Monday 28th June - Tuesday 31st August 2021 Week 66 - 75 It's A Crime Scene Where I Live, Sydney In Lockdown Indefinitely , Total Umemployment During A Minimum 5 Week Lockdown Due To Myer Stores Closure , Termination Of My Lease, All My Leave Requested Back In January Wasted & Cancelled Making It A 3rd Winter Ski Season Missed

Monday 28th June 2021 Week 66 Of  Unemployment

Myer 8 am - 4 pm stock -  shift cancelled due to 1st day of a 2 week lockdown in Sydney.

Do nothing day -  stayed at home all day

Lucky I have enough food drink and toilet paper  supplies!

Tuesday 29th June 2021

Day off

Day 2 of 2 week lockdown in Sydney.

Another do nothing day - stayed at home all day.

Still enough supplies but I do need change for the laundry.

State borders are closing one by one. Only 2 states remain open to each other SA and TAS as they both have no cases of COVID but closed to all other states and the NT.

The AUS/NZ travel bubble has been suspended.

Total school holidays ruined for thousands of families around Australia as they are either stuck scrambling to get home or have abandoned their school holiday travel plans completely. Why is there always lockdown whenever any type of  holidays begin?

It's a cold wet miserable day outside with only patches of dry when it has stopped raining.

I am considering cancelling my leave request that I forwarded and was approved back in January 2021 for the 9th - 12th July inclusive. What's the point I can't go anywhere. It will just be a 3rd snow season missed.

Wednesday 30th June 2021

Day off

Day 3 of a 2 week lockdown

Last day of the 2020/2021 financial year. It's been such a long financial  year with a 2 week lockdown to end it.

What a miserable day today and I had to venture out to do some essential errands today when it starts to pour with rain.

The city of Sydney is covered in thick fog in the morning where ferry services have been temporarily cancelled.

Today I needed to travel to Chatswood to recycle my bottles, get change to do my laundry , refill my prescription, withdraw some funds and do some essential grocery shopping.

There was only one other person on the 144 bus to Chatswood. If I didn't have to recycle my bottles and withdraw some funds from a particular bank's ATM, I would have walked to Lane Cove instead to do my grocery shopping hence avoiding any crowds of people. Luckily Chatswood was not a ghost town but very quiet.

I started off returning my bottles, then onto withdrawing some funds followed by going to Priceline to refill my prescription ( instead of going to the largest Chemist Warehouse) . Next was onto Aldi and onto Coles Local. No toilet paper at Woolworths Metro and no toilet paper at Coles Local both at Chatswood ( That's why I would have preferred to have walked to Lane Cove to the new larger Coles & Aldi as well as the larger Woolworths). The shelves were empty of toilet paper but Aldi at Chatswood Westfield still had a good supply of toilet paper , paper towels and tissues.

On my way to Chemist Warehouse I spot the following sculptures of Koalas and Kangaroos located at Chatswood Concourse. What were they for? Chatswood Nights the sign advised - we're in a 2 week lockdown - no one should be wondering around Chatswoid at night except maybe the homeless and even they retreat into their possey each night around Chatswood to sleep! Photos below

Home on the 144 as soon as I finished all my errands and grocery shopping. No hanging around Chatswood not even  to consider using my Dine & Discover voucher to purchase $25 worth of KFC!

Thursday 1st July 2021

Myer 10 am - 4 pm original shift on the 18th June 2021 added to Kronos changed and shortened to 10 am - 3 pm  on 20th June 2021 then cancelled due to 2 week lockdown on 27th June 2021

First day of the new 2021/2022 financial year.

Day 4 of a 2 week lockdown

Sydney is still covered in a thick layer of fog.

Today would have been Princess Diana's 60th birthday. Headline news around the world is the unveiling of a statue of her in the Sunken Gardens by Prince William and Harry.

Local news is plastered in COVID news which nobody can escape. The first time since COVID first reared it's ugly head has news once again become depressing. There is nothing much on the news except COVID coverage and the country in lockdown again. The constant battering of COVID related news is enough to cause anyone to turn mad hence I try not to watch the news and watch the Food Channel instead. It's just so intense.

Friday 2nd July 2021

Day off

Day 5 of a 2 week lockdown.

I'm so bored but did not go out today. Again Sydney is covered in a thick blanket of fog for the 3rd day in a row.

The odd text to team member ticket girl. 

Watched so much tv but did a bit of cleaning of the apartment.

Some potential investors came to inspect the apartment block up for auction. Luckily they didn't need access to the a apartment I am living in.

The guy from apartment 1A downstairs was outside opening and closing the mail box then he went for a walk later on . A little weird. He takes the bins out on most Monday nights but has left the green bin  out on the footpath where it remains.

I did not end up using one of my Dine and Discover vouchers on $25 worth of KFC which I texted team member ticket girl I was thinking about doing. That's something team member "I want to be a team leader" would do.

I did redeem 2000 Flybuys points for $20 Flybuy dollars and banked them. Now I have some spare funds for fruit & vegetables at Coles , Myer One reward vouchers worth $35 for chocolates and bottles of water along with my $50 Dine and Discover vouchers for meals if I get desperate due to an extended lockdown leading to unemployment again.

Saturday 3rd July 2021

Myer 10 am - 6 pm original shift on 18th June 2021 added to Kronos changed  to 9.30 am - 5.30 pm  on 20th June 2021 cancelled due to 2 week lockdown on 27th June 2021.

Day 6 of a 2 week lockdown.

Message received from the team leader about the customer service manager from the Cosmetics last day on 8th July 2021. I knew when his last day was but due to lockdown it is a pity I could not be there to say farewell to him in person. Team member ticket girl and I had planned to get him a card at least but all that went out the window. He was one of our favourite managers so sweet. So I sent the team leader a text to pass onto him and texted team ticket girl that I had done so. 

My simple message read

"Could you please pass on the following message to ***. Thanks

Hi ***

Sorry I can't be there to say good bye in person. I wish you all the best for the future. You will always be a favourite manager.

******* "

Today I had to venture out and walked down to Lane Cove via The Canopy to get some more essential groceries.

First stop Woolworths where I only spent a total of 11 minutes with my grocery list including using a  manned checkout counter.

Next onto Coles where I spent 32 minutes at. 

I completed my shopping asap as I am extremely allergic to supermarkets. ( refer my previous blogs very pre COVID where I have to wear a mask otherwise I have coughing fit or some other allergy )

Whilst at Coles I grabbed a packet of Golden Gaytime Popcorn made by Marvels. This niche  product has been on  the market in the snack aisle of Coles supermarkets for a while now and ever since it was released I would pass by it, look at it, sometimes pick it up then put it back on several ocassions. "No I don't need it" I would keep saying to myself. Mainly because there are so many other more healthy snacks in the snack aisle ( excluding the refer my previous blog  retro Lolly Gobble Bliss Bombs which I only purchased once to see if they were the same as I remembered them in my childhood) . These Golden Gaytime Popcorn packets were rather expensive I thought at over $4 for a 100g packet i and a rather unhealthy sweet popcorn snack even compared to a packet of Lolly Gobble Bliss Bombs or a Cobs Cheddar Popcorn ( which I could eat bucket loads of as I love savoury flavoured popcorn - yes I am lactose intolerant but seem to be able to tolerate the Cobs cheddar popcorn to some degree possibly because it is processed powder cheese but maybe not bucket loads of it). So what did I think when I finally opened a packet of Golden Gaytime Popcorn which was on special for $3.50  a packet? Firstly it comes in 2 flavours original and chocolate. I chose chocolate because I don't like white chocolate. I rate it a 7/10. I probably would not buy it again as I didn't think it was that special unless I craved an ice cream without having to eat an ice cream. I am always on the hunt to find a lactose free alternative snack - imagine not having eaten an ice cream or dairy dessert in decades because you know you can't. Did it taste like a Golden Gaytime ice cream? Well sort of. It had the caramel the chocolate but I don't know about the crushed nuts. The first few pieces of popcorn did remind me of a special occasion Golden Gaytime I used to eat as a child but after a few pieces, that disappears and just becomes like all the other sweet popcorn brands on the market with chocolate  nuts and caramel drizzled over it. A packet of Golden Gaytime Popcorn at approximately  $4 a packet is probably equivalent to eating a real Golden Gaytime - stick to the real Golden Gaytime ice block if you can. It's just not the same without the crushed nuts and ice cream and better on your teeth and jaws Photo below.

 

Sunday 4th July 2021

Day off

Another beautiful day.

Well it's day 7 of a 2 week lockdown in Sydney and almost the end of the first week of lockdown. There is now doubt as to whether the 2 week lockdown will end on Friday coming. More likely to be extended. Oh great more weeks of unemployment. I should really cancel my leave request from 9th July - 12th inclusive - What is the point? I still can't go anywhere.

Well what do you know? 3 aged care residents who were fully vaccinated have tested positive to COVID and although asymptomatic were taken to hospital as a precaution. What does this mean? Is the vacine not actually working. I'm not anti vacination but question the push on everyone being vaccinated. I have not been vaccinated yet not because I don't want to be but given my servere allergies am one of the cluster of people who cannot get vaccinated due to a medical condition and therefore have to be very careful of what drugs are administered into my body which could cause a severe reaction. I am waiting for the apparently safer Pfizer vacine to become more readily available to those under 60 years old rather then risking getting the Astra Zenica vaccine which is known to cause blood clots. My family's medical conditions has also caused me to proceed with vaccination with caution. I often wonder if I got the Pfizer vacination now if my allergies will disappear as my body will reset itself due to having to concentrate on defending and fighting off  a new foreign virus inside my body. Just my theory. I will wait until I see the specialist to discuss.

Happy 4th of July to all my readers from the USA! 

Big news reported in Australia ( on our Monday) was how a fireworks display  in Maryland's went off by mistake before it was due to go off.  Other news via YouTube was in Florida the fireworks were cancelled due to a downpour of rain and of course hurricane Elsa ( not the Frozen one by the way).

Monday 5th July 2021 Week 67 Of Unemployment

Day 8 of a 2 week lockdown.

Another stay at home day.

It's another beautiful day.

Most of today was cleaning cooking and watching tv and YouTube.

I paid my rent for this week only and also the balance of my phone bill due for the month of July. At least I have a roof over my head and communications until an announcement is made as to whether the 2 week lock down will be extended beyond the end of this week.

It is payday again tomorrow night although I only have a days wages owing. If it's enough to pay another bill or so then I should be ok. 

I am hoping I qualify for the current lockdown supplement or some form of supplement eg unemployment benefits this week to cover a few larger bills. I also need to put aside some funds for my specialist appointment I have on Thursday which I confirmed via a reminder text message sent to me today.

Still wondering where and how I can get a COVID vacination locally as I DON'T want to queue for hours and travel for hours out to Olympic Park just to get a vaccine which is not a Pfizer one. What if I get a bad reaction to it and I am so far away from home?

Very doubtful the lockdown will end by the date specified as 2 more positive cases were found at the same aged care facility out at the Summit Aged Care Facility at Baulkham Hills and a stupid illegal footy party held as well as another illegal party held at a Meriton Serviced apartment complex out at Waterloo. Come on people -  so irresponsible - at least wear masks!

That is the problem not everyone is wearing a mask. Masks should be mandatory everywhere so everyone can just get on with their daily  business vaccinated or not and therefore it would not be neccessary for lockdowns!!!! Masks are proven to minimise the spread of this virus and the virus in Australia is not the deadly Delta but more common Alpha strain. Stop flights returning back to Australia and or get the quarantine facilities upto scratch and we would not have more lockdown. Nearly all states except NSW  and WA have recorded no new cases of COVID. Even WA only had 1 reported case and they are in hospital in isolation! Tasmania is the safest state to live in at the moment - no new cases for months - the news doesn't even bother to include them in the stats anymore!

Rubbish out & a batch of laundry dried and folded.

Sunday 4th July 2021 was also the beginning of NAIDOC week which runs until Sunday 11th July 2021. I love watching tv during NAIDOC week as you learn about the Australian indigenous culture. Usually there are interesting activities,  events and places of interest to go to but due to the stupid COVID lockdown in Sydney it's all a bit absent this year and Bastile Day celebrations will be the same ie postponed until August! It's just not the same!

Tuesday 6th July 2021

Day off.

Day 9 of a 2 week lockdown.

Another beautiful day but again I'm trying not to venture out. May go for a walk later.

Cleaning and cooking - I made a large chocolate slice/cake. It's a cross between a brownie and Anzac biscuit slice. It has dark chocolate chips, coconut, a mixture of seeds grains & nuts, cranberries, candied mixed peel , glace cherries figs,  raisins , tropical fruit pieces, rolled oats, bran, maple sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla paste and loads of other stuff that's good for you except the self raising flour,  icing sugar ( I didn't have any Manuka honey, maple syrup,  molasses ,  treacle or brown sugar) and unsalted butter! No eggs in this recipe but there is a small amount of bi carb as the raising agent.

I did not end up going for a walk today.

A lot of tv YouTube and sleep. I did start my tax return though.

This is an example of how bored I am during this lockdown with no work and not wanting to go out, I went back and looked at a blog I posted back on September 25th 2016 - yep that long ago which contained 2 QR codes I created for an online course back then ( don't ask me how  to create a QR code now as I would have no idea) and decided to scan them now that software for scanning QR codes have become much more sophisticated due to the resurgence in the use of QR codes for checking in and out of locations during COVID for contact tracing purposes. Back in 2016, the theory was that QR codes were becoming obsolete and were being replaced by some other form of  identification or was that CAPTCHA? How wrong that prediction was. Both are still in use in 2021. I even forgot what information I had stored on these QR codes. Did any of my readers actually scan my QR codes with sucess to find out???? If any readers are interested refer my blog dated above scan and there will be a message I wrote within that QR code for readers of my blog. Ignore the second QR code unless you understand binary numbers.

Wednesday 7th July 2021

Day off.

It's a bit of a dull day outside today.

