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?