Diary Entries

Yesterday I was all ready to head to the supermarket and I remembered reading that before you go out, ask yourself, "Is this essential?" I ran my eye down the list of items and nothing; absolutely nothing was essential; things I thought I needed, but not essential. I think the whole concept of essential might take on a very different meaning as we live our way through this pandemic. We will go without many things over the coming months and maybe we will discover that it really doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. Perhaps our whole perception of what’s important will be transformed and maybe even what we value. I wonder if the silver lining of this scary, confronting season will be the paring back of all the extraneous things that have been clogging up our lives and relationships. Hopefully, the intangibles will rise to the surface and we’ll have the time to become reacquainted with their value. I hope we will all live a little differently in the future because we’ve walked through these dark days.

My name is Patrick Cannon and I love playing Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 76 with my friend Ty. Now is a bad time for everyone. I'm not seeing people very often, zoom doesn't work very often and I don't like seeing people on technology. It doesn't feel like their actually there. Its just a screen that you look at. I feel like a dog staring at a screen and because they are color blind they can't see the characters and only can hear the sound. I just want to be at home but with everyone I like. My friends, family, cousins, teachers and students. But we can't do that because of coronavirus restrictions.

covid 19 Every day there was no school At the end it is not so cool Stuck in side is not life Finally eating with my wife I hope this won't last Tring to leave it in the past

I HAVE BEEN STUCK AT HOME FOR AROUND FIVE WEEKS I JUST STARTED GOING BACK TO SCHOOL TODAY IS MY SECOND DAY. I have had to work online for a while it has been a very confusing time during this covid-19 outbreak. During this time here in Australia we have been fighting over toilet paper and hand sanitizer (which is basically gold at the moment). It has caused Australia to go crazy over small things like sanitary items. The internet is going crazy now that everyone is stuck at home. Birthdays and special days like ANZAC day and Mother's day are not the same at the moment, parties cannot go on. We have not found a cure for the virus but we are getting closer each day. The only social interaction we get is going to school or talking to your family at home. I almost forgot to say that I have to walk my dogs like everyday. bye

Surviving pallative care during a Pandemic Splitting time between Homeschooling and hospital visits Temperature taking at the hospital and toilet paper hunting at the shops A day sandwiched between end of life care and an Easter egg hunt Dealing with Bureaucracy during bereavement Picking a casket and which grandchildren can attend Funeral planning with physical distancing The most vulnerable of times with only virtual hugs. Rest In Peace Mum x

Corona, making people be a loner. Which means being by them self while the toilet paper doesn’t last a shelf. Coronavirus is out of control while ruining peoples hopes and goals. Crushed dreams that make me want to scream while ruining my life because of COVID-19. The Government believe that we can’t leave but some people don’t care which is not fair. Quarantine is making people clean and out of thin air people are now dyeing their hair. Not seeing family and friends is annoying and makes it even more boring. While everyone is starting to crack and some people are just getting fat, chocolate and lollies are filling people trollies, we have not been through COVID-19. And this is how I feel, and it makes me want to squeal so thank you hope you enjoyed while our next-door neighbour is still making noise.

Continued from before By the end of the week I was wondering how I’d manage another week of isolation. At that time the rules changed, and anyone arriving into the country was going into a hotel room for quarantine. That did change how I felt, as I was at least in my own space, had a balcony I could go out to and was doing my own cooking. Access to the information I needed for work also improved, and I was able to do a full weeks work from home. This helped me keep my sanity and gave me a reason to get up in the morning. On-line gym classes were also starting to appear, so I was able to exercise at home. I was back in the office on Monday 6 April. Having been away from the office for 3 weeks there were big differences. A lot of people were working from home and Chatswood was very quiet. There was little traffic and driving around was easy. To limit numbers in the office, I was to work from home two days a week. As I live alone, this gives a good balance of time in the office seeing other people and taking care of tasks I couldn’t do at home and time away, where I could concentrate on tasks that required concentration.

I wrote a number of poems about COVID-19 to cope with the social isolation when I could not visit or hug my grandchildren. I like to think a much better world will exist for them once this pandemic crisis has been successfully overcome! Below is one of my earlier poems. Tough times Tough times can hit suddenly and be very hard to bear Turning life upside with forced changes that seem so unfair Many feel like they’re being carelessly tossed and cast adrift While sinking in a wave of anxiety and fear that moves so swift Our world is now under siege by a killer pandemic that does not rest Causing human and economic disaster, this COVID-19 global pest All have been affected with tight restrictions transforming daily life With personal freedom shelved to try and stop this virus running rife Social isolation is the only weapon we have to fight until a vaccine is found And although challenging, it is slowly halting the local spread that is around So everyone needs to do their bit and support those working on the front line While abiding by all the restrictions which are proving effective and a good sign And when this is over, the world as we know it will be a vastly altered place While the tragedies and many hardships will shape and transform the human race Hopefully to create a stronger and empathetic society who were able to overcome And battle some of the toughest times in history to proudly say “we finally won!!!!

I’m really disappointed that I can’t go to the tanning studio today or the massage parlour but reassured that I can still have my hair done as long as I don’t spend more than thirty minutes there and remain in my four metre square. But I am sure my body will just sag dismally now that I can’t do my daily gym workout. However, I won’t be able to invite you all to my wedding, as only 5 guests are permitted. I might be able to squeeze you into my funeral, when I die from the virus, as I am allowed to have 10 mourners. One good thing though, the number of people that can line up outside a Centrelink office is unlimited. Sadly, after only 120 years of Federation it looks like the union is over. Even with a passport you will not be able to cross the border and visas will only be issued under special circumstances. Does that mean we no longer need a federal government or a PM; always looking for the silver lining. And what a selfish mob we’ve become. After being gifted this by the people of China, who asked nothing in return, we can now not share it with other countries as overseas travel is banned. Speaking of banning, that seems to be the only thing that is legally banned. While listening to Scotty’s pitch last night I often heard the words “urge” & “should not”. Indeed what does “ban” actually mean. (To forbid something officially or legally so that it cannot be done, used, seen, or read). Three days after the PM banned cruise ships from Oz ports, over 3000 people walked off the Ruby Princess in Sydney, one was carried off by the ambos and now over 130 have tested positive.

It was around 7:30pm on the T80 bus when I noticed a young man continually moving seats as people shuffled getting on and off the bus. I thought it was strange but I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. Then as my stop was coming up next, I moved over to a seat behind him so I could reach up and press the button without losing my balance. He moved from the seat in front of me and muffled to his friend, ‘I don’t want to die’. Then the light bulb hit. He was distancing himself from anyone that had an Asian appearance. It was 31 January 2020 and this was the day that COVID-19 had a direct impact on me. So now it’s week 8 working from home for me. As an avid hiker, I walk 7km each morning to start my day and keep my trail legs moving. Each day the fear I experience on this daily walk is not only about being exposed to the virus, but possibly the racism I may have to endure as well. If there is a person walking towards me, I cross the road to avoid any confrontation about social distancing - just in case the other person isn’t satisfied with my distancing efforts, which may then lead to some racist remarks. I’m sure some of these people I pass are most relieved as I change directions. I should have more faith in people, but the blatant and subtle racism I have experienced throughout my life has taught me that racism will continue to exist, and now the coronavirus fuels racism against Asian-Australians.