103 A.C.T Cases - 5 Days Straight

We are still on full lock down, but Australia's curve has plateaued. They are getting 5 or 6 new cases a day in Sydney, and everything looks fine. They are starting to talk about relaxing the lock down, in four weeks. I have been going to KFC more often than I did even before Corona Virus. I don't know if I've said it in my other posts, but doing my bit means I shouldn't go to KFC, because I know that food handling is a way to pick up the virus, and I have vulnerable friends. Well, that proves me pretty unscrupulous, doesn't it?

I think it's fizzled. Any enthusiasm I had for doing my bit and staying at home is gone. I stay at home anyway. I've been at home today. Yesterday, I went to another friend's house, but this person did not let me in their house. I did some work for them.

Australia has managed to control the virus, but I think Australia will have some issues with economy. I think that the people who need to pay off houses, and who earn millions, will have troubled, stressful times. The Prime Minister talked about mortgage and tenancy agreements, but the dialogue can change. Soon they'll be talking about economic responsibility and survival of the fittest. Fuck, I shouldn't say it, because I actually predicted a pandemic. I didn't predict that everything would close down. I just thought we'd have lines going out of the grocery store and people would wear masks. This is weird, I suppose. I read it in a book.

You have to understand, nothing really has changed for me. There's more people exercising outside, because the gyms are closed, but I just stay at home. There is the fact I'm studying from home, which is a change. However, with university holidays, half the year I am at home too.

When this all started, I was sure it was only a matter of time before everyone was going to catch COVID-19, and I'd get it, and I'd stay at home, and if things got bad, I'd call for a ambulance. However, Australia is not going to have that, it somewhat looks like.

It's a blessing, because who wants a city where everyone is walking around knowing, "I have no mum now." "I lost a young work colleague." Or "I have to be careful with him, because he lost a work colleague." It's not a good thing to have, people with that burden.

Oh, probably the worst thing about this is the painful ads. They are of these gimps humiliating themselves on national television, by saying, "Oh, this is a hard time." You are soft, have soft lives, and you have to advertise it? I wouldn't show my face in a public forum, if I were you.

The worst ads are the Telcos, and Insurance Agencies, though. These ads are sentimental and designed to be affronting, insensitive, and self-serving, commercial, and sedating (unscrupulous in these times, hey?) - in the face of what could have potentially been terrible. A sound clip of mockery to suffering. I'd say these people should get what they deserve, but they already have. Enjoy what you have, with your Trump worldliness and equally Trump intelligence, Lord knows you understand very little, and will die understanding very little. Be comfortable. Be blind.

I'm just chilling though. I did that work yesterday for that friend. My other friend distanced from me, but still he goes through a drive thru a million times a week. You aren't going to catch it from this old soldier. You will pick it up from Joe Slop with his adolescence and grease-exacerbated acne wrapping your burger. However, people did discriminate against me just a touch.

Do you know what I like? That girl that talked to me yesterday with that dog just bloody up in my face like normal. Truthfully, anyone with any sense would ignore the shit, and socialise as normal. There's no use being a ballerina, especially when you're under fifty. The same people wearing and hogging the masks, and acting like it's Armageddon - they're the ones, that in peacetime, show up at the same tute as me with the cold, loudly proclaim they have the cold, and you dread for the rest of the tute. And leave bloody tissues in shopping baskets. 

Two Sides of Me - A Blacker than Usual COVID-19 Blog Entry

Everyone is still driving around. You see hundreds of cars out. I wish everyone would lock down. It'd make things easier if there weren't mixed signals. Last night, I had a dream that a politician was talking to me, and he was saying, "It's over, Australia can go back to normal." That's all I remember of the dream. I sort of hope Australia gets it as bad as everyone else. It'd be a let down if we didn't. Of course, it'd be better if we didn't let it run away from us. Maybe we have avoided it. We've only had 52 deaths. US has had 16,000.

We've had many people working from home, and the unemployment has skyrocketed. I am not even sure if everyone is doing there bit. There's no community spirit, and I just do not feel inclined to stay at home. They need to do road blocks. The sooner the better. They should be doing 'stops', like the Random Breath Testing stops, but asking people, "What is essential about this travel?" Everyone is out, just soaking up the feeling they are getting paid without going to work.

But everyone is still driving around.

I was thinking of calling Lifeline the other day. I just want to check if I'm doing the right thing. I want to tell them I went and visited my mate, and we went shopping, like we would have before. I need to explain something before we go any further. I spend 50% of my waking hours reading. Before this COVID-19, I spent 90% of time at home, which is greater than the average person does. It makes it so now I am probably home more than the average person post Corona, but I haven't changed much about social distancing. Sometimes, I just have to have human contact. You need an interaction every 5 days, I believe.