Day 10 of a 2 week lockdown.

Today is D Day  at 11 am where Sydney finds out if this 2 week lockdown will be extended. Who cares I know it will anyway. So much for my leave request that I asked for back in January starting this Friday - totally wasted as I can't go anywhere except to the dermatologist tomorrow!

Today I updated my job active account online where I applied for 4 job searches which fulfills my monthly mutual agreements with 20 days to spare. 

I was right BREAKING NEWS  the 2 week lockdown has been extended until 16th July 2021 ie one more week!!!! :(  +  (a very angry face emoji)

Why are Myer team members still being asked if they have completed their The Way Myer Works refresher course? I think team members have more important things to worry about then being harassed about this. We are not being paid to complete these courses outside of working hours. 

After texting team member ticket girl and telling her How I'm going bonkers during lockdown and asking her what she was doing, I went for a walk like she was planning to do. I walked down to Lane Cove shops again via The Canopy.

I spent 12 minutes again in Aldi and could not wait to get out of that supermarket and about 30 minutes in the Coles supermarket as the queues were a little longer before waddling home with 2 over filled cloth shopping bags full of groceries. Some items I could not obtain due to being unavailable or did not fit into my 2 shopping bags.

A bit of tv ( news) and the food channel ( I fell asleep) .

End of another day in lockdown.

Thursday 8th July 2021

Day 11 of now a 3 week lockdown!

I had my dermatologist appointment today at 1.15 pm finally after over a month wait!. It lasted 15 minutes cost me $265 and was almost a total waste of time.  The so called dermatologist wasn't really interested in what I had to say or my theories. The first treatment he sort of pushed was a very recent treatment for moderate to severe eczema which involved injections that have been FDA approved however only recently approved  by the TGA. I was told about this by a team member from Benefit brow bar as her friend was trailing it. I was not keen and rejected it because 1. there are many side effects particularly cold sores and pink eye to name a few listed which I already get mainly due to allergens at work and treat with eye drops 2. it is only  proven effective in 60% of eczema cases - so what about the other 40% - unconvinced it will work for me and 3 . the cost if you are not subsidized $20000 per course of treatment otherwise if you pass all the tests required $45 per month for the injections if aporoved for a government subsidy. 4. Multiple injections per month - no thanks . 

I was told that whatever is in the injections had no effect on the liver lungs kidneys or heart but it did on the eyes. I don't have the time for this type of treatment and I don't have the funds. What if I get permanent side effects from it or if it does not work and I don't qualify for a subsidy - it would have been $20000 down the drain and a total waste. Today's session was a total waste of my $265 especially in lockdown when I'm out of  work for 3 weeks at least.

So there was the discussion of other treatments including oral medication which he did not recommend and then there was the UV light treatment which I knew about and which he pointed out could run the risk of skin cancer. Yep I have seen someone have the treatment and he looked worse after the treatment so that was another no thanks. 

The final option was cortesone and non cortesone creams and ointments alternating 2 weeks on 2 weeks off. OK I can put up with another $300 worth of ongoing prescriptions again ( I'll find the funds somewhere). It's not a cure - there is no cure for my heredity  condition only maintenance of it. The older I get the worse it becomes.

Every theory or treatment I gave him was shot down. When I told him about how I was taking omega 3 capsules which are anti inflammatory as a doctor had recommended it and studies had been done in Scandinavia on it's effectiveness  and how it worked - the dermatologist  was unconvinced. 

He asked me if I had any respiratory ailments I advised him that since wearing a mask I no longer had coughing fits however my ailments were going to my skin. I think he was a little surprised about that too.

The crunch came when I asked about the COVID vaccination and he shot that down again and did not seem to understand what I was asking about it. He said it was fine for me to go ahead and get it as there has not been any adverse reactions from patients with ezcema getting it and if there were it would been written about in the medical journals and he would have read about and be aware of them . That wasn't exactly what I was asking about the COVID vaccine. 

What I was asking was a theory I had. I read that viruses and infections are triggers for eczema - this maybe so but my theory was I noticed that my eczema used to clear up or disappear altogether whenever I was sick especially when I had chicken pox, measles or mumps as a child. If this is the case then if I got the COVID vaccine my body could either produce a defence to fight the COVID virus introduced into my body off hence stop trying to fight off the existing ezcema invading my body or cause an extreme allergic reaction. I would like to think my body's immune  system would stop fighting off or triggering ( whatever it is trying to do) my ezcema and concentrate on starting to produce antibodies to fight off the COVID virus hence rebalancing my immune system which is way out of balance according to the dermatologist. I hope my theory is completely wrong as this is what the $20000 series of injections seems like it is suppose to do but with more side effects.

Onto another subject that happened today. It was the last day at Myer for the customer service manager located downstairs in Cosmetics. 6.5 years at Myer is a long time to be at Myer. He decided that it was time for him to move on. He was one of the better managers and a favourite. It's a pity that this stupid lockdown meant that we could not say good bye to him in person but we sent our good byes via the What's App Group Chat this afternoon.

Friday 9th July 2021

Day 12 of a now 3 week lockdown. 

It's another essential grocery shopping day today. Another trip down to The Canopy @ Lane Cove. A 12 minute shop inside Aldi followed by a very short shop at Coles. A hardly filled shopping bag means with only 3 items it's now time to walk home. I contemplated buying a wheelie duffle bag whilst shopping at Aldi the previous shop. There were only 3 left and they were on sale but decided not to at the last minute. I need to conserve my funds since we don't know how long we will be in lockdown for and therefore  how long I will be out of work for. It is very likely parts of NSW including Greater Sydney Central Coast Blue Mts Wollongong and the South Coast will be in lockdown much longer then the extended 3 weeks. For God's sake I wish the State Government would get their shit together! We are the only state in lockdown all other states have opened up to each other with only limited restrictions. It's ruined not only my holidays (which I requested back in January ie 6 months in advance) where I now can't go anywhere but countless other familys' school holidays. Every single time!!!!

I submitted my Centrelink fortnightly income reporting first thing today and rang Medicare to link my account up to the mygov website - I had to ring twice again to try and get through and after 10 minutes on hold gave up and rang Medicare again. Finally got through to speak to someone. I should not have so many problems linking my account online. I updated my details over the phone and explained how I was still getting different error messages trying to link my Medicare account online even with the new card issued and after speaking to a Medicare officer over the phone on Thursday. I made sure my account details were correct as I want whatever miniscule refund I get back from my dermatologist appointment I had to pay for up front on Thursday. I also received a linking code which I  entered onto my Mygov account and finally linked my Medicare number sucessfully online. Why is it so difficult to access government services? It's ok once you set accounts up and nothing changes however as soon as an account expires and requires renewal or you need to amend a piece of personal information the systems crash asnd can't handle it. I didn't want to give any of my personal information out especially to Government organisations as you all know what happens to all your personal information once the government gets their hands on it! So I try to give the minimal amount of information out and I have a bit of a trick to minimise ID fraud which I have been through and never want to go through again as it took me over a decade to clear up.

Texted team member ticket girl again to ask when we get our end of financial year PAYG statements as I have to do my tax return . It is still not showing on WSS when I checked. Deadline is 14th July 2021. Myer is cutting it very fine to get these out. The financial systems should be ready to get them out as soon as it is the 1st July but then again who knows what Myer does and how old their financial/technology systems are!!!!!!

It was the last day of sun yesterday before the rain set in again. It always starts to rain when I decide to venture out . Rain is definitely not good for my allergies.

One of the reasons I had to venture out today in the rain was to get change for laundry again. I was up late tonight to wash and dry 2 full loads of laundry. There is nothing better then taking out a fresh set of bedding that is still hot out of a dryer and putting it straight onto your bed ready to fall asleep on with a nice cosy quilt over you to snuggle up in on a cold wet winter night. Best sleep ever.

Saturday  10th July 2021

Day 13 of a 3 week lockdown.

TV & sleep all day today. It's really cold wet and miserable outside.

A lot of eating too.

Nothing to report. Can't even remember what day it is anymore. So bored I did a few more puzzles out of my puzzle book.

Sunday 11th July 2021

Day 14 of a 3 week lockdown.

Last day of NAIDOC week. Since we can't go out to any activities or celebrations, I have been watching The Cook Up with Adam Liaw where each weeknight night during NAIDOC week he he invites 2 special indigenous guests onto his show to cook up a dish and for some banter. Well know Indigenous chef Mark Olive was one of them. he has always been a favourite chef of mine because he uses a lot of Australians native ingredients.

The sun has come out today but I do not feel like getting out of bed.

News is pretty pessimistic that lockdown could now become indefinite in Greater Sydney and other parts of NSW as mentioned in my previous blog.

I am getting a bit sick of watching the daily news which is headlining nothing else except depressing COVID news.

But later today the breaking news was Ash Barty winning the women's singles final and Dylan Alcott winning  the men's wheelchair finals at Wimboledon. Go Australia. All the attention was on Ash Batty as only the 3rd Australian to win the women's singles final at Wimboledon and after 40 years the 2nd indigenous Australian to win where Yvonne Goolagong Cawley was the last indigenous Australian to win back in 1980. What great breaking news to end NAIDOC week in Australia. Next the focus is on the Olympics.

Speaking of NAIDOC , I wanted to watch something on NITV at 8.30 pm tonight and because there was nothing else on tv which was interesting, not repeats or related to COVID. I watched the program before it on NITV called "Robbie Hood" - loved it. I am unsure if this was an old film but there is just something about Australian made films that no other country has but is something that films at the CANNES Film festival do have. 

The program I watched at 8.30 pm was called "History Bites Back". So much I didn't know about Australian Aboriginal history. 

Monday 12th July 2021 Week 68 Of Unemployment

What are we in now? Day 15 of a 3 year  I meant  ( sorry typo ) week lockdown.

More depressing COVID news and it looks like at 11 am the 3 week lockdown in NSW will be announced as indefinite.

Other news Italy verses England at Euro 2020 final - Italy wins . Loads of footage in Lygon St Melbourne and in Europe of huge crowds of Italians  celebrating - forget social distancing and COVID - meanwhile in Sydney we can't even leave our homes.

Other news Richard Branson has a sucessful first flight into space on board a Virgin "commercial"  spaceship. Technically he went into space by US standards but not international standards where distances vary. He beat his other 2 billionaire first to travel into space rivals by a few weeks.

Nice day but I did not venture out again.

 

Tuesday 13th July 2021

What day of lockdown is it now? Day 16 of a 3 week lockdown. 

Well It's almost confirmed that this lockdown will go on for more then 3 weeks and very likely to be another month on top of the 3 week lockdown at least. 

So depressing. 

At this stage it is very likely I will have to cancel my tax agent appointment I made so far in advance on the 20th July 2021 until at least August because there was a whole apartment block in Bondi overnight that had a serious outbreak of COVID and also because I still have not received all of my tax statements. I can't lodge a tax return without all my tax documents. 

I am running out of groceries again but am too scared to leave the apartment to get any. I can't afford to get home delivery because I had to use my entire final pay before being stood down near the beginning of lockdown on that waste of time dermatogolist appointment!!!

Wednesday 14th July 2021

Day 17 of a now 5 week lockdown

So depressing , just announced by the premier of NSW today lockdown has been extended another 2 weeks ie until 30th July 2021. This makes the lockdown now 5 weeks  instead of 3 weeks! How am I going to survive?

I am now switching off the newsbreak. I need to  cancel my tax agent appointment on the 20th July 2021 which I had made ages ago in advance.

I ventured out for about 30 minutes tonight to post my letter of inquiry to Centrelink regarding lockdown wage subsidy & to post my letter to the aged care resident I have been writing to before heading to the KFC up the road where I spent my first Dine and Discover voucher. When you order online there is a surcharge whereas if you just show up and order there is no surchage so I only spent  approximately $23 of the $25 voucher - damn it that's an extra 2 dipping sauces I could have included in my order! My order online totalled over $25 so I had my card ready to pay the small amount over the $25 but found that I actually did not need it. 

So what did I buy at KFC with my $25 Dine and Discover voucher?

1. 10 piece tenders $10

2. large slaw with jalapeno mayo & corn chips $5.95

3. large mash potato & gravy $5.95

4. a small bottle of orange juice $3.15

5. almost 4 x dipping sauces ( which I did not include ) @ $0.50 each $2

I will never eat KFC again it was horrible. The chicken tenders looked like real chicken but it was so salty and where were the secret herbs and spices?

The slaw was wilted and warm and I had to toss most of it after just a forkful.

The gravy and mash potato was the most edible thing although it was so white I think icing whitener has been put in it ie titanium dioxide ( you know the stuff that's in sunscreen?)

And the orange juice well was that reconstituted ? I drank it and it wasn't full of sugar and I will recycle the bottle. 

A whole stack of servettes were thrown into the bag and red plastic spoons but bamboo forks and knives? what the?? 

I was made to scan the QR code to check in but the code was covered with a large stack of coupons. I waited until there was no one in the restaurant before entering and people were doing the right thing masks on like me and one person picking up their order only and waiting outside instead of inside. I managed to check in but the time I was in the restaurant was too short for me to check out on the Service NSW app. I was only in there for about 2 minutes. The order pickup was so quick even when staff could not understand what I ordered and chucked everything they could find into the large KFC paper bag!

That's right chuck it all in with a truck load of wet and dry servettes, 2  red plastic spoons and  only 1 bamboo fork and knife!

Gee thanks for squashing the perfectly crumbed but rather salty pieces of chicken in a box with the slaw no wonder it was warm instead of cold!

I didn't get why the boxes all had Merry Christmas on them. I thought KFC was using up their excess Christmas stock from 2020 - cost cutting recycling etc until I saw the advertisement promoting a KFC Christmas In July feast.

jalapeno slaw with corn chips warm and totally inedible

large tub of mash potato & gravy - tasted much better then it looks

Now onto something a little more concerning.

