on camera of the star of book - little Georgie! It has to be one of the highlights of lockdown for a writer. Not only did people attend in number, but it was viewed many times on Hachette’s Facebook. A whole half-hour of talking about inspiration and the actual process of writing and working remotely with the lively WA artist Mel Pearce, and meeting her for the first time too. Then real TV in the form of The Daily Edition on Channel Seven - picking it up for another screen opportunity for our story. Ironically, in our isolation, there was more reach to a new audience. As a writer and poet, I’ve also enjoyed offering home-produced poetry workshops on Social media with tempting titles for kids, parents and teachers, including THE MAGIC OF METAPHOR and AWESOME ABSTRACT NOUNS. So lockdown despite fearsome statistics has not been all negative for me, the one lucky enough to be a writer!

Quarantine has been hard for some but not for me, so that is good. Other reasons why I did not get the infection is because I listened to the news and etc. That was the pros now the cons. The cons it has effected millions which is bad. I felt sad for the people that died and for the ones infected with Corona virus. The recovery is amazing. Me hoping in the car back to school was more exciting than anything at my school. Everyone played handball and activities. I am excited for non isolation and family field trip because of around two months of isolation from C

2020 is the worst year for me. I can't stand it anymore! the good thing is that I can play Roblox and spend more time with my sister. The bad thing is that I miss school and Evie. I feel upset because I want CoronaVirus to end! I will never forget that my sister spilled nail polish on the sofa! When this is over I will go to Evies house and have fun.

2020 has been a huge year it was so hard because Covid 19 caused us to go in lockdown. In lockdown it was so boring because you could not go to the pools and parks. When lockdown started i was scared but then it got better because i did not need to wake up early and i could play my xbox 1 and play with my little sister. I will never forget when me and my dad and sister were in the car and there was a little kitten in the drain and the nest day we opened the drain and got the kitten, it had a broken leg and we got to keep it. Me and my dad are so happy because nrl has started and i am so!!! happy!!!!!!! and i go for the rabbitohs!!!!!!!.

During Quarantine 2020 has been crazy as!!!!!!! During quarantine I got to spend more time on the tablet, PS4 and 3DS. Something bad was my sister annoying me. I felt annoyed because of my sister and I will never forget playing video games. I'm exited for more travelling.