And so our world shrinks, again.
For anyone in parts of the world that have been in perpetual lockdown since I spoke to you last, I apologise for my self indulgent post about how Melbourne and the entire state of Victoria is headed into what we call a 'circuit breaker' lockdown for seven days from midnight.
Masks and only a few reasons to leave home - to get supplies, get vaccinated, or exercise within five kilometres.
At least our government acts fast, which is better than the responses of other governments who have done sod all, I suppose. Some might find we're overreacting in the first place, but I guess that's whether you believe this virus exists or whether it kills people or not, but I'm not out to argue conspiracy - and I find the whole debate just one big yawn these days. Easy to say when you're in a country who has fared reasonably well in the scheme of things.
Where's my 5 KM radius? Old Map of Victoria
Remote teaching might sound good on paper - or on screen - but there is the tedium of staring at the said screen all day - and there's two of us in a small house that are going to have to organise the space to be able to do it. I guess I'll fire up the wood burner in the bus and hang out in there during my afternoons off, so I'm not bugging the hubs as he teaches. At least I don't have my own children to home school. I am looking forward to lazy mornings in bed, however - as we usually leave a lot earlier to drive to work, the extra couple of hours in our day will be bliss. It's cold in country Victoria, and the thought of warm legs wrapped together and cradling hot coffee looking at the garden over the mad rush to get out the door is pretty appealing.
We're at the end of term, heading into the final few weeks, so it's all revision and marking practice essays. The real teaching has been done already, so as my students said, it couldn't come at a better time. I'm hoping that they'll manage it okay and the borders will open again so I can have that planned holiday in South Australia after all, instead of three weeks in my own backyard again.
So it's not all bad, I suppose.
I'd be super mad about the 5 km rule if I didn't have an injured leg, but since I can't go surfing anyway, the endless loops around the block and by the river will have to do. Endless loops over endless loops, the ocean a tantalising twenty kilometres away but off limits to all but can afford to live there.
I'm exhausted of the endless news reel that focuses more on the virus than any other news event. I'm bored of television and sourdough and rearranging the furniture. I'm bored of smiling and saying 'oh well, it is what it is', 'it could be worse', and it's only 'insert number of days here'. I'm bored of pandemic politics. I'm bored of arguments about vaccines and I'm bored of borders shutting again, and I'm bored of the constant outrage and mismanagement by governments that forget it's people they are dealing with, not voters.
The whole thing is depressing.
Is this the world now?
Is there any end to this monotony?
Before you know it will all go away, nothing last forever and no condition is permanent, no matter what the country is going through believe me They must be a way out.
Just stay strong, focus and prayerful.
You are so right. All things pass. And there's many silver linings too x
Ohhh man! I'm so sorry to hear that you're heading into another lockdown. Though I'm glad to see that the worst feeling this brings up in you is boredom. Not nice, but a far cry from the rage and fury I remember from about a year ago, when you returned to Oz via quarantine hotel. Also, the surfing-not-surfing question has been taken care of quite elegantly. I still hope you will recover from your injury quickly, so you'll be able to surf when you're allowed to. And as for the Covid, I'm totally with @oscarpower55 : it'll be probably over before soon. Let's hope so, at least. Until then, enjoy the luxury of teaching in your pajama bottoms (I KNOW you do)!
Oh yeah, gosh, that rage and fury. Funnily enough, both me and Jamie found ourselves dealing with those rising feelings yesterday too - we both agreed it was because we were triggered and our bodies were remembering last year's sense of outrage. I hope so too - I tend to look on the bright side most times, and argue with Jamie that the world isn't as bad as he thinks - but I definitely have moments where I feel down and pessimistic!!
Haha, well, I'm not in PJ"S but I'm in decidedly unprofessional hippy pants, c/o India, definitely not appropriate for teaching, which makes me happy!
Well, looking at fashion through the last centuries, you'll see that it always changed towards the informal. Today's three-piece suit used to be for hanging out with your mates without any special occasion. Given that, and the Covid made our wardrobe more casual yet, I'm sure the day will come when you could comfortably host a gala dinner wearing your Indian hippie pants. Question is, what will be considered "informal" then?
Ha,you know, female teachers can get away with a lot. Being winter, I wear very black skinny jeans, boots, a pretty top and long cardigan so you can't really tell I'm wearing jeans. Meanwhile, hubby is angrily tugging on a suit and tie. I tell him to organise a protest.. it's so antiquated. But no, they worry it'll risk their jobs. Plus, there's that antiquated notion that a suit = power.
Oh wow, you can't wear jeans to class??? That sounds so strict! I never taught at a place with such a rigid dress code. In fact, even in the Bavarian school I attended as a kid, which was otherwise highly conservative, teachers could wear jeans (just as the students... but I guess in Australia they got uniforms).
