Today I actually ventured out ( with my trusty mask on!!!!) as I desperately needed to get a subscription copy of the lasted version of Microsoft Office, an airmatress ( I've been sleeping on the tiled floor of my apartment for weeks even months now as I was too stingey to buy a new mattress) - actually I can't decide whether to get a mattress or bed because I am unsure if it will fit through the very narrow set of stairs and hallway to my apartment as the hallway tapers very extremely to my apartment door. Every time I look at the product packaging dimensions online the first package fits but the second has a really problem.) And some bits and pieces from my last grocery list I could not get or carry home with me. It was a struggle again this time.
I stopped off at JB Hifi on the very top floor of Westfield which was one of very few stores open - It's like a ghost town at Westfield. Microsoft Office subscription purchased with a full $1 discount! Yep a whole $1 discount!
Next off to Kmart down the other end of Chatswood , I walked there empty handed and walked back with 2 fully jammed shopping bags!
At Kmart I purchased a Queen sized airmatress ( the same one as the previous 3 I think wondering how long this one will last) and a packet of 2 pillows ( which were at a bargain price of $4.50). The queue to the automatic checkouts was really long and my arms were about to drop off from carrying the 2 bulky items. There are no manual checkouts at Kmart at all now. Luckily there were no queues to get in. But wait as soon as I left the Kmart store, I stopped to pack my pillow into my shopping bag and noticed a tear in one of the pillows which looked as if whoever was unpacking the pillows had accidentally sliced open the packaging and hence the pillow cover exposing the stuffing inside the pillow. I now had to drag my pillow and airmatress back to customer service inside and queue up again then get another pillow go back to customer service before heading back out the store. I also had to check the pillow again before I left customer service to ensure the pillow was ok. I hope the pillows are comfy!
Next onto Coles and I spend so much time in here I just can't find stuff I need to get. By the way I am wearing my mask when I go shopping - always!!!!!
There are plenty of flushable wipes, baby wipes but no antibacterial wipes. I settled on a small packet of CUB fragrance free baby wipes - I compared all the wipes and questioned since when did fragrance free flushable and non flushable wipes contain so many different ingredients? Everything except alcohol!!! There was plenty of toilet paper but still no single rolls of paper wrapped individually in paper and not plastic available. Bonus I finally managed to find a few large bottles of hospital grade disinfectant but not the berry scented ones or Dettol so I decided not to get any yet. I still have some left but must get a bottle in my next shop along with laundry detergent Sard stain stick and some other things.
Still no Devondale long life cream therefore I purchased the only brand available - I may have to pour the left over into the old Devondale tetra pack as that has a screw lid and these don't - it will be fine in the fridge.
Low on stock is still no molasses and very low on plain and self raising flour although there is a new brand of flour where 10 cents from every packet purchased goes towards bushfire relief so next shop may purchase an extra packet of self raising flour as I have more plain flour then self raising flour left in my stockpile.
Time to head home after purchasing most of the things I needed - I still had to buy liners in another brand though, as the ones I normally buy are still out of stock. These are a little more expensive and I hope I don't get allergic to them as they have printed patterns on them - why??? That's worst then printed toilet paper after It's been embossed - maybe that's why the printed liners were on special they don't sell! There was so much stuff I thought that I might not be able to fit it all into my 2 shopping bags but I managed to - just!!
Home to watch Masterchef and continue my job search. I put an expression of interest in via email to OzSnow but have not forwarded my resume to them yet as I am unsure if this year's ski season will even go ahead. I actually have to find my resume first - so far no luck and I wonder where it is as I haven't had to use one since 2013 I think.
Masterchef is on again tonight - hopefully I don't fall asleep again. Yep I fell asleep again.