After taking a very short walk up the road to post my letter of inquiry to Centrelink and a letter to the aged care resident I have been writing to, I return back to the apartment with my "dinner" from KFC but after dinner around 7 pm I am watching tv and a fire truck followed by a police vehicle  and later an ambulance arrive outside the apartment block. What's going on? 

The front of the apartment block is tapped off with police tape and there is a car I had not seen before parked outside Unit 1A downstairs. 

I hear the fire brigade getting equipment out of their fire truck and it sounds like they are trying to break into something. The police are around for a very long time interviewing people . They do not leave until 10 pm . Then there is a van that arrives with forensic service personnel afterwards and they are still here and it's almost 11 pm.

I was unsure whether I should go downstairs to find out what was happening or not. I didn't have to,  the police rang the property management company and they gave the police my number. They were flashing the lights on their patrol van to get my attention from outside my window but I thought it was just passing traffic causing the glaring white lights. They called my number and wanted to have a talk to me. I was in bed and had my PJ's on and needed to go to the bathroom as well as grab my keys phone and the warmest jacket I could find as it was freezing outside. I went downstairs to talk to the police who asked me a series of questions such as if I had seen anyone suspicious around the property. No. I had not. Any vehicles parked outside in the front carpark. No. If I saw anything unusual. No. However I heard unusual sounds recently a thumping sound between 3 am and 6 am in the morning as if someone had fallen out of bed . Did the guy in Unit 1A drink? I said yes ( because I spotted  him recently from my window checking the mailbox with a drink or two with him) but I would hear the sound of emptying bags of bottles and cans early in the morning  prior to or on rubbish bin collection day ( Tuesday morning) and it did not sound like the little old men and women that go around rummaging through garbage bins in search of bottles and cans to be taken to the nearest return and earn centres. After asking other questions such as how long I had been living here I responded with 2 years however the guy in Unit 1A has been living here much longer then me and he used to live across from me on the 2nd floor. He was such a nice guy too especially when he helped that poor lady whose car spun out of control one night a while ago and almost smashed into his unit downstairs. After a series of questions and me advising them how I would check to ensure that he was still living in the unit and had not moved out by looking at whether the bins had been taken out, his boots were left outside and the lights were on in his bathroom and bleach bottles were still present on the small bathroom window sill seen from outside, I was free to go.

I should have noticed something was not quite right as the red bin had not been put back into the dumpster area and left on the curb with it's lid off and the blue paper bin and yellow glass bin were placed behind the front brick wall in the parking area and not put back into the dumpster area as they usually are after bin collection day. Sometimes he does this and moves them all back later. I didn't think anything of the red bin still on the curb for longer then usual as there was a green bin left out on the curb with it's lid open for 2 weeks but it was not ours because I checked the dumpster area and ours was upsidedown unused in the dumpster area. That's why I thought the red bin may be still on the curb until I checked as I took my walk down to the post box today.

The police told me that the guy in unit 1A had passed away and that if I remembered anything else out of the ordinary to let the police at Chatswood Station know.

After returning to my unit I think the shock actually became reality. The apartment block may not have been taped off due to a COVID scare but it was now a crime scene and after the firebrigade broke down the door and left, the police had done their investigation and interviews and the ambulance had possibly taken the body away ( I did not see this and did not want to see it) , the forensic services moved in and it's now Thursday morning and they are still here. I just could not sleep.

When the property management company called me she was more interested in issuing a 30 day lease termination notice then anything else. She seemed concerned about my welfare though and to let her know if I needed anything. Yes I do I wanted to continue living here indefinitely but I didn't tell her this.

I am still thinking about what may have led to his passing. He wasn't that old but did look a little unkempt the last time I spotted him with a drink and checking the mail box. He had aged a bit too. Did he die from alcohol poisoning? A medical episode? Depression and/or self harm? Did COVID & lockdown contribute to his death? It's just a bit of a co incidence that the auction date for the block of units is tomorrow ( the police pointed this out to me) and his untimely death. 

I can't sleep at all. I need to talk to someone. Texting ticket girl  about what happened did not help.

Thursday  15th July 2021

Day 18 of a now 5 week lockdown.

I hardly got any sleep last night. Around 5 am this morning the police are back downstairs out the front. The apartment block is still a "crime scene". The police tape is still condoning the front driveway. I did not leave my apartment.

Police tape barricading the front of the building. Apologies for the poor photo.

Friday 16th July 2021

Day 19th of a now 5 week lockdown.

The police are still present. There is a police car at the front of the apartment nearly 24 hours a day.

Today there was a tow truck that towed away a silver car and people walking past the apartment are starting to stare or ask questions.

I thought I heard someone ask what are you guarding? Well it's not COVID as I haven't been out anywhere not even to empty my trash which is full and needs to be emptied soon.

Yesterday I almost completed my tax return but still haven't heard from my tax take agent. Another thing I have to worry about. No he got back to me with an OK by email. 

Onto what's happening with the crime scene. Day 3 and it's 1.45 pm . The forensics services and final police "guards"  have now gone, the police tape has all been removed, the 2 inspectors (I assume they were) have come and gone this morning and the fire brigade had returned probably to lock up what they had to unlock with their tools however they were a little quieter this time. Yesterday or early this morning the police took photos of the crime scene including the front entrance and I finally took out my rubbish and placed them in the correct bins. However they really finger printed the front door! I dare not touch the outside of it as it is covered top to bottom in a white film of something! Was I scared of what I might find in the red bin? A little but it was empty except for a whole lot of the blue and white police tape that had been used to cordon off the property.

It's now time to seriously finalise my tax return to lodge to my tax agent, transfer some funds to pay off a credit card debit and most importantly look for a new place to live. Yep I have to start packing too. I know a lot of my stuff has to be given away or thrown out as it's past it's useful life including my mattress although that's nowhere near the end of it's useful life just before I have to leave.

I need to do my laundry too  so need some laundry money again and clean the apartment which is just out of control again. Stuff everywhere and I haven't gone out for 2 days. 

I am now the only resident in the entire apartment block. Alone. What if  the guy from unit 1A 's spirit comes back to haunt me?

I have been texting team member ticket girl so at least I am in contact with someone.

I just wish the lockdown would end. I need to go to the post office but what if I pick up COVID? It's spreading like wildfire, you can't even go to the supermarket or pharmacy without a chance of not contracting it!

A short time after the police departed the property, the sign removalists came and took down the very large auction sign outside the building. The auction is over and there is now a new owner ( I assume). The auction was not on site thank goodness. Not a good look to a potential buyer when the property they are bidding for is a crime scene surrounded by police. Next the 2 for lease signs will be removed in less then a months time when  I have to leave.

I already applied for one rental property down the road but it was already rented. Either that or they are not accepting any new applications due to the risk of COVID spreading.

I didn't venture out again today instead I ordered my subscription renewal of MS Office 365 by ringing JB HI in Chatswood who sent me a text with a link to open which had the product I wanted already displayed on screen and all I had to do was fill in the details for billing and payment then I received the product key via my email address. Simple quick and almost easy. Done and loaded onto my tablet to continue my tax return.

I fell asleep - it is the first night I am alone in the apartment block without any other residents. I did feel a little uneasy. Very uneasy especially now the police have all gone.

Saturday 17th July 2021

Day 20 of a now 5 week lockdown

Sent a text message to one of my friends who is a senior citizen to check up on how she is during lock down. She seems fine about to have her 2nd vaccination on Tuesday and going about her life with shopping once a week and exercise a few times a week.

It's almost 2 pm and a car has pulled up and parked outside apartment  1A downstairs later that night. I stick my head out the window and the red bin has been wheeled away by someone. I did not see who they are.

I hope it is one of the deceased guy's relatives coming to pick up or throw out his personal belongings and not someone suspicious. 

They drove away really quickly and wheeled the red bin back into place before I even got a chance to look at the car driving off. This really made me feel uneasy. 

I sent an email to the property manager about whether it was just her ( not likely as it is really late at night) or where she knew anything about it. 

Sunday 18th July 2021

Day 21 of a now 5 week lockdown.

I was up around 5 am and heard someone going through the yellow bin that is still in front behind the wall and that I have not touched since I took out my rubbish yesterday morning. It's only a elderly man or woman going from bin to bin scrounging for bottles and cans to recycle using the return and earn scheme where they get 10 cents per eligible bottle or can returned to be recycled. Well they eon't find anything today. The blue bin is empty and will remain empty from now on. They didn't even put the blue bin back the right way round.

Then I saw something strange much later in the morning. I am keeping a close eye on who is going through the 4 bins and at 

8.35 am this morning I thought I heard someone rummaging through the bins again and caught an old man with grey hair tied up in a short pigtail or a bun in a dark grey coat who had gone through the red bin and removed the police tape from it and continued to walk away with it in his hand down Pacific Highway towards  St Leonard's. I did not see his face at all and just caught the back of him as he left. He must have known what was in the red bin as all it had in it was a the discarded police tape and my large bag of rubbish on top of it - at least I hope that was all that was in the bin as I haven't gone down to the bin since I there out my rubbish Saturday morning. I'm actually a little scared to in case I find something I don't want to see in it. I texted team member ticket girl and told her about it and whether I should call the police. I am unsure if I should.

10.30 am and a car drives in to the front carpark and the back boot is open. I guess the deceased man's relative or friend has come to collect the remaining belongs from apartment 1A. This looks legitimate as the boot of the car has a stack of cloths still on coat hangers which would have been hanging in the wardrobe. Before I know it the car has disappeared off the property.

I'm observing all this from my window as I am having a severe allergic reaction on my face which had gone red and hot with a rash and have just taken an antihistamine. Maybe I need to get out into the sunshine as I haven't been out since the night I went for KFC.

Later in re afternoon after my rash calmed down a little I took my shopping list and bag with me and dragged myself outside to take a  walk down to the Westpac ATM to withdraw some funds to get change so I could do my laundry as it had piled up again. It did not matter if I didn't go shopping as I still had enough emergency supplies in my pantry to get me through the rest of lockdown I estimate so I don't need to hoard the toilet paper like others are thst do. ( if you recall I didn't have to right at the beginning of the pandemic either). 

As I was leaving out the front door a nosey neighbour from the hotel next door who claimed that he does live there but only staying there when I asked and advising us to keep our social distance as we never know who has COVID  , stops to ask me about - well you know the crime scene. He was the one who initiated the conversation. I only know that the guy living in Unit 1A passed away because the police told me nothing more . It still suspect that he died of unnatural causes. The nosey neighbour asks me if someone tried to set fire to their apartment. His comment took me by surprise. How on earth did he deduce this? Just because the fire brigade follows by the police and the ambulance turn up at a property, it does not mean there is a fire. I assume he didn't see the forensic services show up and the police guarding the property after the initial interviews and investigation for 3 days. I advised him that somebody did not set to set fire to the apartment ( that was probably the smoke detector going off randomly late in my apartment again!) and that they had passed away and that the police had advised me. He then started asking me about whether the guy took his own life and rambling on about how COVID was causing people to go crazy and how crime has increased as a result. I asked him if he saw a man walk past with a bundle of police tape he had taken out of the red bin the police had dumped into it. His response was no and insisted that the police should not have dumped the police tape in the rubbish bin as they don't usually do that. I could not answer him about how the guy living in unit 1 A passed away as I did not know the answer myself and I didn't really want to talk to him so started to turn my back on him and start walking towards Lane Cove. He was heading in the same direction but as soon as our brief conversation ended he turned back and returned to the hotel I assume to report what he had found out. Not much to report as I didn't even know what happened to cause the guy in unit 1A to pass away.

I continue walking to Lane Cove with my first stop as planned the Westpac ATM to withdraw some cash. I withdraw $50. I hate how you can't pick the denomination of your cash withdrawals , I get a $50 note. Now I have to try and find somewhere I can get change for the laundry. I just wish the laundry accepted other forms of payment besides $1 & $2 coins!

So my first stop and second stop was Priceline and Woolworths. I stand outside the Priceline and hesitate to go inside. I wait until it is empty of customers before scanning the QR code and grabbing the moisturiser I needed on my shopping list and making my way to the checkout counter. I then try to check out on the Service NSW app but because I was only in there for a minute I could not check out so waited until I could. Done. I hesitate again at the top entrance of Woolworths and decide to abandon my plans to shop there eventhough there were items on my shopping list that only Woolworths sold. 

I then make my way to the Coles. I did not even bother going to Aldi. I again hesitated for a while before scanning the QR code and entering. I hate supermarkets. Again I did not take my time browsing. I was going from aisle to asile grabbing anything I could see that was on my shopping list. Done off to the checkout counter and because I spent over budget, I had to use the $20 emergency fly buy $s I had then paid the balance of approximately half on debit card and half in cash. With the change from the cash I asked if I could have it in coins. I was having trouble keeping my cucumber and grapes from falling off the conveyer belt and had to pick them up. I apologised to the customer behind me and dumped everything I just purchased into my Coles trolley. Meanwhile the grapes were still escaping out of the trolley. I just picked tgem up and packed everything into my string shopping bag outside of Coles after checking out again in the foyer above the carpark which is partially openaired. It was a walk straight home with a bag full of groceries again. As I walked along the pacific Highway I noticed that most of the buses were empty. I am not surprised. Everyone was walking everywhere instead of catching the bus in fear of contracting COVID's deadly Delta strain.

I continued to do my tax return and keep an eye on the bins. I fell asleep but could not sleep very well. No more suspicious activity around the bins outside except a walker did lift the red bin to put a piece of rubbish he was carrying into it. Fare enough there were quite a few runners joggers and walkers around over the weekend enjoying the good weather . I hope the public know it is trespassing on private property by rummaging through the bins within that private property. 

Monday 19th July 2021 Week 69 Of Unemployment

Day 22 of a now 5 week lockdown.

So much to do today.

Laundry, tax return, empty my rubbish etc. Yes It's rubbish collection day tomorrow. I am still scared to take the red bin out as I fear what I will find inside it. I do have to empty my rubbish but maybe just put the bin out every 2 weeks not every week. Can't think about this now.