When I was going to call Lifeline, I was going to say, "This is pretty shitty. I am single and lonely, and I need all the contact with girls I can get, and now they say, 'Stay 1.5 meters away from each other.' It isn't that staying 1.5 meters away is bad for a while, it's the habit it teaches me over a whole year. I seriously don't think I'm coming back from this. If I have to wait 1 year of not approaching girls... not even having the option to approach girls... it ends it for me. One year will be wasted. I am 37, I can't waste a year. I still have a nagging feeling, I could approach girls, but this is wrong. We need to keep 1.5 meters away. It's law, and it's courteous and polite in these times. A year will put me under."

So, I was going to say all that to Lifeline.

It's Easter, and I need a chocolate. I'm going out for a chocolate egg on whatever day the Easter bunny's supposed to come. People aren't allowed to travel. I don't celebrate Easter, anyway, in poor, or good times, or indifferent times. Enjoy your Easter. Thanks for the ads. They really added something to my life, and just made it that little bit better. I know you're flattered that I mentioned your ads. They're a real compass for the people, and you telling us your happy family are still making one hundred thousand from home is so great to see... NOT! Fuck Easter, and fuck off your crappy TV. (Note to self and notice to Blog of a Dog readers: avoid the TV like the plague.)

I like the sound of the TV. It's soothing and reassuring. I suppose that DVDs would be better. However, it gets kooky without the ads. I just wish they weren't so insipid. I visited one of my friends, and there was 1,000,001 ways I could have come into contact with COVID-19. I am going to another vulnerable friend too. I'll live with myself if I pass it on to these people, but I'll remember it, till death.

This isn't World War II yet, but there might be issues, you never know. I'll keep you posted.

96 Cases ACT, Visiting Friend

I am going to visit Tommy when he gets his advance. I've promised. I need to visit one friend, and that should be Sam. I've said, "This is the last time. We both have to work on this." We've got 96 cases in Canberra. Canberra is 350,000 population town, so it's not worry stations yet. To tell the truth, it's become normal for me.

At first, I thought that things were going to change a lot, but they haven't really. I never really visited anyone anyway. I think I need to watch the whole news tonight, to get informed, and reaffirm the gravity of the situation. I never really got on the road often, but many people are still on the roads.

One very important thing to note is that the media haven't said where we are headed. They haven't said that we will have 1,000,000 (a million) cases, 100,000 (one hundred thousand) cases, or what we can expect in one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight months, or next year, 'cos there are 8 months left in the year.

One annoying thing is it's just another thing to fuss and shop over. They aren't being frank; they are putting reasonably intelligent people on the TV acting like all we need are soft and cuddly words, and kids drawing rainbows. Each to their own, but this irritates me. It is the reason why I've been not watching the news. I might just be traipsing over to my fate - a grumpy old man. It's elitist, and not helping. If that's the propaganda that will make or break us, it'll break us.

I badly need to do a grocery shop. I might do it first thing tomorrow. I'll tell you how it went.

Something I am Disappointed with the System For

Quickly, I will tell you how seething I am about something in particular. We are four weeks into this pandemic in Australia, and they do not have hand sanitizer when you go into the grocery store to shop. It is fundamental that they get the basics going. I am venomous about this culpable lack of foresight.

Back Home, Feeling Like I Haven't Done My Bit

Last night they had a party. They slept like puppies in a basket. I stayed in my room, and laughed at their jokes about the virus, and how one of them had the cold. There is altruism, but it's nuanced, and subtle. What has really disappointed me about myself today, is I was hungry and went through the drive thru. That puts me at risk. Baggage handlers, and department store workers have contracted it, and I'm going to KFC??? As far as I can tell the incubation time is 7 days. I'm going to do my bit with a full lock down for 7 days. Then, I'll visit my friend again, the day after today next week. I'm not going to visit one of my other friends either, even for gardening, in that next 8 days. I watched something on the news saying, "Young people, take this seriously." I need to do penance for the whole adventure I had over the last four days, culminating in KFC. Take it seriously, young people. That's the message from the U.S.A, who are looking at 250,000 deaths. Time to lock down!

Blog Post at My Girlfriend's

I am at that vulnerable friend’s house I talked about. She has a fellow that comes here to sleep, and she has her workers. She is in more danger than me of catching Corona. I am washing my hands after I go to the bathroom, but there’s no point otherwise – if one of us has got it, we all have got it. Last night, when she was sleeping, she was puffed, like she was seriously running. I think it will end her, if she catches it. I think about staying here, but it really is tough going staying here. I think staying for this two days is all I can do. They’ve also stopped all her groups. My vulnerable friends are in danger. I thought about it when I visited another friend, who smokes and is over weight. I think as soon as it gets bad, these mental health workers will abandon them. Another thing which I think is unfortunate is that with the new rules about social gatherings, my friend doesn’t get to do group. Before she was embroidering, doing collages, and making dream catchers. That’s all changed. Anyway, I’ve got nothing more to say. I do not know why my life is like it is. I don’t know why it’s so darn complicated. Actually, it’s not. I am sleeping over tonight. It makes her day. Please God, make this virus go away. However, it won’t. I promise to visit her more often if you do.