Saturday 21 March 2020

obsession

i have to admit i'm obsessed  with the pandemic. I'm not afraid (yet) but I know lots of people are which is why my facebook is a collection of funny memes and of course Harry's pandemic guide. I dont want to add to the anxiety so i try to keep it light.

Keaghan and liz moved into their own place just last weekend ahead of their april 19 wedding which they then postponed indefinitely on tuesday. liz had her work hours cut by half on thursday and keaghan wishes they could break their lease. how things have changed in a week.

the chaplaincy course I was so looking forward to starts on monday but i'm not enrolled. After some significant car repairs i can afford to take time off work even less than usual. I was hoping the face-to-face component of the course would be cancelled due to covid19 and i could join an online format but as the student numbers are small enough to comply with social distancing guidelines it will go ahead. I will cater for the class and meet the people who should have been my cohort but wont be part of it.

Caitlin's university has declared an early mid-semester break only four weeks into semester so her holidays will no longer coincide with school holidays when Briony will be home from her country posting. It's not a big deal in the scheme of things but for twins who have always been together, the loss of prime hanging out time is disappointing. I wonder though, whether we can really continue to keep schools open for another three weeks, I will be very surprised if Briony isn't home by next weekend. Time will tell.

In good news I can continue in my job because somebody has to be on reception and the boss doesn't want to recruit my replacement right now.

this weekend is the first weekend that i have really felt it important to be staying home but my car was off the road for the last two weekends so i feel like i have been socially distant for ages.  I think I'm pretty good at being alone but after having two kids leave home within a couple of months and a reduced number of people at an already quiet work place, I'm not really keen for any more isolation.

It will get worse though, my usual tuesday night out at  trivia will have to end, all church services are cancelled and I cancelled my seniors group last week (I'm proud to say I was ahead of the curve on that one)

I wish I could think of something different to write about but the only topics I have in mind are not ones which I want to raise right now. I guess you're stuck with unending photos of harry. I'll try to make them interesting and I thank you all for continuing to comment on posts which have not much commentable about them! It gives me something to focus some creative energy on while I drag myself away from the news.

Take care!
k


29 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. yes, it will. You know that saying, it might pass like a kidney stone but it will pass :)

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    2. I haven't heard that saying before but now I'll be looking for a chance to use it!

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  2. It's hard not to be obsessed with the pandemic, given that (a) lots of people are dying and (b) there's little else in the media, all other news is now on page 94. But I do my best to occupy myself in other ways, like reading, walking and sharing funnies on Facebook.

    A shame about the postponed wedding. My niece managed to have her wedding in Canada a few weeks ago, before everything started shutting down bigtime.

    Good that you're continuing in your job. We're also pretty good at being alone, both being retired and both enjoying our own company.

    I read about all the youngsters flocking to Bondi Beach. They really think they're invincible, even with all the youngsters now in intensive care beds.

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    1. I've seen a lot of older people flout the recommendations,too. I think people are really not understanding how serious this is

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  3. I am obsessed with the virus also. I track the numbers in the US on a spread sheet. I can tell you which states are getting a handle on it and which are about to explode. I think I will pull a few old posts out of the archives this week.

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    1. I'm tempted to plot graphs of new infections but there's plenty of those around already

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  4. I've been obsessed with reading about the virus because I do better with knowledge in a new situation ... until I tip into worry, then I know it's time to move on and only read enough to catch up on scientific developments. That tipping point came yesterday for me.

    I'm so sorry you won't be doing the course you wanted. Too bad they didn't go online, as you said. As for keeping your job, it's good you'll still have that income. Hopefully they will also realize you helped them out in a pinch, and weight that accordingly somehow. I get called in to work for vacations, usually at the last minute, and always feel vaguely used.

    I love your Harry series. He's adorable and the messages are spot on.

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    1. I've felt used every day since I found out I wasn't considered suitable for the new job. I suppose I'm being a bit unfair given that they are paying me for what I do

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  5. I hope this kidney stone passes with MUCH less pain than expected. It is a small consolation to me that the virus is effortlessly crossing the borders of race, religion and gender. If it can do it, perhaps in healthier, safer times we will too.
    I have been enjoying Harry's wisdom. Lots.
    Stay well. And hugs. Of the non-infectious kind.