I spent today doing my laundry in between trying to complete my tax return  which is still not quite finished.

Gee it takes forever to dry clothes!

Laundry done I made myself some food. Running low on protein but still quite a bit of fruit and veg left.

I watch the depressing daily news and try to switch off preferring to watch YouTube channels on various topics and the food channel.

No passers by caught rummaging through the red bin today. although I did spot the car drive into the property again briefly today to pick up yet another batch of belongings of the deceased guy from  Unit 1A.

It's not even 10 pm and for a city in lockdown there sure is a lot of traffic along the highway. It's so noisy outside as motor vehicles swish by.

It's really cold and I can't sleep. May have to watch the food channel. 

Tuesday 20th July 2021

What day of lockdown is it Now? Day 23 of a now 5 week lockdown

Today I must submit my tax return to my tax agent.

It is a relatively dry day today although the sun has not come out in full yet.

I did not put any of the bins out for rubbish collection day this morning. I don't even think the garnish came early this morning to empty the bins. I was up at 5 am and did not hear them come by. I did hear  someone rummaging through the yellow bin again looking for cans and bottles to recycle - they didn't find any and quickly moved on to the next bin!

Still trying to complete my 2020/2021 tax return. I've hit another hurdle.

Taking a break I needed a tissue so I pulled out a box of tissues I still had from the original lockdown . There was no toliet paper and plain boxes of tisdues were  difficult to find so I just grabed whatever was available and below is the box of tissues. I do have a stash of other plain tisdues but I know I will never use these because they are frangipani scented with vitamin e and I don't like scented tissues because they aren't good for my allergies. They will make the bin smell nice though. Are these tissues even still available?

Rent paid just one week at a time now, I forward by email my tax return. I get a response back from my tax agent to review the tax return and sign it when satisfied with it. Attached in the email  is a tax invoice for $160. 

I try to sleep early and it's a rough night. I'm scratching all over my body, my skin is really dry so I don't have s good night sleep. I take an antihistamine a nd manaager to fall asleep. Since we went into lockdown my eczema and alkergies hsve become 200% worse. Forget contracting COVID, I think I am suffering more from  not being free to travel and 3 seasons without snow is just unbearable on my body!

Wednesday 21st July 2021

Day 24 of a now 5 week lockdown.

Wow most exciting news of today for QLD. At 6.30 pm Sydney time,  Brisbane was announced by the IOC in Tokyo to be the next host city of the 138th Olympics in 2032! Congratulations QLD you are not in lockdown like NSW VIC and SA and you win the bid for the 2032 Olympics! So crowds are gathered to celebrate including a fireworks display. ﹰWhat wiuld have happened if Brisbane actually didn't actually win the bid? Nah they already knew they got it, it was just a matter of making it official  tonight! It's difficult to think that we are still in the midst of a lockdown here in Australia. This makes Brisbane the 3rd city to host the Olympics after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000. What!? Brisbane knew they were the preferred candidate for the Olympic games since February????!!!!

Thursday 22nd July 2021

Day 25 of a now 5 week lockdown

Oh dear it sounds like our lockdown in NSW may last until September 2021! I hope not.

Well the Tokyo 2020 Olympics have actually commenced. The opening ceremony is not offically on until 8.30 pm Friday night ( Sydney time) but some sports such as football and softball games have already commenced due to the length of their competitions.

I didn't do much today except sleep. I'm running out of supplies and have already started eating away into my non perishable pantry supplies.

I just don't want to go out and purchase essential groceries because I fear contracting COVID, I don't want to purchase any excess groceries as I am likely to have to move within the next month and I am trying to reserve my funds in my bank account  to pay any essential bills like rent electronically until I can access my emergency funds.

I still have to recheck my tax return because the first draft my tax agent sent to me was missing some information I sent to him. I had to question where he included some shares in my income and my income protection in my deductions as provided to him. I also questioned my expenses in relation to cancelled and postponed trade shows which were prepaid in the 2020/2021 FY but now going ahead until the 2021/2022 FY.

Could not be bothered to do so and watched tv YouTube ate and slept all day instead. I started packing stuff away as well but have a long way to go. I did not venture out eventhough it is  a nice day.

Just making a note at this point in my blog and I meant to make a note back at the end of June 2021 - I noticed that my blog has not crashed once since I stopped writing about my daily life working at Myer!Coincidence? or Is Big Brother watching everything I write on my blog?

Friday 23rd July 2021

Day 26 of a now 5 week lockdown.

It's not a very nice day today. It's a mix of sunshine and dark clouds. There is a chance of possible showers today.

Today first thing this morning I made sure I submitted my fortnightly income reporting to Centrelink on their  website online with zero income and zero hours worked at Myer for the entire fortnight due to the lockdown. This is particularly important as I have not applied for the current COVID lockdown government income subsidy of $600 per week for each week over the first 2 weeks an employee is stood down due to the lockdown. I did write to Centrelink in Canberra about this but have not heard back from them since. It's been a while now.

Next I have to again review my amended tax return sent to be from my tax agent . I am hoping it is correct this time round so I can sign and return it. He is not getting payment until next week this time round as he was the one who made the mistakes.

I am interrupted by a truck pulling into the driveway. It reverses into the front parking area next to Unit 1A. Is it here to pick up the remaining furniture in the apartment? Surely there isn't that much except maybe an old chunky couch ( which I know thery guy owned as I saw it being moved out of the top apartment down to the bott om apartment struggling to fit through the narrow hall way and needed the help of a buddy to move) and bed and maybe a desk. Everything else is supplied by the property management company. That was a quick trip. Yep there was definitely that old couch, some chairs and a few other things on the back of the truck which looked like the old truck the guy used to drive to and from his work. Such a mystery about the guy who lived and dued in unit 1A. 

Tax return reviewed and lodged. My tax agent wasn't too concerned about when he will be paid. I will pay him next Tuesday because I am trying to conserve funds needed for electronic payments. Sometimes cash is not king such as in lockdown situations!

I really should get out for a walk - at least take my rubbish out and my bottles are building up for recycling.

I did not even take my rubbish out today. I have lost count of when I last set foot outside now.

I watched the entire opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics which started at 8.30 pm and did not finish until 1 am Saturday morning. It was really respectful but sad in that hardly anyone could see it live.

Sleep by 1.30 am. It is a rather cold morning.

Saturday 24th July 2021

Day 27 of a now 5 week lockdown

Burr it's a cold morning. I sleep in until around 7 am and watch the news on channel 7. I can only stand so much of repetitive  news so switch to the food channel.

What am I going to do today. Well I need to continue to pack and throw out stuff and get back to the serviced apartment up the road. I need to take my rubbish out and bake a lot of some type as I have no bread at all.

The sun is trying to keep out.

This afternoon I actually took my rubbish out and the red bin is now full. There is a lot of rubbish in there that is not mine like 2 large plastic milk bottles. Does whoever put them in there know that they should be placed in the yellow bin not red bin? Or do they belong in the red bin? I'm not taking them out. 

After taking my rubbish out I decided to go for a walk to Lane Cove again to the Westpac ATM to withdraw some money so I can get change for the laundry again! I then walk around thinking about whether I should get takeout of some sort or do a basic essentials grocery shop. I hate going into the supermarkets!

I hold my breath and dash into Aldi to grab half a dozen eggs which was delayed due to a customer hogging and blocking the eggs with his trolley sideways  and training his time deciding on which eggs to get. He was there for so long so I said excuse me can I just grab some eggs. Then I grabbed a 1 L bottle of Nudie  juice not even paying attention to what type of juice blend it was. It wasn't green juice that's for sure! Then it was the cheapest loaf of wholemeal bread some tomatos some sliced riverside a packet of Nacho cheese corn chips and a few other items. A quick check of how much I spent as i only had $20 cash with me then off to the check out where I grabed a packet of antibacterial wet wipes which was on my shopping list before paying for my groceries and heading out to repack them. No laundry money so I quickly scan the QR code and dash into Coles next to Aldi and grab a few other groceries and to get $10 worth of change and change some coins into a  $2 coin as well. Done. Repack all the groceries I dumped into my cloth shopping bag then a quick walk around Lane Cove before walking home.

Sunday 25th July 2021

Day 28 of a now indefinite lockdown.

A very windy day and cold night. 

I did absolutely nothing except worry about how I am going to continue to pay my bills. I am now paying my rent on a week to week basis and I still ow my tax agent for lodging my tax return. I haven't paid my private medical insurance for a whole month. My off site storage rental is due soon and so is my income protection and phone bill. I don't have much electronic funds left and am trying so hard not to dip into my cash reserve. I am hoping I get my tax refund soon which will take pressure off my electronic finds available. It is inconvenient for me to deposit cash into my bank account as my nearest bank is quite a distance away. I probably could go to the post office but as far as I know they charge a fee for any deposits.

So I stayed at home and did absolutely nothing today - well almost nothing. I made a payment plan and sorted my laundry as well as made a chicken and vegetable curry. I also started throwing stuff out and sorting stuff as I know I will have to move at some point in the next month I estimate. I still haven't gotten back to the serviced apartment up the road as I have been pre occupied with stuff. 

Tomorrow I plan to try and pay a few bills continue packing sorting and do my laundry. I also have to remember to take the rubbish out this afternoon but only the red bin as I haven't used the other bins but will have to soon. 

Monday 26th July 2021 Week 70 Of Unemployment

Day 29 of a very likely extended lockdown until mid September 2021 as announced on the news over the weekend. It's not looking good for NSW. All other states and territories around Australia are either not in lockdown or their lockdown are about to end. This is so unfair. NSW is the only state in an indefinite lockdown. My health is really suffering as a result. 3 missed ski seasons. My body is not happy. I was so hoping to at least go on a day trip to the snow this ski season but the ski season will be well and truely over by the time NSW gets out of a lockdown. 

There is not enough Pfizer vaccine so I don't bother to try and make an appointment. The current wait time is Sept/Oct. 2021. The government is so desperate now they are now urging everyone to go for whatever vaccine is available ie the Astra Zenica and not necessarily the recommended vaccine for particular age groups. They have also rejected the rapid COVID testing kits created by a QLD company Ellume and widely funded and used in the USA instead using the slow result rather invasive swab up your noose towards your brain and also down your throat test. I am trying to avoid this as my nose and throat are already very sensitive. The government has not given a reason as to why they are not using this rapid testing kit methods citing a vague excuse of it's rate of accuracy. Apparently they are just  as if not more accurate then the current slow results PCR  tests the government is currently using! I think we will be all dead from the Delta strain of COVID by the time the government manages to get all the daily results of everyone tested and infectious out in the community! Lockdown will never end if the new premier is aiming for zero community cases of COVID before the current lockdown will end. It's just unrealistic.

Then there was the protests in Sydney  and Melbourne over the weekend. Oh yes the so called "super spreaders" of COVID. 

The Tokyo Olympics maybe on but I'm just not interested in watching any of the events when I normally would be. I lost interest after the opening ceremony.

I am watching the food channel  almost 24/7. This lockdown is really starting to stress me out. I don't go out because I fear contracting COVID. I am constantly watching my funds and balancing payments as not to fall behind and trying to keep a roof over my head. I'm so unmotivated to do anything especially exercise and eat constantly anything I can make or find at home. I can't even afford to refill my prescription for my allergies and skin condition. The medication isn't even working anyway. 

To add to COVID there are all the floods bush fires and other natural and unnatural disasters around the world. As well as war. What is the world coming to? It has to stop.

Tuesday 27th July 2021

What is it today day 30 of lockdown and still counting. Well still no announcement of how long or when the NSW lockdown will end. Meanwhile the Victoria premier has announced that the lockdown in Victoria wil end at midnight tonight. This makes NSW the only state left in not just lockdown but hard lockdown as it was announced today by the Victorian premier that more areas of regional NSW will also be closed to entering into Victoria.

NSW is doomed yet Myer team members stood down are still getting text messages via the Whats app group chat about how stocktake on August 10th 2021 is still going ahead despite the lockdown. I don't particularly  want to risk contracting COVID nor do I want to risk passing it on into the community without knowing by travelling greater then 5 - 10 km outside of where I reside. If I lived closer to where I worked I would be happy to go to work.

So all the other news is on the Tokyo Olympics where Australia is ranked number 7 at the moment on the medals ladder. That's as far as I will pay attention to the Olympics.I am still not in the mood to watch the events.

I actually took the rubbish bin out last night which was so heavy and took it back in around 11.15 am this morning. I hate how poeople like to look in the red bin and take the lid off it but not replace it! This morning it was closed but later this morning someone had flipped the lid off and left the bin open . What were they looking for? Were they still checking it for police tape,  evidence or  even a dead body or body parts perhaps? Too late whatever was put into it besides my bags of rubbish and the 2 large plastic empty milk bottles , it's now all gone into landfill - the garbage truck picked it all up in the pitch black very early this morning and compressed it. 

This afternoon I had to venture out and go for a walk. It was quite a long walk .It was probably an estimated 6 km plus round trip as I had no idea where I was walking to. I had to use Google maps. We maybe in lockdown but I really needed some fresh air and exercise which does not involve just a return quick trip down to the local supermarkets in Lane Cove just to get groceries! 

My walk started off at the Westpac ATM in Lane Cove to get some cash out to get change for the laundry but I needed coins again as I did not get enough last time. So I stopped off to get lunch at Lane Cove first at Bakers Delight ( or Cobs in Vancouver) to purchase a Mediterranean pizza which I love and then there is a well known local bakery which has pies and quiches as well as Vietamese pork rolls . I purchase a quiche from them. This bakery must have changed hands as it is really rundown and doesn't have a name bakery anymore. The quiche was not that goid either. It was a little dry and small. I rate it a 6/10. Lucky I didn't decide on a pie and it won't be and I don't think I will be purchasing from that bakery again. So now I have just enough coins for the laundry by breaking up the $20 note I had withdrawn from the atm. Next was onto my little walking adventure. When you are in lockdown there are not a lot of places you can go so it was another explore my own backyard again. This was another hidden "bush coastal" walk I discovered ( along with every man and his dog literally!)

