Diary Entries

"In this strange new world..." I get this a lot in all my emails from teachers. Because they have to email me now. That is the strange new world we live in. But I don't mind it. Of course it isn't due to any nice circumstances but I'm enjoying it. This is coming from an introvert after all. It was hard at first. I'm not very good at routines and procrastination is probably my best friend. Not the two things you want when trying to complete year 12 in quarantine. But I got by. I got a rough system that works for me. I've even started learning Spanish and writing a book with my friends. I have a supportive and wacky family. I have cute pets to cuddle when I need it. And the pantry is usually full. Life's not the best. But it is okay.

How was your evening; mine was a little disappointing. Having run out of DVDs because the library closed on Monday, without notice, we settled in for an evening of ABC viewing. After the news and 7.30, we watched the Foreign Correspondence story about the lockdown in Italy, very interesting. Then as I made a cuppa and prepared to settle in to watch episode 2 of Revelations I was surprised to see an announcement that the program would be postponed because the PM was soon to make an announcement. OK, I thought, sounds like we are heading into a total lockdown, finally. While waiting the ABC filled the airtime with a rehash of the day’s news items of how the virus was being handled around the world. Italy is in total lockdown, the UK almost in total lockdown, the buffoon that runs that country between Canada and Mexico is still in denial and Angela Merkel has taken literally the old expression “two’s company but three’s a crowd”. Well, fifty minutes later Scotty from Marketing and his ventriloquist dummy Brendan, finally made an appearance. I waited with bated breath (weird saying isn’t that) anyway, waffle immediately started to pour forth from his mouth and it soon became obvious that there would not be any substantial announcement, just tinkering around the edges again.

For no reason, I was sworn at in a supermarket and then had a minibus driver close the window in my face as I approached to speak to him. Having read an online comment in relation to COVID19 "get rid of the Chinese" I was then moved to write about racism against people of Chinese origin in Australia. I used the open letter on racism penned by prominent Australian Chinese citizens as inspiration. Quite reasonably I feared the comments when the blog was published on 21/4/20 but to my surprise, it won 'best blog of the week' with over 3000 readers and generated over 400 comments. The blog was shared many times. The overwhelming tone of the commentary in response was positive and heartwarmingly it was a relief to read that in their heart of hearts Australians are mostly generous and tolerant. As a Eurasian woman, it is remarkable to me that such racism is still so blatant. I identify only as an Australian having been born in Sydney and my physical appearance is a mere coincidence of the distant past as a result of the arrival 150 years ago of my British and Chinese antecedents. To me, my physical appearance seems irrelevant and yet to some others, it is the first thing they see and judge. Fortunately, such blatant racism is a rare occurrence but it is painful never the less and surprising. I wish that in the 21st Century Australians could be more tolerant of strangers because you will never know their story until you speak to them with kindness. My blog is here https://startsat60.com/discover/opinion/bloggers/anti-asian-racism-amid-coronavirus-in-australia

Today very quiet at home so I made up this little test. Maybe it will fill in some of your time. Q. If there is no sport being played, how come the ABC still has a sports report? Q. Why has the sex industry been closed down when it’s only a gathering of two? Q. Why was the Qld teachers strike called off? A. If the schools close, teachers will be on full pay. If they go on strike, they don’t get paid. Who said teachers aren’t smart. Q. Does anybody know the address for accounts payable in China so we can send the invoice? Q. Why is my local library closed and not considered an essential service in these times when we are stranded at home and in need of diversions? Q. Where do Sydney’s ibises get their food now that the parks are empty and consequently the rubbish bins also are empty? Q. Why is it that face masks work in Asia but not in the west? Q. Why is our, Chief Medical Officer, unable to even utter the word ‘mask’? How'd you go?  