Wednesday 6th May 2020
First thing I did today was to vacuum & clean the floor after removing my old matters and inflating my new air mattress. It is the same built in foot pump air mattress I had previously. I pump it up place the sheets pillows and comforter on it an sit on it to do start doing my online course. The mattress is meant to take a maximum of 200kg. I am a maximum of 80 kg and toppers sheets and pillows would make the maximum weight on top of the air matresses around 100 kg. As I sit on top of my new air mattress , it starts to sink where my bum is but the rest of the mattress is still inflated around my by bum - I can feel my bum almost on the floor underneath me. I might as well sleep on the floor. I get up and reinflate the mattress and sit on it again. Same thing is happening. I can't be 200 kg, if I am then I would be morbidly obese! I'm a size 10 max! This means I have to take everything off deflate the mattress put it back into the box find the receipt ring Kmart for an exchange or refund etc etc. I can't be bothered. The quality control on these air mattresses are so bad - they have a 12 month warranty on them. None of them have survived 12 months- only 1 has survived 3 months +. So I slept on it overnight with the pillows I purchased underneath my body to support it. Temporary solution until I can get out to Kmart again.
Still making my way through my 4th IT related course Introduction to AI and it is quite a heavy course. So far it is all theory no practical at all ie no coding. I wish this had been available before I started my creative coding course a few years back it would have given me a better understanding of AI. Still have quite bit to go in week 2 of the course - no sign of the "Wekinator" mentioned near the beginning of the course yet.
Today I tried to bake some more chocolate biscuits with my left over chocolate dots oats self raising flour molasses dates rosewater olive oil and butter. It didn't turn out as well as I planned so I crushed them all up and they will be great as a biscuit base for say my "4 ingredient cheese cake" perhaps. TBC.....not Today the biscuits are crushed but still need to cool completely.
I actually found a copy of my old resume from 2013??It looked in quite good shape but there were definitely gaps in it so needed updating before I can forward a copy to OzSnow as requested via their response yesterday afternoon to my email.
( I applied for a job with them decades ago it seems and was unsuccessful).
Before I can update my resume or CV I need to install the new Microsoft 365 subscription ( formally called Office 365 - why on earth did they change the name?). A bit of a process to do this on my dodgy Surface pro. Done after resetting my password to my Microsoft account as I had forgotten it - It's just one of those passwords you don't really use much at home.
I had some research to do before I could patch up my resume to update it.So I gave myself a break and will forward it tomorrow.
I watched Masterchef again and I managed to stay awake for the whole episode this time.After this I watched a bit more of the SBS Food Channel & paid 1 bill ( one of the rental payments) due soon in advance as it is so important to keep on top of finances whilst unemployed before going to bed.
Thursday 7th May 2020
Today is usually my venture out day being a late night shopping day but I may not today as I had already ventured out on Tuesday - I try to only go out once a week as have become a bit of a germaphobic person. Will have to see - I may just go for a walk later.
I do have to empty my rubbish some time today though.
I have decided not to return my deflating air mattress yet to Kmart.
My first priority is to start forwarding my updated resume to companies in order to find employment asap. I have no idea what I would like to do as I have been out of my normal profession for so long now and have worked only in retail and customer service for so long.
Since I am having no luck with my general advertisement on Gumtree and hate posting my resume online on LinkedIn or Seek because I get bombarded with fake and scam employment offers, I was wondering, if, by thinking out of the square and creating a GoFundMe page might attract attention. It would be a unique GoFundMe page as I would be specifying that I'm not asking for monetary donations from strangers but employment offers. It's just an idea I have and there is no guarantee it will help me as I never have any luck with anything I do.
I think back to every idea I have had over the years that I have gone ahead with and not one of them has been successful. Some examples are the garage sale I tried to have when we were moving in the Eastern suburbs - no one showed up despite my advertising. Then there was the weeks and months even I spent sorting out my massive wardrobe of clothing and accessories and bagging all of it into new garbage bags for the Salvation Army to pick up - they contained a leather jacket lined with rabbit fur detachable worth hundreds of dollars, dresses I'd grown out of , jeans, skirts, tops, cable knit jumpers etc all in good condition. I was about to go away overseas and we were moving so I had rung the Salvation Army truck to pick the bags up. There were bags of quality stuff. I placed them all behind our wheelie bins on our property as every time I left quality stuff up on the curb on the grass strip outside the house, people would just raid them all especially the duffle bags containing books - they would tear open all the sealed garbage bags and take what they wanted and the duffle bags and dump everything inside them onto the street. I went overseas and when I returned I asked if The Salvation Army came to pick up my bags of clothing and found out they had rejected them because they were behind our bins. After this I decided never to have anything to do with The Salvation Army again. I now use the clothing bins or leave stuff outside charity shop entrances if they accept things.