I started walking around the back of Lane Cove past the old Coles supermarket site which is now partially demolished and past the pet barn and chemist warehouse. I continue walking all the way down Tambourine Bay Rd - it is a really long road. On my walking adventure I pass a vacine centre ( with a huge banner out the front of it offering both Astra Zenica & Pfizer in that order), the unique but mixed architecture of houses, tree lined footpaths ( one side much wider then the other for some reason!) a park with a kids playground, a few small reserve , two early childhood learning centres side by side and Riverview Corner shops which included a cafe and butcher shop, a pharmacy, a podiatrist, some type of beauty salon and a few other boutique services. No supermarket or green grocers no post office no bank or atm no newsagency and no bottle shop . It is a bit of an odd spot in the middle of nowhere along Tambourine Bay to have a butcher - must be goid meat or people just like having bbqs!

Right towards the end of Tambourine Bay Rd there is a roundabout and the entrance with a very long private road/driveway to a well known private boys school St Ignatius with it's huge school grounds including 2 huge ovals/ sports grounds. The school buildings can be see from Tambourine Bay Rd way in the distance. A barricade and signage indicate no access to school grounds due to COVID the school is closed.

I take a left and follow Tambourine Bay Rd to the end where I hit the entrance to a reserve with bush walking trails to the left and right. There are only 2 cars parked in the carpark as most people prefer to walk and take their dogs with them who just love jumping into the water. Yes another trail from a hidden reserve leading to amazing sheltered waterfront. I follow the trail to the left but briefly take a look at the start of the trail to the right where there is a creek.  Down a ramp the trail leads to a lovely cove with surrounding bushland beautiful waterfront houses boats and a shed with another in view across to the right. A beautiful day but quite a long walk to get there and back from Lane Cove. There are bus stops all the way along Tambourine Bay Road but I did not see a single bus in all the time I was there.

Photos below

This was the bacon and cheese quiche I purchased for brunch. It wasn't the best quiche I've had but it is probably better for you because it lacked the buttery oily flaky pastry and all that fatty lardon bits and oosie thick creamy egg mixture.

Google maps indicates to just follow the road to the end! The first major intersection along Tambourine Bay Road near the beginning of my walk and I haven't even reached the corner shops yet!

Love the sign. I wonder if anyone paid any attention to it? It's a really odd place for a butcher to be located.

The odd set of corner stores in the middle of nowhere on Tambourine Bay Rd. The cafe right on the corner has great exposure especially all the walkers heading to and from Tambourine Bay/Lane Cove if not all the locals in the neighbourhood.

This dog knows this butcher well!

I think this was called Marjorie Fork Park?

Tree lined footpaths and interesting architecture all along Tambourine Bay Rd to the end.

You have to have a random post box in the middle of nowhere eventhough tgere is not a newsagent or post office or corner general store in sight!

The round about outside St Ignitus  School

The vast grounds of the school's campus . It's a very long walk to the school's classrooms in the distance!

End of the road - Entrance to carpark of Tambourine Bay and access to water frnot & bush walking trails with bbq picnic ground  which are very dog friendly.

Very few stairs & ramp down to Tambourine Bay's waterfront.

Waterfront property currently for auction

bbq facilities ( I only spotted a single one but behind it was an older wood fire one)

There are several inside I side street names along Tambourine Bay Rd but this one Taleeban Rd if pronounced incorrectly could be mistaken for Taliban Rd.

So after exploring Tambourine Bay, it was a long walk slightly uphill back to Lane Cove where I made a quick trip to Woolworths to get some basic groceries. No trip to Aldi or Coles afterwards as I am still trying to conserve my available electronic funds in my account. Oops I spent slightly more then intended - grocery prices have seemed to have increased during lockdown. I only purchased 1 single extra roll of toilet paper - onlly Woolworths has a 2 per customer limit policy at the moment so I'm not that worried and I have enough to l ast me  until the rest of lockdown at home still. 

I rang my tax agent to pay the fees whilst I was out shopping today. My electronic funds are tight and I am hoping I don't have to dig into my cash reserves. If I get my tax refund next week by 30th July I will be ok for at least until the end of August 21. After that my finances will be tight again. 

Wednesday 28th July 2021

Day 31 of a now 9 - 10 week lockdown extended until the end of August  2021 ( more likely to be extended until mid Sept as forecasted)

I am waking up with a continuous dull headache this morning. I didn't sleep much at all last night. I was scratching a lot. Even putting on some cortesone cream did not help. My allergies and eczema is not responding to treatment but actually getting worse. I think it is due to all the stress lockdown has caused. 

I haven't even finished my blog from what I did yesterday.

After sleeping in until 8 am , it is now day 31 of lockdown in NSW. Both SA and VIC are now out of lockdown however it is just announced on the news that most of NSW is expected to extend its lockdown for another month and that rapid testing will start to be used finally in selected areas such as certain retail services and schools. Too little too late. Everything I've previously written about  is now just  happening .

I was right about the Myer scan count stock take that I questioned would go ahead on 10th August and that all team members had to work at. A second text message insisting it would go ahead pending retrictions is now unlikely given the expected extended one month lockdown  taking the lockdown to the end of August and also due to the recent casual contact get tested and isolate at  Warringah Mall just recorded yesterday.

I was right about missing a 3rd Winter ski season due to a COVID extended lockdown.

I was right about questioning why rapid testing was not being used by the government. We would not be in this situation if it had been used from when it commenced being used by the US.

And I was right about everyone wearing a mask. If only everyone in every state and territory around Australia wore a mask everywhere posdible it would have stoppoed the spread of COVID much more quickly and earlier. 

It's the government's fault of doing too little too late and now most of the residents of NSW is suffering mentally financially and physically. 

I don't know  how much longer I can physically my body can take this lockdown in NSW. A walk to discover local trails and waterfront is not doing anything for me physically. My body needs more then stressful trips to the local supermarket or KFC where each trip has to be timed and monitored with fear of contracting the Delta strain of COVID. It's becoming stressful for me to leave my apartment. 

Watching the Olympics does not bring me enjoyment. I have become uninterested whereas in the past I would have been glued to the screen watching. I just watch the highlights on the news. Even the news is becoming unbearable to watch. I turn it off and change channels preferring to watch repeats on the food channel 24/7 until I fall asleep. 

I will watch the daily NSW premiers announcements at 11 am ( I did skip a few days of announcements)  however as soon as the news of whether the lockdown will be extended in NSW is announced I turn it off. I don't want to be bombarded with the daily stats , everyone knows the cases of COVID are increasing daily and have spiralled out of control. It's not new news and being bombarded with only news about COVUD is not good for mental health. I have other more important  things to worry about- like to do  my laundry.

Oh look the sun is out again today but it is forecast for a very windy day.

11 am oh for Fuck sake! It is just announced by the premier that the whole of NSW is now in lockdown and lockdown is now for another 4 whole weeks ie forecast "I don't have a crystal ball"  (quote/unquote by NSW's you know who themselves) to end on August 31st 2021.  So there goes everything. She should have announced it yesterday so why didn't she fucking do so!! What's this living on your own buddy system ? Do I care living alone myself? No. It's a bit late. Oh look the NSW premier is finally "looking into"  some type of rapid antigen testing. This will not be the primary source of reliable testing though. Again a little too late. Financial assistance - finally my question I sent to Centrelink is finally answered by the the NSW premier. My question was do I still qualify for the $600 weekly financial support for every week after the first 2 weeks NSW remains in lockdown if I am still receiving support from Centrelink already? The answer is yes you still get the top up. So do I still have to apply for it? 

Just another thank you for all my readers still reading my blog out there. It seems my readership has picked up again although I have not had a look at which countries have been reading my blogs. It's not even the end of July and the number of readers has surpassed last month. 

Oh look breaking news -  grocery and petrol prices have gone up  during this COVID lockdown but the reason given is due to inflation. Such bad timing since so many people are struggling during lockdown due to unemployment. 

Australia wins gold in swimming surfing and both female & male 4 x 4 rowing. Way to go dubbed the new "Oaresome Foursome" male & female  rowing teams & Ariane Titmas dubbed "The Terminator" in the pool.

There is nothing on tv again so sleep but woke in the midfle of the night from a nightmare where I was drinking and there were 2 invaders who broke into my apartment and attacked and killed me. I could not see their faces and they were just black shadows. I woke myself up as I wanted to end the nightmare.  I knew it was a nightmare as my apartment is locked and there is no one else in the apartment block except me. I thought this maybe the deceased guy's spirit  from unit 1A coming back to try and tell me that his death wasn't an accident and that he was not alone in his unit but attacked and murdered in his apartment by not one but two invaders and that yes he was drinking when he was attacked. 

Not being ablle to go back to sleep immediately, I had a midnight snack. A hot green tea some left over chicken in the fridge a cheese slice corn chips and whatever else I could find which is not much. I slept with my light on for a while and watched the food channel.

Finally fell asleep again but woke up at 5 am when my first alarm went off.

Thursday 29th July 2021

What are we upto noiw - day 32 of a now extended 9 -10 week lockdown. 

I did not sleep  in and don't think I will watch the 11 am NSW  premier's announcement today. We all know about the extended lockdown. Only other extra bit of interesting information is weekly financial support for anyone out of work due to the lockdown has been increased from $500 initially to $600 per week and now $750 per week if you have lost 20 hours or more  of work a week , $375 per week I think if you have lost 8 hours -  less then 20 of work a week and an extra $200 for those who are receiving welfare payments  on top of what they are currently receiving if they  work more then 8 hours per week which is the category I fall into. So do I have to apply for it or is it automatically picked up? I haven't applied for any support yet as it was all so vague. There were and are other conditions to payments as well. I hope nobody misses out. A little to late again. I wrote about the  differences between JobSeeker & JobKeeper payments during the inital lockdown and how and which government department administered them - well now Scott Morrison and his government posse have admitted that this financial support is now being administered in a more streamlined way and by a more appropriate government department. Oh dherr! It  should have been administered this way the first time round! The Australian government is not very smart , they tend to be very reactive and not proactive. Patching up problems as they happen  instead of preventing them from happening  down the track. Just look at the COVID mess NSW is in now - no wonder everyone is moving North to the freedom of QLD or South to TAS  - living in any state except NSW at the moment is better the living in NSW !

The rush is out to get whatever vaccine from whatever Dr or pharmacy is on at the moment but there isn't even enough vaccine to go around. You can't seem to just walk in and get vaccinated. You need to go online and book an appointment which I had trouble with because to search for your closest GP or vaccinated centre was difficult to navigate. You don't want to turn up to have to wait hours to get vaccinated or turned away because there is no vaccine available.  I don't think anyone wants to risk contracting COVID  just waiting in line to get vaccinated or contracting COViD between travelling to get vaccinated.

Another text just  received from Myer via What's App Group Chat Scan Count on 10th August has been cancelled - AND SO IT SHOULD BE! Myer can't stand down all their workers from the very beginning of this lockdown to the end for over 2 months and then force them all to come in just to do a scan count smack bang in the middle of lockdown. This not only risks the workers from contracting COViD unknowingly but also risk the spread into the general community unknowingly due to not restricting travel between lGAs resulting in a further extension of the current lockdown. Scan counts are definitely not essential services! I think most team members are happy they don't have to do a scan count! I certainly am. I am right again because back on 13th July when the customer service manager sent a text advising and insisting all team members "are required to work" on 10th August for scan count by responding to her text with 

"Do you think we will be out of lockdown by 10th August?" when I was pretty sure we would not be out of lockdown by then. Who has a crystal ball - maybe I do however I can't predict the number of daily COVID cases like that guy does on the TicToks! Just as well I ignored the second text message not only insisting the scan count was going ahead but also asking everyone to rewatch the scan count m cast again. I don't think anyone did as no one responded. A reminder to Myer that team members are not being paid to do this outside of work and that we are actually not working at the moment for Myer having been stood down indefinitely and that everyone is already stressed enough mentally physically and financially with much more important things to worry about then a stupid non essential unpaid training activity to complete for a scan count that is now not even going ahead. Stop wasting our time Myer. As a shareholder I ask again where's my dividend Myer?????

Friday 30th July 2021

Almost the end of another week in lockdown. What day are we in lockdown now? Day 33 of a now indefinite lockdown. I did not listen to or watch the NSW premier's 11 am daily COVID update. It's always the same depressing news - every other state is out of lockdown and there is no end to the NSW lockdown. The report of still increasing out of control number of people testing positive to the deadly Delta strain of COVID. The army has now been brought in to control high risk LGAs which police are currently doing and were previously doing. Stricter lockdown regulations and forced vaccinations . There is talk of a plan for workers forced to get vaccinated or not be able to work, all year 12 students being vaccinated  with the Astra Zenica vaccine which was not recommended for under 60's initially especially younger adults due to the risk of blood clots which is now a full turn around of vaccine recommendations in a now desparate attempt to stop the risk of dying from COVID, Vaccine passports  ie no full vaccination no travel  as well as other restrictions etc etc. More cancelked events and talk of rapid allergen testing ( still talk not action yet) of crowds wanting to attend mass audience events such as the football. It's just not looking good.

I watched the news briefly just to get the main stories then switch it off. I don't care if there is nothing else to watch except the Olympics and repeats over and over again on the food channel anything is better then being bombarded with COVID news!

Today I woke up around 7 am and had my usual breakfast of fresh fruit salad, green juice  A large jot cup of green tea, 6 omega 3 capsules, a hot breakfast of oven baked salmon a yakault lite shot and bits and pieces of whatever else I can find.

