Diary Entries

Where would we be without Zoom? I zoom my family I zoom my friends I zoom at work I zoom my choir and I have even attended a Zoom birthday party. I reckon some of this zooming may actually stick. For instance, my family is interstate and overseas, so I love catching up with my extended family on the weekend and seeing everyones faces. There has been talk that Zoom is not a secure platform. The question is ... what is secure? We are vulnerable but somehow we have to stay connected.

Dear person from the future....So, the year is 2120 and you are wondering how life was for ordinary Australians a hundred years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic. I work in an office job and most people usually drive a car or catch a bus to work in Canberra. Since the virus outbreak I have been working from home since 30 March 2020. I am sitting at home using my computer at the dinner table instead. I can access all the same information here that I can at my desk at the office. In 2020 we use technology called WiFi (stands for Wireless Fidelity). It is reasonably new (an Australian invention!)and has only been around for less than 20 years. I live in a 4 bedroom house on a quarter acre of land about 20 kilometres from the city centre. Petrol costs $1 per litre and there are no autonomous vehicles - cars are always driven my humans. The only time I leave the house is to go to the supermarket to buy groceries. There are so many people wanting groceries to be delivered to their home, the supermarkets cannot cope with demand and have cancelled deliveries. I wear a face mask and I carry hand sanitiser with me. Until last weekend I had not seen my family since the first week of March. I miss my colleagues from work. Talking to an image of someone on a 2 dimensional screen (we use computer programs called SKYPE or ZOOM or MICROSOFT TEAMS) is not the same as meeting them in person. My only advice to the person in 2120 reading this...be thankful for what you have. Life can change in an instant and you don't appreciate what you have until it is gone.

I’m planning my Zoom talk for the Society of Womens' Writers tomorrow. I've been asked to talk about how I became a wildlife photographer and publisher of children's books. How can I condense 25 years following animals in the wild into 45 minutes? So many wonderful adventures to talk about. The magic moment of my life with two cheetahs, the scarriest evening when a lion chased a wildebeest through the middle of the mess tent I was in, a close encounter with a mountain gorilla and a misunderstanding with a male orangutan. I'll show some large photographs to break up talking, a video, and of course my latest book. Must remember to tag the important pages. Now to clean up my studio so the audience doesn't see my mess and test everything for tomorrow. www.truetolifebooks.com.au

It was February 2020 Sydney, eshays and bogans were roaming the streets of Sydney, TikTok was the cool trend going on (even though it was horrible), People were flexing iPhone 11's and Rolex's and the most terrible songs of music's history we're going viral. But there was something else that hit the world. A particular virus called COVID-19 or CORONAVIRUS. It was a deadly flu that strongly affected lungs and was a dangerous fever. People thought that it was an epidemic that would die soon. But, by March 2020, it became a pandemic. Hundreds of people died. Everyone was rushing to Coles and Woolworth's to get toilet paper and deserting the shop shelves. People were going for their lives for hand sanitiser and toilet paper. Mid-April 2020, all schools in Sydney starting working from home/online. Kids were invading their fridges and skipping school work. Earth was like hell. Now is the beginning of May 2020 and I am back at school. COVID-19 is a once in a lifetime pandemic. I will never look at the toilet paper and hand sanitiser the same way again.

Even though this situation made everyone sad it made us stronger and closer as a country (even though we can't go closer to each other). Being at home for more than 6 weeks was boring it was quite relaxing because you can sleep in and get food whenever you want. being home schooled was horrible..I couldn't see my friends and teachers and if you didn't understand a task you had to send a email and wait for them to reply. I called my friends everyday but it wasn't the same :( even though this was a horrible time some many people and I are grateful for this because no one will ever look at toilet paper the same and will be so happy to go out with friends and family.

Dear The Diary Files, When I am older I will remember this time. The time that I am almost all alone, Just my Father, Sister and I . Working hard and looking forward to the bike-ride at the end of the day . Looking forward to the day when we go back to school, looking forward to the day when we see our friends again. Looking forward to the day this pandemic would end , and on that day . . . WE WOULD CELEBRATE!!! I miss my normal life, I miss my Brother and my older Sister . I but I miss most of all . . . Freedom, Freedom to live my life .

I am 69 years young, and hope to have many more. We have just celebrated Mothers Day, I have four adult daughters, all married. It's been hard not seeing them over the past few months, but through texting and Facetime we have kept in touch. It has made me realise how lucky I am to have them all living reasonably close in the same State, how hard must it be for those whose families live interstate or overseas. I am thankful for the technology we have today to keep us informed of each days events, although sometimes I need to turn the TV off the news for a lighter more entertaining programme. My knitting and craft have kept me busy, but as usual we still have the everyday chores to do as well. My knitting group keep in touch everyday and check up with each other and send encouraging messages and photos of what we have been working on. My husband is an Amateur Radio operator and has set up a Morning Coffee Net each day to check in with his radio club mates and any other amateurs who might be on air to check they are ok. Today is more thought provoking, looking back on family photos and thinking how I should put them in an album. Looking at unfinished projects, and starting new ones, like remodelling my pantry. I haven't particularly found it hard staying at home, but do miss everyone. I am thankful for all the government officials, hospital staff for their work for all those in need. What is to come we do not know, but we need to keep hopeful for a better future, even better than before.

Where do I even start Covid- 19 has impacted everyone's lives and it has spread all over the world killing many, many people. Shops shut down, people have lost their jobs and people are locked in their houses all day. During isolation I have done many different things to keep myself entertained such as bike riding, arts and craft, facetiming my friends and baking. It was hard not seeing my friends everyday and doing online school was something new to me. It was great not having to wake up early to get ready for school and I was able finish my work early so I had time for other things. At the same time it was difficult to learn from home because I had to learn at such a fast pace. The best thing about isolation was I got to spend quality time with my family and got to do many things with them. I have never spent so much time with my family until now. It was hard to not see my cousins and grandparents every Sunday but luckily we had Zoom. Before isolation happened people were going crazy over toilet rolls and hand sanitizer, like who would of thought people would go crazy over that. Overall Covid- 19 has impacted everyone's lives and has made people go crazy, this has been a new and scary experience for everyone and it will surely go down in history. 2020, has been the most hectic year of all.

Unpopular opinion = coronavirus is exactly what we needed. I'm not saying we need all these people to die, but you have to realise how this has affected the Earth and the world. The oceans in Venice, Italy are clear and full of fish for the first time in many years. The air in China is clear because there is no pollution from the cars. China's road accidents have gone down by a lot. I believe this is Mother Nature taking the Earth back into her hands.

Our school had never been so quiet. I sat at a desk in the corner of the classroom, cold biting at my ankles. Our teacher sat at their desk armed with hand sanitizer and desk cleaner. It was so quiet that I could hear my own breathing loud and clear. Everyone was staring at their screen, work or video calls plastered across it. Only one of my friends was here today and they were put in a different class. The silence was torture. Every time I looked back at my screen, I would get distracted by a bird flying by or by one of my friends, talking online. Occasionally there would be someone talking. It was a relief to hear someone, through all the silence. But, they would be sent out if they wanted to talk on a video call. I wished I stayed home, at least then I could talk to people. My work laid forgotten on the desk, my friends came first. I caved in. I spent the next hour talking to them, being in my own bubble of happiness.