covid-19

Text reads: The mask giveth and the mask taketh away. Background contains someone holding a cloth face mask.

The mask giveth and the mask taketh away

I don’t know if you’ve ever attempted to do a HIIT workout while wearing a face mask, but I probably won’t be trying that again.

Technically I was doing vigorous outdoor exercise far away from everyone else in the park, so I would have been exempt from wearing a mask under current restrictions in Perth. But I wanted to show that I wasn’t a pussy who couldn’t hack it.

Turns out I am a pussy who can’t hack it. 😛

But I have managed a couple of (less intense) masked workouts in the gym since they reopened and I was okay. And the Premier has announced an easing of mask restrictions from this weekend so I won’t have to wear one at the gym anymore.

I don’t mind the mask too much when I’m not exercising though. I mean, I don’t love it. It can be uncomfortable and it’s annoying when my glasses fog up. But given a choice between wearing masks and going into lockdown, I’d take the former.

Besides, some people have had to wear a mask every day for over a year and counting, so I can imagine what they’d think of me whinging about my face being sweaty as I go on with my life almost as normal.

And if I’m having an acne breakout, the mask makes me look like a stylish ninja instead of a hormonal hot mess. 😉 Although some breakouts can be linked to mask wearing. The mask giveth and the mask taketh away. I’m sure that’s in the New International Corona-Version of the Bible or something…

I guess what I’m trying to say is, I feel lucky (in spite of my anxiety disorder and lack of stamina). Things could have gone very differently, but we’ve been fortunate in Australia. Which is not to say things don’t desperately suck for a lot people. But it’s not sucking because bodies are being piled up in the street for mass cremation while hospitals run out of oxygen.

I know I have a habit of catastrophising, but it’s not like I’m pulling that scenario out of thin air. 😦

Text reads: All my systems are nervous. Background contains someone wringing their hands.

All my systems are nervous

Today was a funny old day.

It started out like a pretty normal Friday in WA. I grabbed a coffee from my favourite cafe on my way into work. Recent talk of COVID-19 spreading through the ventilation in hotels was sort of in the back of my mind. But mostly I was thinking about what I needed to get done before the end of the week.

By lunchtime, the rumour mill about a possible snap lockdown was in overdrive and my colleagues and I were nervously waiting for Mark McGowan’s press conference. Just after 2.30pm, he came out and confirmed we’d had community transmission. Masks would be mandatory from 6pm and the Perth and Peel regions would go into a three-day lockdown from midnight.

It also means ANZAC Day dawn services are cancelled for the second year in a row, and anyone who planned to go away over the long weekend (Monday is a public holiday) had a decision to make quickly.

I’ve been on edge for a few hours now but I think I’m starting to calm down. I’ve done this before. I’m in a good position (mentally, financially, geographically, etc.) compared to so many other people.

And I’m about as far from an extrovert as you can get, so it’s not like I’m fuelled by going out and socialising.

It’s the uncertainty that messes with my head. 😦 And some of the exposure sites are places I go to, though I haven’t been there in the past couple of weeks so I should be okay.

Functioning within normal parameters, as Data might say on Star Trek. Those parameters happen to include anxiety, but medication and therapy helps with that. 😉

Text reads: Masked up in the wild west. Background contains 3 people wearing black face masks outside.

Masked up in the wild west

I’m currently staring out the window at the rain in Perth, where our five-day hard lockdown ended without another COVID-19 case being identified in the community. There are still a few restrictions in place for the time being, including wearing masks — a foreign concept to most West Aussies until a week ago, though the vast majority of people have gone along with it.

Having had one community case in 10 months, many have asked if the State Government overreacted. Maybe. But as much as I miss travelling, I look at what’s happening in other parts of the world and I’d definitely prefer to overreact than underreact.

Besides, it’s not really about me. If I’ve ever been seriously ill in my life, I don’t remember it. But I share the planet with people who are more vulnerable than me. So I can put up with some mild discomfort and foggy glasses. If that makes me a “sheeple” then so be it.

I’m not oblivious to how fortunate I am though. I’ve kept my job throughout the pandemic. When we went into sudden lockdown, I just opened up my laptop and kept working… I didn’t have to shut down my business or lose all my income.

So I’ve been lucky. Lots of people haven’t. But it seems like every approach to COVID involves the sacrifice of something — or someone — whether it’s the economy, physical health, mental health, the ability to move freely, etc…

I’m no expert on any of these things, but neither are all the armchair epidemiologists who have suddenly graduated from the university of hard knocks over the past year, so I figure I’m equally entitled to give my BS opinion on the internet. 😛

Hopefully we’ll get through the other side and people will still remember how to wash their hands and respect one another’s personal space.