I checked to see if I received my tax return which I had into my account and paid all my bills both catch up and in advance. I scheduled payment of the next 2 weeks of my rent for payment on Mon and Tues & paid my income proection for August, paid my phone bill for August , paid my waste of money but compulsory ( unless I want to be hit with the extra tax from a medicare levy surcharge each financial year) private medical insurance for July ( catch up overdue)  & August ( in advance) and the balance owing on my monthly rent for my off site storage unit that was due on 29th July as well as paying an extra month's rental due on the 12th August in full in advance. I transferred part of my tax refund out and made sure I had enough money in my account to now buy groceries and medication which I am very low on as well as any other supplies I need to control or maintain my severe allergies and eczema  which is not getting any better and is even getting worse. I am just as worried about my allergies and eczema  as I am about the risk of contracting COVID. It just takes one time or instance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time to contract it. That is the one thing I am safe from living alone and being the last remaining resident in this apartment block - I should be relatively safe from COVID as I am isolated  from anyone. Yes it is lonely and yes I am still a little freaked out at night to leave or do my laundry downstairs as the windows and backdoor although locked and have cctv set up can still be broken into and are not alarmed as far as I know. Anyone can sneak in from the ground floor and go behind the back of the apartment block into the courtyard and break in through the side window or back door leading to the common laundry area.  I feel safer locked inside my apartment on the top floor with my window slightly open blind partially up tv on with volume slightly turned up and my light on facing the main road.I think if I had a back facing apartment on either floor I would be more scared of intruders. At lesst I can yell out of my window if there is an intruder to hopefully passers by.

I just read my comnents and I have to apologise for some readers that have sent me some comments that I have not responded to or acknowledged . Thank you for sending me your comments. One of the reasons I  started writing this blog years ago was to inform suggest events to attend and places of interest to visit and also put my theories and options forward. I do have a Twitter account but I am finding more people around the world read my blog and watch my YouTube channel then read my rantings on Twitter which I stopped using after a very short period of time ( I think after a few months). Unlike The Trump  I'm just uninterested in Twitter as a social media platform just as much as I dislike and stopped using LinkedIn because people were using it as an alternative to Facebook's Find My Friends platform instead of what it was intended for  ie professional and career networking. Someone I know from work even told me when she posted her profile on LinkedIn, someone used it as a dating website and tried to ask her for "a date". I would also like to apologise to all my readers about the amount of spelling and frantic mistakes I make in my blogs. A lot of the time I am writing in a hurry or very late at night so apologies to all those wordsmith out there.

I love this news clip I found online where an Aldi customer spread out and spaced each grocery item a certain distance apart instead of dumping them in a pile close together on the conveyer belt at the checkout counter to slow it down with a comment "In your face Aldi" and " Just so we got time to pack" I totally agree . At the end of each checkout there is pressure not to hold up the customer or queue of customers behind you. You need to have your shopping bag open ready to dump all your groceries into as fast as you can ( no time to separate your toiletries cleaning and laundry products from your fruit vegetables and proteins or fridge/freezer prodcts)  whilst at the same time have your card ready to tap swipe or insert into an EFTPOS machine or cash in hand ready to pay and collect your change whilst collecting your receipt and answering to where you want a catalogue or not. No I don't want a catalogue! I don't understand how the split end of the checkout works. It's meant to allow one customer to pack their groceries whilst the next customer's groceries slide to the other divided side hence allowing a speedier checkout. I have never seen it used - probably because the split end of the checkout is too narrow to be used by 2 customers at a time. Think about it. Is the Woolworths spinning shopping bag me this at thge end of certain checkouts any more efficient? I don't think so. This shoppers method of spreading and spacing out of grocery  items is far more efficient then Ali's split end of check out divider to allow customers time to pack and it has the added bonus of  encouraging social distancing killing 2 birds with one stone! There is nothing worse then having a customer practically "up the jaxy" behind you especially with a trolley rather then a bag load of groceries - ah the pressure of the speedy checkout! By the way Aldi is a German  supermarket chain and Germans hate queuing for anything ( refer my expression "The German Efficiency").

Saturday 31st July 2021

Day 34 of a now what looks like indefinite lockdown - no I don't think it will end on 28th August 21.

There is now the push for a target vaccination rate of 70 + % of the population to be vaccinated before any further lockdown are even considered. Just because the majority of population is vaccinated it does not guarantee any future lockdown by the Government

It's around 2.30 pm and I look out my window and a former tenant is hanging around outside the apartment block  on the footpath on his phone leaning against the front brick wall. I don't know how long he has been standing  there for but it's a little creepy. I've seen him walk past the apartment block now and then and once I saw him walk and cross the main road avoiding the apartment block before continuing to walk down the main road. The day I took a walk down to Tambourine Bay I bumped into him but did not say anything to him and just walked on. I had a mask on and when he spotted me with my mask on he took his out. I'm sure he is harmless but he does give me the creepy vibe. I hope he was not ringing the property management company to rent an apartment again . I am  wondering if he had anything to do with it witnessed anything suspicious in relation to the guy in unit 1A passing away.

It was a very mixed weather day today however I did not venture out. I just watched a lot of tv and YouTube. What would we be doing in a long lockdown without social media platforms to keep us connected and entertained? I listened to and watched the Korean Kpop boy band BTS. I didn't think I would enjoy their younger generation Korean Kpop boyband phonetically sung English music which I think is very reminiscent of the Stock Aitken Waterman manufactured pop from the mid 1990s but I did. The choreography performed by BTS can be quite complex even if their singing is not the best due to their English vocals. Their music videos are quite good however I struggle to understand their vocals especially their earlier music as their English is not too good. They are improving though. Their latest hit Permission To Dance is so catchy and Butter is quite good too but I quite like their cover of I'll Be Missing You ( a rip off of the original Police hit).  I wonder if they have ever heard of the original version of it  Every Breath You Take Every Move You Make...... I'll Be watching You" sung by Police and was one of my mother's favourite songs from the 1980s. If you don't know about these "songs" Google them.

Sunday 1st August 2021

Day 35 of an indefinite lockdown. I am really getting low on groceries and I really don't want to go to the supermarket. Maybe I will just walk down and get some takeaway. 

The sun has now disappeared and it is 10 am.

Poeople are out taking a walk. There is banging nearby - hopefully  not an intruder out the back of this apartment block destroying something. I am still trying to work out why walkers keep stopping to look at this apartment block. Is there something about the outside of it that I can't see? Is it the outside of unit 1A? It does look like a crime scene. It looks like someone has broken into the apartment and there are black finger prints all over the front door and side window which had to be broken into by the fire brigade  originally. 

Today I completed the census online which is on 10th August 2021 this year. It took me probably 30 minutes all up as you had to have received a census  number before you could actually complete it. The questions themselves were quite personal and being a staunch  believe of  privacy of my personal information, I used a "fake" name to complete my census.  It wasn't really fake, I just used my Chinese name. Some questions like where you resided 5 years ago - who remembers this information especially if you move around a lot. I also think most people won't declare their real income as quite a large portion of the new population has no income at the moment as they have been stood down.  Anyway it's done.  I can now tell team member ticket girl that she can complete the census. Done. I wonder how many people will even bother this year given the current lockdown situation! I also think the census will be so inaccurate this year for NSW.  The census is meant to be used for future planning. I am sure there is a good portion of illegal immigrants not included in this year's census - mostly in limbo in Australia on bridging visas as they could not or still can't get back to their own home country due to the pandemic hence giving inaccurate population figures.

Next is dealing with the compulsory voting for the local council elections. This is going to be a real problem for me. I can't get to my post box so I can't do a postal vote or can I? Come on Electorial Commission get your act together and have online voting  then everyone will be able to vote wherever they may  be. They have already moved polling day from 4th September to 4th December  21. Who is going to bother to vote as it is so close to Christmas? I plan to take a day off as it is such a nuisance to vote as you have to vote where  you are enrolled to vote a nd can't vote out of your lGA. I think there will be a lot of fines issued this year for people not voting ( a reminder that voting is compulsory in Australia  for all 3 levels of elections Local State & Federal for all Australians citizens over the age of 18).

After having a shower , it was almost lunch time so I dragged myself outside after taking out the rubbish to walk down to Lane Cove to do an essential shop for groceries and medication. 

First stop was to withdraw some cash to get change for laundry however I was unable to after buying a loaf of wholemeal bread from Bakers Delight as they did not have any $2 or $1 coins for change so I am stuck with notes and smaller denomination of coins.

I then proceeded to Priceline . There were a few people in the store so I waited until most of them came out before entering. The first attempt to enter was a bit of a wait as there was a lady getting her prescription and chatting to the pharmacist. I came back and gave the pharmacist my prescription. He said it would take 5 minutes. I said I would come back - I thought this may be safer then hanging around inside the store. I come back to pick up my medication which cost me less if I purchased the entire 8 repeats worth in one go then just a few of each of the medications on the prescriptions. So I purchased all the repeats of one prescription but none of the other. I also quickly grabbed some moisturizers before heading straight to the cashier and paying for my purchases. There goes another $50 + worth of prescription medication!

Next stop Aldi or Coles supermarkets. Again I really didn't want to go in. Armed with a Coles trolley double mask and sunglasses I decide to try and get as much as possible  on my shopping list from Aldi. Quite a few items were unavailable but I managed to get about 2/3 of the items on my shopping list from Aldi. What no paper towels!? Plenty of toilet paper and tissues though. 

Grab grab grab whatever I could find, chucked everything onto the checkout conveyor belt then chucked everything back into my Coles shopping trolley. Tapped my card instead of inserting it - no thanks to a catalogue and practically ran out of the exit doors pushing my shopping trolley. Yes I remembered to check in and out with the QR code. 

I started walking and the clouds started coming over and it looked as if it was going to rain. I was hoping I would get back home before it started to rain as it is a 15 - 20 minute walk home. I was lucky as it only started to spit rain very lightly and briefly before stopping .

Once out in the open again I can pack my groceries from the shopping trolley into my back pack and two reusable shopping bags before walking home. Both shopping bags are full and slightly heavy but good training for the Blackmores Running Festival scheduled for September 21 ( if it ever goes ahead after being cancelled last year) and general exercise. 

Home snack and unpack. Masks are bleached and washed hung up to dry and my hands are washed before I had a snack. 

Watched tv YouTube and plan to go to bed early tonight after finishing this blog. 

At least I have enough to eat for the rest of this week and maybe next week too.

Monday 2nd August 2021 Week 71 Of Unemployment

Day 36 of an indefinite lockdown in NSW.

It's 1.46 am and I just can't sleep. I'm really itchy. It's probably from the stress of being in lockdown. There are things that keep me awake at night that I haven't really blogged about and am still trying to figure out how to resolve or make decisions about.

It's a bit of a mixed day today - the sun is out but the clouds are also looming. It doesn't look as if it will rain today though. 

A lot to do this week but I really don't feel like doing it.

My vacuum cleaner broke down this morning and I am unsure where to get one given it is still lockdown. Maybe  at Lane Cove post office  - last time  I went past it they sold everything including bench top aur fryer/ovens etc. 

Do nothing day today just took the rubbish out to the bin and cooked some spaghetti  with a light cheese and parsley  sauce.

There is so much on tv to watch on Monday night's starting  with The Cook Up With Adam Liaw on the SBS Food channel at 7 pm then 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown which is the less serious version of Letters & Numbers on SBS followed by Have You been Paying Attention on channel 10 at 8.30 pm I believe. I had to have a break from watching the Olympics and the news. It's becoming too depressing.

I am also spending my time cleaning out things I don't want anymore and packing stuff  in case I have to move in a hurry. I am looking for a new place to live as I am unsure how much longer I can live here at my current address. This is part of my lockdown stress.

Tuesday 3rd August 2021

Day 37 of a now indefinite lockdown. No improvement in the number of Delta strain COVID cases around NSW. QLD's South East has now extended their lockdown . The Goldcoast Mayor is seeking to be exempt from the South Eastern LGAs in lockdown as it has zero cases of COVID unlike the other LGAs. 

The Australian Olympic swimming team has just landed back in Australia and is now in quarantine for the next 14 days out at Howard Springs ( if you don't know where this is Google it - it's a purpose built retreat not)

It rained throughout the entire night and is now a mostly sunny day.

I really need to venture out but just am not motivated to. I would like to walk up to Chatswood  to return my empty bottles  for cash but the Return & Earn program I read online has been suspended until further notice due to the current lockdown.

After taking a shower, washing the dishes, taking the rubbish out ( I forgot to mention that there has been yet another trespasser(s) walking around the apartment block - yesterday from my window I spotted a lady wearing a pink outfit I think talking on her phone walk around outside unit 1A and then out of the front carpark entrance back onto the street before continuing down it towards the city - evidence she or someone else had been trespassing was left behind outside near the front door in the front parking area in the form of candy still in its wrapper unopened probably dropped out of the trespasser(s) pocket as they were leaving the property's grounds. I wonder how much club footage there  is as there is CCTV everywhere around the building but no notices that warn trespassers of these) , I decided it was time not just to start packing but to start throwing things out and donating stuff to charity by popping stuff into the nearest charity bin. The closest one within walking distance was behind Lane Cove post office. I decided that since I needed change for the laundry and to go to the post office to post my apron back to Myer ( with a note inside saying Goodness how long lockdown will last) , I would drop off my bag full of unwanted stuff as well. Whilst at the post office I also looked for a birthday card and blank catd to send to people. No blank cards and no boys birthday cards - well not appropriate for a 6 year old anyway - I don't think his parents would appreciate me sending him a PG rated one eventhough they are meant to be humorous! So I found a postcard of North Sydney and the Harbour Bridge in the background and settled on purchasing and sending that. Hey It's lockdown- you buy what you can get and get out of the post office ASAP ! By the way don't ask for change at the post office - to change a $5 note into $1 and $2 coins costs a $4.50 fee! ie a 200% profit almost! If you deposit money into your bank account It's free apparently when I asked and so it should be! There is no HSBC anywhere near Lane Cove, it's all the way on the other side of Chatswood.

So I managed to get $8 in change from my purchases at the post office. The sun is out but I'm just so allergic even with my double mask and sunglasses on. There is a strong breeze blowing stuff around and I'm scratching as well as something  that flew past my eyes making them watery. 