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    1. I think the ramifications of this are going to be longer lasting and harder hitting than we imagine. It's ok though, humanity is good at adapting

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  6. I'm on day 5 of total lock-in here in France and so far I'm ok with it but I can understand if stuck in an apartment it might get old. I'm just ticking off a few things on my never-ending to do list at the moment so that's fine. We're in lock-down (can't go out without an attestation to show the police if stopped) for 15 days right now but I can see that being extended. Maybe being only 45 minutes from the Italian border has made people realize how serious. I'm sorry to hear about th wedding being postponed but glad that you get to keep your job. Stay safe.

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    1. You're doing well! I hope the sacrifices you are making have a real benefit in reduced suffering

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  7. It seems that everybody has their own personal relationship with self quarantine. Quarantine is not pleasant but it beats the alternative. I was very sad to see my kids leave home. They both live very far away as well.

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    1. Only one of mine is far away but two have left so quickly. It's very different to the bustling home I lived in for the last 20 years

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  8. Thanks for posting Kylie. Checking in with my list of blogs to read has become more important during this 'virus crisis'.

    I know it's too early to talk about life AV (after the virus) but I am already thinking about how it will change us. So many repercussions because of our dependency on what it is evidently and obviously a very fragile economic model, and potential for this pandemic to bring about lasting positive social change. I can't coherently express or even organise these in my rattled mind atm, but I will.

    Glad you kept your job. Already a good outcome as people re-evaluate what/who has true value and what doesn't.

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    1. I believe that the whole world will change as people reassess priorities. It has the possibility of being almost like a second chance.

      Or maybe I overestimate humanity

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  9. Well, keeping your job is good news. But, missing the class is NoT! Everyone is obsessed, not just you. We have to care deeply about this. I posted about something that I have meant to post on for a week, something not about toilet paper and my health...lol. I very much want to know what or what is not going on in your life. Did you ever use that spice packet?

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    1. Yes! I did! I put it with chicken and it was delicious.
      I also kept the envelope with your address until I realised you're not there now

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    2. kylie,
      It will still get to me for a while using that address.

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  10. It's hard not to be obsessed. I 'watch' the Coronavirus statistics of the World Meters website, and scare myself witless. In my head I am rooting for Italy - I see the Italy graph and I am saying: Come down Italy, come down - over and over.
    Sx

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    1. Yes. Poor Italy will be telling this story for decades

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  11. "You know that saying, it might pass like a kidney stone but it will pass." That really sums the situation up. However it's going to be a very big kidney stone. Good luck. Kia kaha.

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  12. We're all obsessed with the pandemic as it's life and death and preparing ourselves, maybe, for losing loved ones. My granddaughter (25) is obsessing about her 4 grandparents who are all alive (in the past few years she lost her great-grandparents). We all have compromised health systems so she has instructions for us (weird role shift there) about bleach and washing and not leaving home. Ever. I don't. I am `11 days into self-isolation so I got the gold star from her. She is an expert on what is happening and will happen and wishes she wasn't.

    Stay safe Kylie.

    XO
    WWW

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    1. I will be safe, thank you WWW. I hope your self isolation keeps you safe as well.

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  13. How very sad that the start of Keaghan and Liz's married life together in a new home has been upset by this ****ing virus. Just one of a billion tragedies that do not even involve dying! It's another lovely spring morning here in the north of England but above that loveliness lurks an invisible cloud of fear. 422 dead in Britain now. I expect that today's tally will reach a hundred.

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    1. Yes, it's all quite unsettling. Enjoy the weather, focus on the good.

      I think the wedding was postponed while it was still early enough to create a new plan. Today there are only five people allowed at a wedding and I was afraid a rule like this one would come into place at a point where they couldn't adapt.

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  14. The rapidity with which all normal life has ground to a halt is really jarring. There was this mad rush for everyone to get to their homes...and now we're just here. The prospect of life being like this for months is daunting.

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