There are probably many other examples I could give.
I finally found an old copy of my resume and spent quite a bit of time updating it before forwarding a copy via email to OzSnow today. I think I will forward a copy next to a contact I received at the the last Myer shareholders meeting. I have always wanted to work at Myer although I am unsure in which areas, I would like to start in customer service but a back office position would be nice as well.
Time to spend some more time on my Artifical Intelligence course as I only have 2 days to complete it.
Masterchef is on again tonight so I will watch that tonight. ( I didn't fall asleep this time!)
Unsure what to have for dinner but I just had corn chips with some avocado mixed with a small scoop of cream cheese some coriander flakes fried shallots salt pepper and chilli flaked. That filled me up for now.
Ok I just can't get into the mood to study so I would like to discuss another government fail. The government has encouraged as many Australians as possible to download the government's COVIDSAFE App. I will now try and explain how it is suppose to work and why I still have not downloaded it. It was a good idea but it doesn't actually work and has not been fully switched on eventhough hundreds of thousands of Australians have downloaded it ( or tried to apparently not so good on Iphones). For the app to be effective 40% of Australians have to download it and it has not reached this quota yet.The main problem(s) , one of which was obvious to me from the start and is only now being bought up, is the COVIDSAFE App runs on Bluetooth and not WiFi like normal Apps use and is not using location on or by turning the NFC setting to on. Bluetooth from my experience is old technology which I always compared to the old infrared technology which usually only worked when similar devices are within a certain distance from each other ( refer my previous blog on my early adoption of technology - oops sorry this was what I wrote about in one of my IT courses I completed not on my blog). Therefore that may be why there are problems uploading and using it between different phones ( mainly Android & Iphones). The other problem is you have to have your Bluetooth switched on 24/7 for it to work. So like many people I don't ever have my bluetooth on because :
1. It is a security issue, in the past anyone who walked past you if they were close enough could actually "skim" all of your private information- all you had to do was intentionally or accidentally have your device's bluetooth on. The government is constantly insisting that downloading the COVIDSAFE App is secure and have advised Australians that they have had independent cybersecurity tests done on it however there have been a few IT experts that have come forward and argued against this.
2. The other problem with using Bluetooth for the app is Bluethooth from my past experience of using it (and I could be wrong) chews up a lot of you devices ( phones) power probably more then having Wi-Fi on. If the app can only work if everyone around you has down loaded it and if everyone has their Bluethooth on all the time then everyone's battery will be drained within a few hours.That's not good - what happens in an emergency and you can't contact anyone because your phone is out of power because your Bluetooth has been draining all the power?
So back to how the COVIDSAFE App is suppose to work - basically it collects data and notifies people.
Step by step this is how it should work
1. As many Australians download the COVIDSAFE App as possible ( it is voluntary not compulsory)
2. Those who have downloaded the App must keep their Bluetooth on so the App works
3. Upon downloading the COVIDSAFE App, registration "captures" your phone number when you enter it which will probably be stored in a database somewhere. At this point you are probably required to enter some basic details however the government's says it is all anonymous and names or other personal information such as your location ie where you reside pernanently is not recorded - questionable but moving on.....
4. When anyone who has the app and bluetooth on comes into contact with other people with the app and Bluethooth on all the phone numbers are "captured" into the Apps database. This where the problem is - what happens if the people around you that you may have been in contact with have contracted the virus and don't all have their Bluetooth on or if they haven't downloaded the App?
5. Somehow if someone you may have been in contact with have or is (are) showing symptoms of the virus goes and gets tested and/or is treated for it. Their phone number ( and only their phone number) is recorded onto the database and anyone that has the app downloaded and registered their phone number will be notified that they had been or may have been in contact with this infected person prompting them to either get tested or self isolate for 14 days - It's is therefore liken to sending an old fashioned chain letter or mail but digitized. Let's hope it's chain mail and not Chinese whispers!
