Diary Entries

Perspective It's all about your perspective! From a young persons point of view pre-school and school life has become technological based as face to face time has evaporated. From a wedding and new family viewpoint people have lost deposits and must still wait to tie the knot. This has been no honeymoon. There are always winners and losers. On-line sales have mushroomed. Conventional retailing died in March, but may be resuscitated in June or July. Health workers have been swamped. They have had to learn new skills and enhanced abilities for an unseen enemy virus. The whole supply chain from PPE, gowns and ventilators has been open to profiteers and new medical broker abuse. They must also live in fear and conquer thier own family's fears. Older people may have longed to travel and cruise through retirement. Some may now need to supplement their diminished incomes while others hope to recover. Local and regional manufacturing may enjoy a resurgence but then face a skill shortage after years and years of neglect. Government action or inaction or ballooning debt may suffice. The lessons are there from Taiwan to America. There was a mantra to prepare for a rainy day. That rainy virus day has come and we have been found wanting. Wanting toilet paper, wanting foodstuffs, wanting PPE in healthcare, and wanting vision in government in place of short term thinking based on an election cycle. Local village, town, city, state, national and international travel will take years to recover. Along with new manufacturing, upskilling and investment in the workforces and offices of the future actions speak louder than words. Human quarantine stations existed for a reason in the 1800 and 1900s. Animals still face quarantine when moving between counties today. The answer is to learn from the Covid-19 first wave.

I've straddled the continent, East, West and back again in my 66 years. I hope I've managed to take the best from living in totally different areas from semi-remote bushland living from primary production to an inner-west Sydney place, but perhaps not pace. The one thing I could not pack and bring to Sydney from the bush was the peace, the quiet and the intensity and quality of contemplation afforded by life in a remote rural setting. However, the Covid-19 lock down has teased me with reminders of how glorious and productive the serenity of 'nothing' can be. Granted the lock-down suits my temperament. Remote area living has skilled me for it. My activities of choice do not require too much outside stimulation. I'm used to only shopping at the most weekly and often in bulk (different from hoarding I might add) to avoid multiple trips. Hopefully I'm not mean when I rejoice in not having to find excuses to eschew social invitations - a load off in that one. However, I do have sympathy for those who have attributes and inclinations in the polar opposite sphere. But if I'm allowed one snarky judgement in Pestilence times: surely there are activities more worthy of mourning than end to end shopping trips? I have seen lost souls for the want of 'The Shop', not for necessities or the occasional fun outing, but for their main diversion and immersion in life. And not just a few. There you have it, a judgemental bitch, but perhaps without the Pestilence exposing these foibles/addictions, the bar might never be raised from our experiences - that's my excuse. Please, look beyond the bargain or at least stop talking about it! Thanks for the opportunity - now back to my, perhaps, supercilious but content evening.

I haven't gone outside for 2 months because of COVID-19. It hasn't been boring for me since I have always been an inside person. If the wifi is up, I'm fine. The biggest change COVID caused was home-schooling. But it was pretty fun and comfortable, especially now that the weather is getting colder. Usually, I would have to be outside, standing due to wet grounds, eating my lunch, in the cold, when it is raining and windy, in a skirt. Now I get to stay at home without caring about my appearance. I can also lay down in bed, warm and snug, studying and eat less portable foods for lunch. Since I am still young with no current diseases, the chances of dying due to COVID is pretty slim. I am not a high-risk person to COVID, but my family members are. Because of this, I am scared. At home, my family also try to distance each other from those who go outside to public places and you have to quickly shower as soon as you get home without touching anything. School is also going to start soon on Monday. I'm actually pretty nervous. I think I have to get on an earlier bus, 1 hour before school starts. This due to passenger restrictions on the bus. Now I have to come to school really early because the normal time was pretty early too.

'Teaching After Lockdown' How things have changed. This expansion of everyone’s personal space bubble – so unnatural and awkward at first – is now ingrained in society. Those who come too close now are shot filthy looks at the very least, or are told in no uncertain terms to KEEP BACK. Supervising high school students in the classroom during Phase One of return to school, I observe them sitting the mandated 1.5 metres apart, which is both reassuring and depressing. Only a couple of months ago they would have been crammed into the classroom, sharing each other’s pens, laptops, food… Now, that would be absurd – some would consider it a death wish. And yet, the safety of this forced separation will end in a few days as the government has directed schools to skip Phases Two and Three, and jump straight to Phase Four – the return of ALL students to school every weekday – a chilling prospect. It’s bad enough that every surface in the school already feels tainted despite the staggered re-entry of students. As of next week they will be crammed in again, and the mandatory 1.5 metre rule will be laughably flouted. Maniacal laughter, that is. In my current class of ten students, only three wear masks, but it is actually the highest percentage within a classroom I have seen today. The masks are hard to come by. Of course, teachers are not permitted to wear them in the classroom. ‘How can you deliver lessons and give instructions, or maintain any authority when your face is covered?’ they say. We do not know. How do we maintain any sense of safety without them? How do we not succumb to an increasing sense of nihilism? There are no answers to these questions – only slogans.

( To be read like Dr. Seuss) Diary Files I'm stuck inside from corona virus So I'm stuck listening to Miley Cyrus What's going on around us. By losing our hobbies, with nothing to do, we find out what's truly inside us. With family and friends further, than ever before. We found out that What once was a chore. Was something we should, have appreciated more and more. So Corona, perhaps you're not as bad as they say. So as thanks, you can be the hero of this story, but just for today.