I sit in the sun and write my postcard before sending it. Next stop also to wash my hands at the nice new main toilet block located in The Canopy ( one of the 2 new toilet blocks).

I might even stop to a snack. Not something with cheese in it - I went over my tolerance and didn't feel very well these few days. There was no non lactose cheese available on my last 2 shops so I purchased normal cheese. A little is ok but not the amount I snacked on over the past few days. 

To get a little more change for the laundry, I decided to look around for a pizza of some sort since I was dying for one and haven't had one for so long. today's special is a large pizza for $16 Monday - Wednesdays from I love Pizza ( last time I reviewed this pizza parlour was a few years ago in Willoughby where it had newly opened there and was a competition to Crust Pizza around the corner) The medium pizza was $17 so why not go for the large pizza. Take away only no half halfs and I almost forgot to ask for a thin crust. I hate thick crusted pizzas!. I could have gone for a G & G burrito that I normally go for but I really wanted a pizza (the Crust Pizza store in Lane Cove was closed  and I could not find the nearest Dominos Pizza store) so I ended up ordering the Moroccan lamb.  I hope it tastes ok! At least I will have left overs tomorrow or a midnight snack. It takes about 10 minutes to make. I waited outside on a public bench instead of inside the I Love Pizza shop although there was no one inside except the pizza maker and he wore a mask. As I was waiting outside, an elderly lady walks inside to order a small ham and pineapple  pizza only to be told that small pizzas were not being made o my medium and large ( where did it advise customers of this? I didn't see any unavailable sign over the small pizza tray displayed on the side wall next to the large and medium sized pizza trays). It take 10 minutes for my pizza to be ready . I picked it up and walked home straight away. As soon as I arrived home, I washed my hands and my mask before eating half of my large Morrocan  lamb pizza. So what did I think? Well it looked pretty bad and was stone cold by the time I arrived home due to the way I carried it. It looked worse then it tasted but it was Morrocan lamb  and tasted ok and the crust was thin. Should I have chosen the Mediterranean lamb pizza instead? No. Rating 6/10. Pretty average but a good quick dinner before watching the 6 pm news, The Cook Up with Adam Liaw on the SBS Food channel and whatever else is on afterwards on a Tuesday night. photos below

I am unsure what that white sauce was - it was suppose to be feta or was it herbed yoghart? whatever it was it was the consistency  and colour of wall paper glue, it didn't drip off the pizza but half of it stuck to it and the other half to the cardboard box from the way I carried it home. It tasted ok though.

It's around 1 am Wednesday morning and I am unable to sleep again as there is an awful lot of traffic all day everyday for a city in lockdown. I have the rest of my leftover pizza for my midnight snack and a mug of tea. I also watch some repeats on the Food channel that I didn't pay attention to earlier. Yes I am up blogging as well. Keeping my lights on blinds up and window open constantly hopefully will keep trespassers away. 

Wednesday 4th August 2021

Day 38 of a now indefinite lockdown.

Today laundry day as well as continuing to pack up my belongings in case I have to leave at short notice. My vacuum cleaner reached the end of It's useful life today so I had to put it out with the rubbish. I thought there maybe a broom or vacuum cleaner downstairs which the cleaners used to maintain the common areas of the apartment block. Yes there is a broom out in the courtyard but it is filthy. There is a vacuum cleaner too on top of the washing machine behind a mop and bucket and heaps of laundry powder. I wonder if it works and is not too heavy to take down . Then I don't have to find and purchase a new one in Lane Cove.

I check the map of latest COVID cases daily and then cross check my blog to see if I was out at that location on that day and time. I don't understand how it works as the latest map showed there were 2 cases on Saturday  24th July 21 between 1 pm and 2.15 pm in Lane Cove - one at Aldi and one at Coles. I didn't think I went shopping there on that date - I did but not during the specific times advised. Luckily I had been there quite a bit  later that day - I had to check my QR code history ( sometimes I scan the QR codes but don't end up entering the store or forget to check out but not on this occasion). So why did it take so long for the notification to appear on the map - that's 12 days after the positive COVID case originally occurred. Imagine how many people potentially contracted COVID between that 1 hour and 15 minutes on that day at both locations unknowingly and infected others. I could have contracted it but if I had, my infectious period would have been over by now. It is unlikely that I would have passed it on to anyone as I live very alone and haven't socialised with anyone for weeks and I always wear a mask or a double mask even if I'm only going for a walk and on my own. I stay away from crowds as well. 

It's 3 pm and although It's really sunny outside, it is really windy. Not the best day to be out and about. I am still waiting for my laundry to dry. Should be done soon. Done but it's still a bit wet. Oh well I've run out of laundry money.

No wonder it's so cold this afternoon and tonight - the wind chill factor made the temperature drop down to single digits with a maximum of hardly reaching 16 degrees C! Tomorrow it should be a little warmer  reaching a high of around 18 degrees C.

Another restless night and another midnight wake up and midnight snack before trying to get back to sleep.

Thursday 5th August 2021

Day 39 of an indefinite lockdown which I am almost 100% convinced now will not end by 28th August 2021.

A friend in the UK somewhere is busking in freedom while we are in lockdown indefinitely ,  sent me a text messager today advising me that her messenger is not working and hoping I'm ok. Way to go Facebook. This is why I have abandoned using Facebook. 

It's a nice sunny day today, there is still a breeze but it looks warmer today. There is a lot of birdlife about outside with various distinctive mating calls and why is there is so much traffic whizzing past - it's meant to be a lockdown in NSW! What am I going to do today? Not watch repeats on the Food channel or watch the Olympics. I slept in today until 8 am had breakfast of toasted left over spaghetti in tomato herb and parsley sauce with cheese on wholemeal bread, a freshly blended fruit salad smoothie and a mug of green tea. I take my daily omega 3 capsules and watch to the news. It's 10 am and I'm back in bed and the news is all about QLD at the moment. They have a current outbreak of COVID in Indooroopilli and lockdown is now until Sunday but the QLD government is pretty confident lockdown will be lifted on Sunday. A big contrast to NSW,  QLD is controlling their outbreaks as they happen by responding much more quickly. There is a lot of backlash on how NSW's reacted to this lockdown far too slowly ie a earlier shorter snap lockdown would have stopped the virus sprialling out of control this time round hence preventing a now indefinite lockdown.

Breaking news yesterday " Contract tracers can't keep up" - After writing about the cases found in Lane Cove - I was right yet again about the length of time it takes between identifying  someone contracting the virus and notification of exposure sites. Here is another example Chatswood on 31st July , a single COVID case just appeared on the latest COVID case map which is on the NSW Government Health website and which I check daily. Today is 5th August 21 that's 5 days before notification of exposure site to the public. Far too slow. If only rapid antigen testing was used. So what exactly is causing these delays? 

I just listened to the daily 11 am "announcement" from the NSW premier and had to switch off after less then 30 minutes. It's the same old news - increasing cases , get vaccinated and what is tge government doing so small businesses don't fall behind and get the support they need which is not happening. There is the constant argument of  the difficulty on going online to obtain the information needed. Just to book a vaccination is difficult and forget trying to get financial support for small businesses. Every excuse is given at every daily "announcement". My favourite question by a media representative or reporter was asking the NSW premier  the other day "Why is Bunnings open?" The response from the NSW premier was a very snappy "Next question please!"

Readers maybe wondering what I spend my days during lockdown when not out walking, trying to get change for the laundry or doing my laundry, taking out the rubbish, getting takeaway or junk food, shopping for groceries or medications, going to the post office or atm, cooking , watching tv or YouTube, texting friends etc well I like to read - not books but searching finding and reading obscure stuff  on the internet. Today I texted team member ticket girl and informed her that if she didn't complete the census or lie on it how much she could be fined. I mentioned that I had already completed my census online but I must say that I didn't lie except for using my Chinese  name rather then my English name with reason to avoid another severe case I experienced with identity fraud previously which I have mentioned in my early blogs. I have a feeling there will be a very high portion of people this year who will either fail to and refuse to complete the census by the due date or lie if they complete it ( possibly not deliberately and maybe just to get it out of the way) . It's a very bad time to have a census as it is smack bang in the middle of a lockdown - most people in NSW have much more important things to worry about such as home schooling, loss of income , homelessness, financial stress, isolation lonliness, depression , suicidal thoughts etc then remember to complete a census - come on ABS! What is fining people who fail to complete the census or lie on it going to do?  - that's the last thing people need or want  during a pandemic. They should have thought about cancelling it and postponing it to a later date when we are out of lockdown like the local council elections which are also compulsory and you can also be fined for not voting. I still think that the statistics collected from the census will be skewed and as a result this inaccurate data collected will not assist in future planning. It has been an extra ordinary 2 years - the pandemic will affect any data collected - examples include there will be a larger portion of people ( who actually and honestly complete the census) answer the amount of income to be zero on the night of the census due to redundancies or being stood down - remembering it has to be how where what who etc you are on the night of the census.  The other question that will be skewed possibly will be the number of people in your household or away - well there are a lot of Australians still stranded overseas at the moment and a lot of overseas citizens still stranded in Australia at the moment which could include those on student working bridging or other temporary visas then the is the "illegal immigrants" - there will always be these however this year these may be really in hiding. Then there is the lack of population in some regional areas and an overpopulation in other regional areas. Because we can't travel outside of where we reside often more then 5 km and no international travellers, there will be underpopulation in regional farming areas such as fruit picking and overpopulation in regional areas where city dwellers have made permanent sea or tree changes to as examples. Then there are the increasing number of people due to financial or other hardships that are now homeless living in temporary accommodation, caravan parks, cars or couch surfing that normally word not be if there was not the pandemic. These are just some examples of why this census will be so inaccurate and should not go ahead. However on a more humorous note, in the last census which was a census test in 2020 ( and just as well it was only a census test and not a real census!) a large proportion of people completing the census  decided to lie on the what is your religion question by answering " Jedi" or other Star wars related "religion". I found and read a humour article written about this. I think during the last census I was doing a course on cyber security and there was a big issue with the privacy  and security of information collected and stored during that census. 

I think I have said enough. 

Friday 6th August 2021

Day 40 of an indefinite lockdown.

Today I spent most of this morning trying to lodge my fortnightly income reporting to Centrelink  due today and can't log in. The Mygov system seems to be down as it keeps coming up with unava liable or error 404 messages. I will have to keep trying as It's not only my Centrelink reports on it but my Medicare and ATO records too.

It's a beautiful day again today. My day starts with a really good breakfast I made of a fruit salad smoothie a banana 4 mini turkey patties on wholemeal bread with mixed leaves mini cucumber slices bbq sauce melted tasty cheese a cup of tea and a chocolate brownie bite whilst watching the news then the Olympics 20 km walking race.

At the same time I am updating my blog.

Finally after 4 hours of trying to log onto Centrelink via Myhov account i was able to log in without any error messages and report my firtnightly income and hours worked due today which was $0 and zero hours worked for the fortnight. Done.

I took my rubbish out again today and sorted some more stuff I would like to give away - a digital clock and some queen fitted sheets. I still have some other bits and pieces to place in the donation bin in Lane Cove. I am hoping to take a walk down there sometime over the weekend as well as get some chicken cheese and bread as I am completely out of these. I am still looking at getting a new stick vacuum - there was only one left at the post office for $99 . Unsure if I like it as it is a lot more chunky then the ones I usually buy. I don't want to travel all the way to Chatswood just to get one from Target or Kmart.

Saturday 7th August 2021

Day 41 of an indefinite lockdown.

Another beautiful day , another day of unemployment and another day in lockdown.

The Tokyo Olympics will end this weekend so there be even less to watch on tv. I am running out of things to do except continue watching tv, cooking eating and sleeping.

There is talk of offering  incentives by companies and the government to get vaccinated either cash or other forms of incentives. Remember the pub in Victoria a while back that got into trouble by the TGA for offerring a free beer to customers that could prove they had been vaccinated? Although this had the unofficial support of the current pm, the background story behind why the pub got into trouble for doing this promotion was quite interesting. Google it if you are interested in reading about it. Now both sides of the government or Liberal and Labour are considering different forms of incentives to encourage people to be vaccinated  and they don't agree with the type of incentives.  Would I get vaccinated if I was offered an incentive of reward points such as the one Medibank Private is currently considering which offers reward points  to all it's private health insurance members equivalent to a measly  $10 voucher that can go towards a discount off their very expensive useless private health insurance premium? Absolutely not! No amount of reward points or cash incentive would motivste me to get vaccinated  especially if was for the Astra Zenica vaccine. Then there is the talk of the Australian government working with the lotteries with a an incentive to be vaccinated where those who do can go into a draw to win a "prize" of some sort. No I'm still not motivated. How about this idea organisations to disallow employees to work unless they got vaccinated or organisations to refuse entry to anyone who has not been vaccinated?  - isn't that breaching human rights? Apparently not. Isn't it discrimination? Apparently not - Then what happens to anyone that absolutely can't be vaccinated for various reasons? Yes like myself who is absolutely allergic to everything and anything and has a likely chance of an adverse allergic reaction or even death as a result of vaccination due to the unknown effects of the vaccine. How about those with other medical histories such as blood clots ( on my mum's side of the family there is a known medical history resulting in death but over the age of 65 of females). Then there was another very disincentive that I read about (and told tebk oil

change am member ticket girl about which she was also aware of) and that was if a vaccination passport system is introduced and international travel resumes in the future the Astra Zenica vaccine the Australian government is now pushing everyone to get as Pfizer is in such short supply and Modena and Johnson & Johnson are unavailable in Australia as they have not been TGA approved, will not be accepted for travel and entry un the US ie if you have had the AZ vaccine, it is not one of the approved vaccines by the US against COVID which will piss a lot of people off who travel regularly to the US for all sorts of reasons family work leisure business etc. especially if they have already had their first and or second vaccination. Another reason I am delaying my vaccination - it's bad enough for me not to be able to travel to North America now. 