And if someone wants to wear a mask in public once it’s no longer mandated, they should feel free to do so without being stared at like they have five heads. 🙂

Text reads: Day one of lockdown. Background contains a model of a coronavirus inside a jar.

Day one of lockdown…

Yesterday began like any other Sunday in a state that’s had no community transmission of COVID-19 for 10 months.

I went to a fitness class. I visited my aunt and uncle. I went home and had lunch. I started browsing Disney+. My phone was at my fingertips. And then I saw the news on my socials that Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan was holding an emergency press conference at noon. (It ended up being around 12.45pm, with the rumour mill swirling on the Facebook Live video comments as we waited.)

The Premier emerged wearing a black face mask, and I knew right then we were going into lockdown. By 6pm, the sporting venue I’d been at hours earlier was closed for at least the next few days, and casually visiting my aunt and uncle was no longer permitted.

It’s only a five-day lockdown at this stage, though that didn’t stop the panic buying. Ugh.

My workplace sprung into action on Sunday afternoon, closing our building for the week and directing us to work remotely. If the lockdown ends up being extended… we’ll deal with that when the time comes.

I worked remotely for three months last year, so I knew it could be done. This time around, the decision was more sudden, so I couldn’t go in and grab all my stuff from the office for the perfect teleworking setup. But hey, it’s a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things.

I’ve since finished my first 24+ hours of lockdown and, despite feeling a little unsettled, it’s been fine. I may have had too much coffee and tea now that the kitchen is a breath away from my workstation, but I managed to avoid the caffeine-induced anxiety I sometimes get, so all good. (It’s a fine line between alertness and anxiety. 😛 )

I don’t know if or when life will go back to something resembling a pre-COVID normal. But I’m trying to focus on the here and now.

So, day one down. Four more (hopefully) to go. Let’s do this. 🙂

Text reads: Episode 2021: A new hope. Background contains a hand reaching, palm up, towards the ocean.

Episode 2021: A new hope

I don’t really do New Year’s Resolutions. Mostly because I know myself.

2021 feels like an even weirder year to be making big plans — a lot of the things that made 2020 terrible for so many people around the world haven’t gone away just because we’ve ticked over into a new calendar year.

So in lieu of any New Year’s Resolutions, I thought I’d share a couple of my dreams for 2021.

First up is something I’ve joked about to a few people, except that I’m kind of not joking at all, because it would be awesome. I want a transporter so I can beam across state and international borders to see family and friends.

According to Star Trek legend, this technology is only in its infancy in the 22nd century. But we managed to skip the Eugenics Wars of the 1990s in our universe, so we’re already in a different timeline, maybe one in which a transporter comes to fruition sooner? Transporter technology would also minimise contact with potential sources of infection when travelling between places.

I’ve been watching quite a bit of Star Trek in iso, can you tell? 😉 (I’ve also watched Star Wars, hence the blog title. I like both. Don’t make me choose.)

For a somewhat more realistic version of this dream, I’d love to be able to travel safely out of Western Australia again and not worry about whether or not I’ll be allowed back home. I’m anxious (as always), but I’ve got a collection of reusable face masks and excellent hand hygiene, if I do say so myself. International travel is not looking likely for the average Joe, but I’m hopeful of seeing my loved ones in the eastern states before too long.

Secondly… I want to get my debut novel out into the world.

For reasons that I’ll probably cover in a future blog post, I’m leaning towards indie publishing, despite its challenges. So the “getting it out” part is in my hands. Even if I decided to go down the traditional route, querying agents and publishers is in my hands too… I just haven’t done it.

There’s a movie called Little City that I may or may not (read: definitely) watched because of Jon Bon Jovi. In it, Penelope Ann Miller’s character says something that unfortunately sums me up pretty well:

“At least I have potential. It’s a wonderful thing, potential. Because as long as I don’t do anything, I’ll still have it.”

Folks, I’m bursting with ‘potential’… Maybe this is the year I finally leave the comforting familiarity of my desert planet and learn the ways of the Force, metaphorically speaking.

Or maybe I’ll just pledge to go to the gym every day… starting next month.

What I do know is that I’m very lucky to have kept my job during the pandemic, to have access to mental health treatment, and to live in a place that has no community transmission (touch wood). While others are just trying to survive, I have the luxury of dreaming big and doing things to make those dreams happen. If I want them badly enough.