2020 has already started What a great way to start off our year. With treacherous bush fires then flooding and now the worst of them all Corona Virus. Corona has made my life miserable and many others. Especially for me having a mum that's work is essential as she is a nurse a the children's hospital and works in the infectious diseases ward,Which is now at the top of their list. Every day i worry for hours anxious for her at the hospital trying to not let anything get into my head. What if she brings Corona home that has been my biggest scare lately.But to make things worse there was home-schooling the worst thing ever created.I hate it so much, no comment.But there always has to be a problem to through a spanner in the works. My sister had to get taken by ambulance because she dislocated and fractured her elbow and was rushed into surgery. Along with my annoyingly cute little brother who is three and is a terror at the moment (just kidding). My brother will always love me at one point then next be throwing a truck at my head pleasant right? I always wonder why Corona started Hint: because someone ate a bat like really. When will this pandemic be over? Work wise i feel like have i done no work at all (PS i have) But maybe because my dad is basically trapped in a room doing work. My brother is at day care thank goodness. My mum at work and my little sister at home blasting her music annoying me and my dog barking and no one helping me. I am so thankful for the country that i live in as other countries are way worse. What an amazing year it has been and its the middle or the year.NOT:(

So you're reading this sometime in the future, Yes? No? I'm going to go with yes. I don't know how far into the future, so I'll try not to make any wild estimations on how high your cars can hover or how streamlined your augmented reality implants are. Back in 2020, we are still trying to get over our abysmal internet speeds. 2020. What a time to be alive - and it's only May! America has a president who used to headline Wrestlemania, the biggest island in the world is still recovering from catching fire for 2 months. And in between these two hemispheres lies a global issue; Earth is facing that issue of when that one uninvited rocks up to the party. Coronavirus. Now in the future, you might've not heard of this little pandemic. Don't worry, we were scratching our heads when this virus was being compared to the SARS epidemic of 2003, or even the Spanish Influenza post-WW1. Why care about some virus in the past? It's over with now, how does that affect me in the present? Well, that could be wrong. You could be dealing with your own virus. Perhaps something bigger. Perhaps something stronger. No one listened to Bill Gates when he predicted the next global crisis at that one TED talk, so try not to repeat history. Compensation isn't too bad. Most students are screaming in excitement for online schooling. As a year 12 student, I'm just screaming. Everyone, however, is just taking it one day at a time. So as you skim through these lines from some Australian in the past, try to get away from your hologram tablets (I couldn't help myself) and think about your today. Think of how you can take it. One day at a time.

Since in lockdown, I have been writing ‘poems’ almost every day... quite an obsession for someone who had never attempted creative writing before. Here’s my latest: ‘Before the world changed’ Today a memory came up On my Facebook feed Pics from just two years ago In a world so different When together we went For a theatre show And a meal before Some exotic fare With flavours of Bali But no fear of contamination Intermingled there We hugged on meeting And at parting Gave a peck On both cheeks No social distancing No not touching the face Played a part As without fear Our affection We displayed Before the world changed Now we’re all In homes apart Keep safe From a vicious virus Oh how we long For a time not long gone When things were different Though not perfect A time when meeting Fellow human beings Was not forbidden Hugging and kissing We’re not verboten Holding hands Was entirely normal And not quite so much Of washing hands And we could travel Unrestricted Take a flight To distant lands And not stay parted From loved ones afar Not knowing when Together we’ll be As now we desperately Stay connected On our smartphones Our new appendages Not quite the same As being together Still second best In this weird world Torn asunder By the tiny Coronavirus

Empty trains and Empty planes. Empty streets COVID-19. Social distancing and Social missing. Social isolating COVID-19. Lost jobs and Lost businesses. Lost opportunities COVID-19. Empty shelves and Empty ships. Empty selves COVID-19. Who to blame? A Government? A Captain? A President? COVID-19! What will it cost? When will it end? How long will it be? Will we return to normality? COVID-19? Dark theatres and Dark clubs. Dark gyms Dark faces Dark times COVID-19. The sun still shines. Autumn's camellias still bloom. The birds still squawk. Let's go for a walk! COVID-19 Creative men and women See this as a new beginning. Amateur home video hook-ups Without make-up or make believe. Flaws are there for all to see! COVID-19

Dear diary files, The coronavirus pandemic has changed my view of the world. During this pandemic around the world, people have lost loved ones,have been tested positive for covid, countries have had full lockdowns, you are being charged if you break the restrictions,businesses have plummeted because they have had to close down, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, masks, gowns and other items being hard to buy in shops,everyday items being upped in price,education has been hard to access in poor countries and families have been separated. There are many more struggles i could list,but these are the main ones. In Australia,the struggles of my households life is not being able to hang out with friends, not being able to doing everyday things(going to the shops), going out on hikes or anything adventurous, having restrictions to not being able to see your family, having younger sibling being sick and having to be tested (negative), watching the world in a crises, having scouts shut down (plays a big role in our household), not being able going to school normally and seeing your school friends, online education and always panicking. This was a manger hit to our new decade following along with the Australian bushfires, which affected all of our lives, world war 3 was becoming a fear (which thankfully didn't happen, Australia was flooding, Australia was in drought and much more. There are also great things that have happened this year as well, pollution has dropped dramatically, the Venice canals have cleared up from a murky and heavily polluted canal to a basically crystal clear canal and now has dolphins, ducks, fish and swans. Everyone's lives have been impacted somehow and i hope that the rest of the year clears up and we take care of our country and world. Let this all become history for our many generations.