AN EPIC PANDEMIC So the epidemic has become a pandemic. Confused? Let us nitpick here a little, backed up by hefty dictionary definitions. An epidemic technically means a prevalent disease with many people ill. . A pandemic refers to ‘pan’: ‘all the people’ when a disease affects many people over wider areas, they say. If we take out the ‘dem’ (from the Greek root ‘demos’–people) –from either ‘epidemic’ or ‘pandemic’ then what do we left? Drum roll…an epic panic. Beware dem people: panic breeds fear, and fear hostility, anger, hate. No. Leave dem people in our calculations, our talk of flattening curves. The young dem seize the day, as young people always will. Older dems are gripped by the knowledge that the number of their days diminishes or worse, feel irrelevant and useless. Angry dems seek scapegoats, charitable dems give in many ways, sociable dems feel bereft of contact, withdrawn dems curl alone like snails. The sun still rises. The planets still revolve. Seeds sprout, ants bite, and all the while a smile can come unexpectedly from old, from young, from any-demi-one.

I spent today amusing myself by writing this list. Hope it amuses you also. KNOW YOUR ACRONYNMS IN THESE MODERN TIMES PMS Pasta Making Shortage CBD Covid Boredom Disorder TPG Toilet Paper Gone PTSD Pasta and Tissue Shortage Disorder NDIS No Dettol In Stock MD Mask Denier (as in Brendan Murphy MD) NRMA No Remaining Masks Available RAC Royals Affected by Covid QLD Quarantine Loneliness Disorder NSW No Shortage of Whingers VIC Very Infective Covid TAS Take A Shower (as in keep calm) HSC Hand Sanitiser for Covid DVD Damn Viral Disease DFAT Damn Fat (How I’m gettin’ sitting at home) PGH Please Go Home SAS Support A Senior (Launched today by Anastasia P) WHO When the Hurt’s Over NBN No Bloody Network ABC All ‘Bout Covid And a new one.. ESS Empty Shelf Syndrome HELPFUL HINTS Toilet Paper Substitutes: Phone Books Those otherwise useless letters that politicians send you Any Murdoch publication Pasta substitute Any of the above - roll tightly, cut into short lengths and steam. TODAY’S OBSERVATIONS The Federal govt is going to subsidise export flights for fish. Have you ever tried to buy Australian fish in the supermarket? There is none, mostly it comes from Vietnam or South Africa. Am I the only one that sees the irony in this? PLEASE EXPLAIN? Panama will allow women out of their homes 3 days a week, Men out the other three days a week and nobody out on Sunday. That must be bonking day. ONLY IN THE USA Gun shops have been declared an “Essential Service”.    

It's 4:15 am in Sydney, 1:15 pm 3rd April in New York. My mother Mrs Amina Khatun (83), an ex Head Mistress of a Government High School, has been admitted in Elmhurst Hospital, NY since March 30, 2020. She was tested COVID positive. She is in life support with a ventilator. Whole night I have been praying for my mother's life. So far more than 4000 lives were lost in USA due to COVID-19, more than half in NY. This hospital cannot accommodate the dead-bodies anymore, they arranged for refrigerated semi trailers in front to shelter the bodies. When we see those in TV news, we see it from a different perspective. Last night my wife Tumpa was awake with me till midnight. My youngest daughter Ayana is only 3.5, she cannot realise what is happening; eldest daughter Alveena (11) cried a lot last night for her grandma. I call my mother 'Ammi'. She immigrated to the USA 10 years ago. In NY she was living with my eldest sister Rubina's family in Queens. My brother in law Shiblee bhai is a doctor. He is the one getting daily updates from hospital and conveying to us. Anytime an ominous call can come from hospital. My elder brothers in Virginia and New Jersey are all praying to Allah for her life. Now its 4:32 am in Sydney, 1:32 pm previous date in NY; no more calls came from hospital. If no more calls then we consider another day Ammi is alive. I know that they are running short of ventilators in the hospital; will they pull the tube from Ammi for younger patients? Please Allah, no.. 7:45 am, my eldest brother calls: hospital informed that Ammi's blood's "CRP' value is stable, ventilator continues. Thanks Allah. I went to sleep.