Okay, so men have to wear suits. But there are a myriad ways to do that in protest. I mean, do they regulate the cut, the fabric, and the colors up the the slightest hue? If not, he could show up all pimped out, while obeying the dress code to the letter. (Actually, if the code only says "suit" it would technically include jump-suits, track-suits, and bathing-suits. But that is kinda stretching it.)
I remember how bad it was for you last year. We're locked down too but not quite as severe. The very best thing you can do is turn off your fear mongering news.
Oh gosh yes, the news is laughable. I'm correcting my Dad all the time. Lucky it's freezing here and it's kinda nice being home as opposed to going to work. With remote learning I teach for about 10-15 minutes then sign off, letting them get on with their work, so that's also nice - gives me a chance to breathe. There are silver linings I suppose. Nothing can be as bad as last year, right?
Let's hope not!
I think it's a worldwide feeling, we are all bored with this pandemic, I guess it's a time of acceptance, hopefully it will all pass soon. Get well!
THanks! I do sound a bit depressed in this post, but I guess it was just my mood at the time. There's definitely a sense of exhaustion amongst us all though, even if this lockdown isn't huge in the scheme of things. It is weird to wake up today and know we can't go anywhere, even though I probably didn't want to go anywhere this weekend anyway! Thanks for the kind comment. xx Love you
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STOPIn a few months, when we are all stuck in traffic again... doing the daily grind to get to work on time I’m pretty sure we will miss these days. This is pretty close to utopia as we will ever get. So much extra time to be with our Immediate family and focus on creative activities....
Oh, I was thinking about that all day actually - got so much done in the garden today, so pretty grateful really!
Come to Mexico! The most friendly country in these circumstances.. Will receive you with arms wide open!
I'm not allowed to leave the country!
yep.. Sorry.. Obviously thats the problem! I meant.. Whenever you can!!😬
Id LOVE to..
We've had only one lockdown last spring for 3 weeks and it basically shook the political system so much that it took down the government of 3 previous mandates and now we can't choose a new one... second vote is in a couple of months. So yeah, lockdowns, yuck. Sometimes I find myself dreaming of the times long gone, when travel was a thing for the rich and brave only. Never been much of a traveler myself as well.
Hope you guys are doing well on the farm!
At this point, you have to feel like a yoyo. Lockdown, no lockdown, teach remotely, teach in person, it has to be very frustrating.
My daughter-in-law is also a teacher and her frustration with the same conditions has her going a little nuts. They also have three children, 12, 10, and 5 years old who have spent about 75% of the school year at home.
Our son has reached the boiling point as he is the one who assists them with their work. Things need to change ASAP. Here in the states, we are gaining on getting life back to normal. 50% of all Americans have been completely vaccinated and states are starting to lift many of the restrictions they have in place.
Hopefully, by the time your break comes, the restrictions will be lifted and you can erase all of this shit from your mind for a few weeks.
This thing is depressing and the way we have tried to combat these times is to avoid all the rhetoric. At this point, who really knows what the truth is.
Are they calling it "the new normal" there too @riverflows? What a joke. How is any of this "normal"? We've been in a perpetual lxckdown. Just the levels vary. I guess it's based on whether we behave like obedient little children or not. Even that is laughable. The government rules within that even more so. As long as you keep your distance and cover your face you can crowd the malls but going to the beach or into a forest is illegal. Sorry? What?!!!!
I tell you what I am heartened by all the people walking by the track to wwest of our 5 acres. No masks. Go them!!!!! I think we care less these days.
That utter obedience kills me. Sometimes I drive to the 5.5 km mark, stick my fingers up at the sky, and return. I even go to the shop twice when they say once. Fucking fuckety fuck fuck. Excuse my Australian.
At least we have parcel deliveries, right?
That's crazy. That's why I don't watch tv at all. I feel much better. It's full of propaganda in all channels. Including comedy ones and music, I mean all the fun. Because they use that propaganda in there ads and I don't want to see that at all. It's getting relly boring as you say.
Oh I never watch TV with ads..they are SO transparent. I really wonder why people fall for this stuff.
As the saying goes, Life is what you make it.... Personally, I'd avoid the news, far too stressful. Just work on getting on with what I have to do. Even in winter, I'm still busy with farm planning, evaluating the previous year, and doing the long put off "spring cleaning" in each room. If I could walk, It would be around the farm or local area, just to see what the wildlife is doing. My husband used to do that and bring me back reports.
But then, I'm just an old stick-in-the-mud homebody, so much of this pandemic just slid off my back, like water off a duck....
Eesh, sorry to hear you're going back in to lockdown over there and only can go 5km away. We're having an outbreak of the India variant in the UK at the moment but hopefully the vaccines are thwarting its progress.
I think we are all feeling the impact of covid, directly or indirectly. Hang in there and chin up cobber!