So basically that's how it is suppose to work - it is a form of contact tracing. You can see why it will only work if everyone does downloads the app and everyone keeps their Bluetooth on and if everyone does it not just 40% of the Australian population. If you come in contact with a known or unknown person with Corona virus and they or you have either not downloaded the App or they have the App but the Bluetooth was not switched on or working - the chain is broken and neither party will know. It also takes time for results to reach people from the App so in that time more people could have contracted and spread the virus unknowingly.
I still think the best way to slow or even halt the spread of Corona virus was for everyone not just to wash their hands and practise good hygiene but from the very start for every single person as soon as they need to leave their home to wear a mask. More people that way would have been able to be out and about doing more everyday things - sure restricting non essential activities should still be enforced but not to the extent they are now and hence this would have resulted in less unemployment. This measure in conjunction with social distancing , no large group gatgerings and self isolation for 14 days if ill or returning from overseas as well as strict boarder security ie halting immigration, sending all non residents home, shutting our borders etc earlier would have worked to stop the CORONA virus faster. Its all about timing - the Australian government has done OK compared to the rest of the world but it could have done better if they had acted faster.
I hope I am making some sense as often my brain is thinking quicker then my hands.
In competition with the Australian government's COVIDSAFE App launched, a private company is trying to launch an app which is a little simpler which measures the safe social distancing of people which I think beeps as a warning if you come too close to someone or even spend too much time in contact with them. This more of a safe work app. Great idea - better then the tiktok video of a person shopping for groceries wearing a rather large 1.5 meter disk around her to practise social distancing!
Friday 8th May 2020
I slept in today a bit and the first thing I did was take out all my garbage. The bins except for the red general rubbish one were quite full. I think someone number 8 across from me has moved out as he was making so much noise yesterday all day and his car has gone which means there are not many people left in the apartment block - but then again it is never full there is always at least 3 units vacant in the block at any one time. Number 7 (studio) and number 5 (room only) on either side of me has been vacant for several months. Number 1B (studio) downstairs is still vacant as well and so is number 2 (room only) one of the longest vacant also downstairs.
I am sill jobless so I have resorted to blogging, looking at my huge collection of archived photos and videos and selecting videos to post as flashbacks on YouTube ( no Tiktok they are too long!). Please feel free to view them - I am sure you will find at least 1 flashback video I have uploaded onto YouTube from my huge archive of photos and videos that I have accumulated over the years interesting to watch!
I have some more bills to pay and I need to finish the 4th AI course by the end of today.
I also need to make another cake or sweet treat - I feel like apple pie or cake with a caramel sauce which means I'll just have to save that crumbled up chocolate biscuit crumb I made for another time unless I can incorporate it into an apple dessert.
I ended up making lamb shank for dinner and some for next few days. It's not my usual way I make lamb shank but again i am using what I have in my pantry and fridge. There is a new type of cut of lamb you can buy now and that's 4 lamb shank without the bones. Because my I have limited space this really helped me as the bones on lamb shank take up a lot of room in a pot and usually after I have cooked my lamb shank I usually take the meat off the bones before serving anyway. So into my lambshanks I added a tin of tomatos, a slosh of sweet alcoholic flavoured cider, a packet of French onion soup powder, freshly chopped onion & shallots, fried shallots, chilli flakes, bay leaves, ground pepper, chopped carrots, fresh basil leaves , bbq sauce, worchestershire sauce, some maple sugar, chopped celery, spinach and rocket leaves. I was going to add chopped mushrooms and Italian herbs as well but they would not fit into the lidded dish. It didn't need them anyway as the dish was already really tasty after cooking for 2 hours while I continued with my AI course online. Done - another Certificate of Achievement for Introduction to AI course completed - time to select some more IT related courses
I could not resist getting a few slices of bread and a little bit of cream cheese to dip into my lamb shank sauce. Yummy!. Usually I make lamb shank without any packets of flavour enhancers and with more vegetables.
The result of my lamb shank left overs cooling in a glass snaplock container ready to eat whenever I don't feel like cooking!
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