(Shopping - part 2) A browse through the specials catalogue revealed a few items I wanted. TB bone steak at $20 a kilo sounded nice, but they only had T bone steak at $27 a kilo. Ice cream was half price so I bought twice as much as I needed. Also pasta sauce was half price, but alas the shelf was bare. Accepting that was about all I was going to secure today I got on the checkout queue. Yes there was a queue, even at Marulan and I was number 7. While queuing, a shelf stacker pushed a trolley past. I spotted it and left my place in the queue to follow that trolley. Another shelf stacker who had previously noticed my disappointment at the lack of pasta sauce noticed me chasing the other stacker and told him that he was being followed. Her exact words were “Tim you are being followed, but he is not a fan of yours he just wants the pasta sauce.” She was right, Tim was not my type, I only wanted him for his pasta sauce. As I approached, Tim brandishing his Stanley knife, deftly cut open the pack and like a starving refugee I grabbed two bottles, said thank you and gave Tim a big smile. That probably made his day. Checked out, back to the car, applied a dollop of hand sanitiser from my almost empty bottle and headed home.

(Shopping - part 1) Have I been watching too many horror movies? I was beginning to feel we were the only two people left alive. But no, I was wrong. I ventured out today, to do a little shopping. There were a few cars on our local road, presumably driven by live humans. There was even mail in the box, indicating someone had been as close as our front gate in the last week. Saw a few 18 wheelers on the highway, hopefully delivering toilet paper. (Do you know that USAns, who don’t have the word ‘toilet’ in their vocabulary, call it ‘bathroom tissue’?) Anyway, got to the supermarket, parked my car at least 1.5mts from the next car, thereby using two parking places, donned my mask and ventured forth with my reusable shopping bags. Grabbed a trolley (no wipes on offer) and started to browse the near empty shelves. Stocked up with the essentials such as ice cream, chips and soft drinks. I considered these essential for two reasons. Firstly with so much TV viewing I need lots of snacks and secondly, as I am only permitted by Scotty to shop for essentials I declared them such. Just as well I didn’t need toot paper, eggs or pasta as there were none. I mainly went for fresh greens and yes there were choices. I was afforded the luxury of choosing between bok choy and celery as the only greens available. Partner had asked me to get him some plums. They had two left at $7.99 a kilo. (To be continued)

(Part 2) There I go, leading myself down the garden path this time. Oh, that’s a lovely thought, a walk down the garden path, but is it allowed in these Covid Times, (sounds like a medical journal). Anyway, I’ll ring the seniors’ hotline and ask them. I might even get to talk to that lovely Brendan Murphy if he can get his head out of Morrison’s arse long enough to take a call. Oh, I did remind myself that I want to tell you about a senior’s thing. Back to the Queensland Premier. You know the one with the parents who can’t spell in English. Anastasia Palawhatsit, yesterday launched ‘Adopt a Senior’. Now, I might be officially an orphan but I don’t want to be adopted by some family with a houseful of snotty-nosed kids or have Brianna & Ethan call me on their $1000 Apples while wearing their Nikes and H & Ms. Did you understand anything I just said? I didn’t. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz oops, back again, just dropped off for a minute or two. Where was I? .... I know it’s cool to number iterations of things these days, like Windows 10, Snowy Hydro2.0 etc. But was I asleep during the previous 18 versions of Covid. Wait a sec, there’s a message coming through.....apparently I have run out of time...because... someone else, somewhere in Australia, wants to use the NBN and there can only be two using it at the same time. Hang on there while I press SEND... Bugger! I just sent this to Rigby as well. He’ll probably unfriend me now. Is that what they say? Anyway I’ll now have one less friend, but that’s OK. As I’m now only allowed to have one friend at a time , I’m glad it’s you.