Diary Entries

Knitting In a shut and silent city within a sun-swathed courtyard I telephone my cousin (as if I was my mother). I talk gazing at camellias - their pink tipped white perfection below the bluest sky benign above the broken. I see the small apartment where Marion knits a jumper for the child she cannot see because fast walls have risen. The stitches of our family loop and knit the air between us.

Dear Diary, I haven't written one of these in ages. I guess it takes a worldwide pandemic to get people speaking about themselves again - but the anonymity of writing here is nice. Anyways, I'm in high school in Sydney and my life really isn't interesting to write about. My life, in a sentence or two, is made up the following activities - going to school, sleeping a lot , Youtube, eating a lot (really, a LOT) and listening to music (it fills up silences). I'm pretty introverted and enjoy alone time, and get awkward around people a lot because I never know what to say. Like now. I don't really enjoy life right now, and my mum's family is thinking of moving to Queensland soon - with the sunshine, super cheap houses and all that. I'm pretty hesitant, because it means leaving behind so much (a good school, a great house and my dad's house, but also mortgage debt) for a new beginning that might no work out. I don't really like talking about myself, but here's a couple of facts - I'm listening to Punk Rock Songs (the song) and MCR right now, I'm craving Ben&Jerry's, I'm watching Elementary, I'm a girl, and I'm enjoying quarantine (and Level of Concern). Anyways, good luck fighting COVID19.

Much of our day is taken up by work, me logged-in downstairs and my wife online upstairs, with breaks for tea and checking our children's progress with school work. Increasingly though, as we get used to the rhythms of the day, there is time for other things such as gardening. The front yard of our home is an unruly native garden which has never had the benefit of enough attention. It is a habitat for lots of animals and birds, including visiting bandicoots, brush turkeys, blue tongues and all the parrots. Parts of it have always looked attractive, especially the xanthorrhoea and banksia areas, framed by a large blue gum and thick lomandra. The rest of it has no shape or theme, and is best ignored. I would glance at it each morning at the beginning of my commute, then see it again when arriving home each evening. I would tell myself that we'll get to it one day. That time has arrived, and it is satisfying to see the results of having devoted a small part of each day to weeding and clearing. There are now a few additional areas of the yard that are ready for planting, and we will soon look for shrubs that are native to this part of Sydney to fill the spaces.

I have missed meeting my only sibling Jane in town to attend lunchtime concerts at Sydney’s City Recital Hall. From our homes in Northern Beaches and The Bushland Shire we we catch bus and train respectively to meet up at Wynyard Park. Together we would walk just a few hundred meters to the Hall, catching up on the goings on of the families’ “adult children” along the way before entering the Hall’s foyer, where we’d survey the throng for any familiar faces. We would then be entertained by the varying performers who never failed to stimulate our senses. Afterwards we would take lunch in the DJs Food Hall in Market Street. To walk off lunch we would walk all the way to Circular Quay for a gelato from Messina’s Gelato Bar. A walk back to Wynyard where we would say our goodbyes and catch public transport back to our respective homes. Which did I miss most during the period of social isolation in April/May 2020 -Messina gelato, City Recital Hall lunchtime music performances, having fun with my only sister? A very hard choice but all I can say is that I found ways and means to have fun with my sister and live stream musical performances from around the world during the “lockdown”. I consider myself very fortunate in these times as others in my community have made greater sacrifices than missing out on Messina’s gelato. I look forward to a pistachio praline gelato with my sister.

I am angry about the virus. Becuase I can't go to school and learn.Also I can't play with my friends.I can't go anywhere e.g Going out for mums birthday. I can't wait to play with my friends.

At the start of Covid 19 isolation, Emma (Watson) Wiggle and her Wiggle friends brought out a video called "Social Distancing." The 3 verses and chorus taught big and small kids why we couldn't go to Nanna's house, why we had to wash our hands and why we shouldn't have parties at home. Thank you Wiggles, for your clever lyrics and video.

Covid-19 has affected all of us deeply, just a couple months ago we were all fighting for toilet paper. That was just the tip of the iceberg, now look at us. Quarantined for months and months. They say a cure won’t come out until at least December. We’re stuck like this. All of us need to cooperate or nobody will make it out alive. Wash your hands, sanitize, stay as far as you can from people. Stay at home.

廣東話 Hong Kong Cantonese 呢一年真係好難過😫，由2019 三月中開始，香港人protest，我响Sydney除左晚晚喊都唔知可以做咩。睇任D後生仔被police 折磨真係好心痛。跟著NSW山林大火，又擔心到不得了。冇幾耐，大陸死得人多，我自己經歷過2003 SARS真係好討厭將SARS帶來香港的大陸人。更擔心大陸政府講大話害死人。結果全世界幾多人死咗？已經多過成年都冇好好瞓覺，so tired... 光復香港 時代革命

Reader, I really don't know how to feel about all this. On one hand I am awfully aware of just how lucky we are in Australia. Every night watching the news makes it more apparent. But somehow, even though I know that I am in one of the best positions I could be in, it's still frustrating! My main hope generally is that this situation forces governments around the world to reconsider their priorities. I don't even know if I'm frustrated because of Corona! Is my first semester of uni being difficult because of Corona and online learning and having to move back home half way through and adjusting to that? Or am I just struggling with course work? Would I be more motivated if I could go to my lectures in person rather than listening to them on 2x speed at home? Was I just not prepared for starting uni? Perhaps I was just due for an existential crisis anyway lmao. (hmm, 'lmao' in a public dairy entry might be a decision I'll regret one day ahaha). At least we have technology nowadays though. What would I do if I couldn't zoom my friends and call my family? I just wish everyone stopped expecting people to suddenly have more time and energy to achieve things just because they're at home instead of going out. Uni online feels like more of a time commitment cause every day feels like a school day without structured weekends. (it's awful for me to complain while some people are out there without a safe place, or having to go to work and risk their lives though. I wish I knew how to be more helpful to society.) Well... here's to the future. I hope it comes soon.

I sit I think I struggle then sink I think I sit I dig my pit Hidden threat, where are you? Some echoed words bottle-fed me the news Murdoch taunted me for the dole Until the threat lapped at their shores "What a blessing! In disguise!" You seem to chant with well slept eyes Bills are teasing, collection due What a blessing, so says you