Our government is not very smart and sometimes in order to survive you have to keep one step ahead of them, one example was a while back and I am unsure if this was actually for real and whether the person did it to piss the government off by out smarting them and I applaud him for doing it because it debunk ed a lot of theories and running and arring  the government was doing in regards to vaccinations. He's what he did - he got both vaccinations of the Astra Zenica vaccine and both vaccinations of the Pfizer vaccine all within a very short period of time to make the point that now he is more then fully protected against COVID. There have been so many questions about who when why should get which vaccine and this changed so many times and dragged on for so long. How did an under 30 year old manage to get both does of both vaccines without meeting any of the vaccine criteria ie types of vaccine recommended for the different age groups, getting appointments to get vaccinated multiple times within a few weeks without having to join a wait list or being in the set government priority groups eg phase 1a 1b 2a 2b etc, being allowed to get the second doses of both vaccines before the recommended waiting periods etc Surely  vaccination staff or government medical records would have picked this anomaly  up? Did he lie to outsmart the government? Would he have haters for doing what he did as the 4 vaccinations he received could have been used to as first dose vaccinations for 4 people taking into account the shortage of Pfizer vaccines and the current hesitancy of people to get the Astra Zenica vaccine due to the reported blood clot risks? Was he trying to prove a point to encourage people to get vaccinated, that there is no risk of blood clots when getting the Astra Zenica vaccine under the recommended age of 50, that you don't have to wait a period of time after the first vaccination to receive the second or booster vaccination in order to build up full immunity? and that mixing vaccines does not increase the risk of side effects and being one step ahead of research in that area by being a guinea pig.  If indeed this guy did get 2 vaccinations each of both Pfizer and Astra Zenica and in such a short period of time  without any side effect then he certainly was one step ahead of a not so smart government - good on him. 

Sent text message to team member ticket girl re local council elections information  by copy & pasting information sent to me via an email on relation to my inquiry about pre voting postal voting and inviting opening and closing dates and noting them on my calender. There is nothing I can really do until late October 21 at the earliest.

I really should venture out again as the last time I ventured out was on Tuesday. I really need bread cheese some type of protein yoghart or yaksult and some type of paper towels/tissues/toilet paper. I did plan to go out early today but it's noon almost and I'm still in bed. I didn't sleep very well again last night.

A friend of mine accidently dialled my number and we ended up having a nice talk. It was great to catch up and hear what she had been upto - not much except going for walks and weekly grocery shopping. She is just as bored as I am and also thinking of a tree or sea change ie selling possibly selling up and moving out of Sydney to South East Queensland where her friend is after the lockdown ends - it's a long way off. 

After my chat with my friend, I actually ventured out to Lane Cove shops again. I had a list of essentials I needed to buy and my plan was to find these items without having to go into a supermarket.  I needed some bread and as planned went to the local Bakers Delight to get a large toast sliced wholemeal bread loaf - it was a quick purchase as there was no queue. Next stop was a block of cheese, some duck sausages and a carrot. There is a butcher/deli in the arcade above the Woolworths in Lane Cove however when I got there  it was quite busy so I waited until most people if not everyone left. There were no duck sausages so I ended up purchasing 4 thin lamb and rosemary ones. There was not a lot of choice today. Such poor customer service there and I don't think I will return. The guy that served me ignored me and walked away before returning to serve me only to have no idea about the cheeses. I yelled at him on several ocassions as he just did not understand what I wanted ( until another shop assistant came over and advised me not to ask him about cheeses as he did not know anything about cheeses - why not train him then?). In the end I purchased a very large carrot which was suppose to be organic and a block of $9 Hunter Belle halomi cheese. I did not even notice that there was a large split down most of the carrot I selected until I had poaid for my purchases. It took forever to put my purchase through as well . It was my very first visit to this butcher/deli and  I do not recommend anyone shop there. Rating 4/10 In summary poor , slow and even lack of customer service, expensive items, great range of cheeses but very strange shop layout with an obvious demarcation line straight down the middle of the shop dividing it in half where the butcher section was separated from the cheese section with a narrow aisle between 2 tall and long glass refrigerated counters held together at the back of the shop to complete a very tight U shaped layout of the small shop with another rectangular refrigerated glass counter displaying miscellaneous pastas , olive oils, tomato sauces etc on top of it, garnished with several bunches of various dried herbs hanging across  the back counter above it, which displayed various smoked preserved dried or cured cold cuts of mainly meats ( or lunch meats) such as salami, ham, brawn, mortadella etc in it. There was probably biltong or it's equivalent as well hidden amongst all the cold cuts. At the very front of the store outside the shopfront on the cheese side there was a display table of boxes of free range eggs, a basket each of oversized organic capsicums, carrots, tomatos, zucchinis & onions. There were the basics enough to create a Mediterranean meal but all the action was in the meat section, a pity the cheese and back cold cuts/miscellaneous sections of this shop were almost completely abandoned by staff unfortunately. I wonder if they had any Greek plain yoghart? -  so frustrated by the lack of customer service I did not bother to ask! I grabbed the 4 thin lamb  sausages, the large carrot and block of $9 Hunter Bellle Halomi cheese and just left after paying for it. Photo below

Shop looks bigger then it actually is. 

After that I had to look for some yoghart but there was not any around - the smoothie shop I was trying to find on Google maps did not seem to exist ( maybe it had closed down during COVID). I was going to try Gelatissimo but they only sold ice cream and coffee and there was a queue.  I also wanted some Portuguese chicken from Chargrill Charlies or a chicken burrito from G & G next doir however abandoned that as there were very long queues. Instead i walked up the road and purchased some takeaway grilled salmon sushi  & edamame from Sushi Maru  before walking home.

Speaking of food, I forgot all about this test product. This was another freebie Coles gave away to Flybuy members a while ago and it is so good . If you are lactose intolerant like I am ( you probably know how I still binge dairy products but tolerate the consequences afterwards all the time as I just can't live without real dairy products) or are vegan  you will  love this new product. It looks and tastes great just like sour cream and the ingredients are not too bad either. it's made from coconut p oroducts which means it does have that coconut aftertaste but over all it is quite a good imitation of real sour cream.  I rate it 8/10 at least. photo below

The consistency is really thick just like real sour cream .

I watched tv whilst eating my sushi saving the example for tomorrow as I need more greens.

I am updating my blog at the same time.

5.06 pm and it's getting dark again. Should I take my rubbish out? No wait until tomorrow. 

I stayed up tonight until almost midnight to watch the Olympics. Australians may dominate in water sports such as swimming, sailing and kyaking/conoeing as well as doing well in other team sports such as equestrian & beach volley ball however once known for their past dominance in athletics, Australia has not had many sucesses in Olympic track and field events. It was a very addictive nail biting round in the women's high jumping event with Australia taking the silver medal after attempting a failed 2.04 meter high jump clearance round and with what is being dubbed a "good Russian" ( because the Russians have been banned from participating in the Oympics this year due to drug cheating and can't compete under the Russian  flag only under the Russian Olympic Committee  ROC ) athlete  taking out the gold by managing to clear the 1.04 m high jump round. This was just as exciting as Australian javelin thrower Kelsey-Lee Barber who won a bronze - don't know her? There is a great tv commercial promoting meat on tv at the moment with the catch phrase " Who's going to have the last piece of meat? " with a sibling rivalry catch phrase of " I've got a record to break " - love this advertisement Google it - it's humorous. 

Other Olympians such as Mel Wu (who started off as a 13 year old synchronised  diver at the Commonwealth Games and a previous synchronized diver at the Olympics winning a silver medalist and now a bronze medal winner as an individual diver at this  Tokyo Olympics) has a Go daddy website commercial which is a non speaking commercial but promotes one of her 3 businesses. Then there is gold medalist Ariarne Timus the Australian swimmer with her Harvey Norman commercials which highlights her lifestyle with her speaking about time saving convenience technology  and  showing her  roasting a chicken in the latest oven, styling her hair with the latest hair dryer/curler/straightener etc. 

I had a great sleep and slept right through until my alarm went off at 5 am then again at 6 am where I was now well and truely awake on Sunday morning still cold and dark.

Sunday 8th August 2021

Day 42 of an indefinite lockdown.

My crystal ball is still working. After blogging about the types of vaccines accepted on a vaccine passport in the future for travel & entry into the U.S.-  news break this morning a third vaccine is heading it's way to Australia in a few weeks to be approved by the TGA - Moderna one of 3 major vaccines approved and has been  widely used in the US.

Other breaking news - again my crystal ball is still working it looks unofficially that out lockdown will continue beyond the end of August 2021 as cases of the Delta strain of COVID continues to spread above 300 cases in nsw and QLD's South Eastern lockdown end is in doubt and VIC 's lockdown is extended . 

The Boomers ( Australian basketball team) wins it's first ever Olympic medal - a bronze. They have come close so many times at a medal at previous Olympics but have always just missed out. Go Patty Mills Boomers captain. He is so tiny compared to most of the other basketball team members but he can sure score a " ball in the basket" 

The closing ceremony is on tonight at 8.30 pm after the premiere of  The Voice on channel 7. What are we going to watch on tv after the Olympics finish? It would be nice if the Para Olympics continued straight after and got the same coverage extending the Olympic  spirit which is so much needed due to the state of lockdowns at the moment. 

Watching the men's marathon this morning, I just wondering why and how there hasn't been any super spreading of COVID amongst athletes especially from all the close contact sports. They can't and don't wear masks during their events and there seems to be a lot of hugging fist pumping and other body contact either intentionally or not and even the passing of ice blocks was mentioned. Really? All the sweat etc especially in sports such as boxing for example . Ewe!!! I'm talking about all those sweaty hot heavy breathing competitors running close to each other for 42 km from all countries with high and low rates of COVID - Are Olympic  events such as marathons potential super spreaders? I'm sure they have been rigorously tested and they are possibly  vaccinated however vaccination is not 100% protection and you can still contract COVID and spread it unknowingly if asymptomatic.  These unmasked runners are mixing with masked  officials who are from the public who may be wearing a mask but they may not be vaccinated. Who knows where they have come from or been? There are huge crowds along the sides of the race course and these marathon competitors are running along public roads through different neighbourhoods hence out in the public in uncontrolled venues - they are not confined within the controlled Olympic village or at specific sporting venues reserved for Olympic events that are kept clean and where strict COVID rules/regulations/restrictions are adhered to.

Speaking of close contact during the mens marathon - Did anyone see the following incident at one of the many drink stations along the marathon route remembering that a full marathon is usually 42 km long? 

So participants are running past a drink station and grabbing a drink from a set of tables set up along the side of the road. The first few runners  manage to grab a drink off whatever table they can without stopping and continue running with it however one runner runs past and fails to grab any of the drinks lined up on any of the tables as he runs past them until almost the end of the set of drink station tables. Because his arm is seen continuously extended out over the drinks lined up along the tables  trying  unsucessfully to grab one and instead casusing a domino effect knocking over all ythe drinks as he ran past, he blocked all the other runners behind him from grabbing a drink as they ran past from any of  the tables. He finally managed to grab a drink from one of the last tables  at the drink station. I felt sorry  for all the runners who may or did miss out on a drink as a result of this incident. All runs would have been dying for a drink at tgat point as it was very hot and humid. The debate was was the runners actions deliberate or not? Very inconsiderate and un sportman like if they were.

Late afternoon I got really bored so went for a walk in search of essential grocery items I was running really low on that did not require me to go into a supermarket. I also did not want to go into any of the petrol stations attached with a Coles Express or Seven Eleven and believe me tgere are quite a few of these along the Pacific Highway.  Why you may ask because my theory is they could be COVID hotspots - think about it - when there are mystery cases that can't be contact traced back to healthcare workers for example from major hospitals aged care facilities GPs and other  medical specialists, there workers often work at multiple sites and weekly to do shift work therefore are more likely to either live or stay locally or travel by private motor vehicle rather  then public transport. Due to this they would be more likely to stop off at the closest petrol station to fill up or even purchase snacks essential groceries or even meals for example on the way to and from work/home if they lack the time as an alternative to stopping and shopping at a local supermarket. It's only my theory as I could be completely wrong. But back to my walk to Lane Cove shops, by the time I arrived most shops were closed except for the 3 major supermarkets, Priceline and very few takeaway places. I had planned to get half a Portuguese chicken from Chargrill Charlies as I thought it would not be as busy as Saturday but it was closed along with Bakers Delight near by. G & G was still open however I did not want a burrito or taco today. I could not even get toilet paper or tissues  as all the chemists were shut except for Priceline and they did not look like they stocked tissues or toilet paper.  I needed fruit & juice but the juice bar I was looking for online I am pretty sure has closed down and ity is now a restaurant or cafe. The cafe that may sell yoghart and juices was also closed but I did find where I could get a large bottle of Golden Circle reconstituted orange juice for under $4 - at one of the local bottle shops ( I did not go to the one attached to the Coles as I don't think they would stock any as there are 2 supermarkets on either side of it). If I am desperate I will get a bottle from that bottle shop. So I settled for a half rather small and dry Portugese chicken from Ogalo chickens across the road. Photo below

This is probably only the 2nd time in my entire life I have had a chicken from If all. I have had it's competitor  Nandos  chicken more times. Rating 5/10 to be honest I had to wait for my order outside even when a half chicken was in the bain marie ready to go. It cost just under $9 for ha lf a chicken and was small & dry but it had a crispy skin that had a very slight flame grilled flavour but not much else. It wasn't exactly a Portuguese chicken just a pimped up butterflied roast chicken . Oh well. I used cash and tried to get change for the laundry but they did not have any so I am now still stuck with 2 x $5 notes and a $10 note however I did manage to get 1 x $1 coin. It was dark and wet but only started to very lightly sprinkle with rain close to arriving home. It was forecast for rain today and a top of only 17 degrees C - forecast was correct it did feel like 17 degrees C today and it did rain for about half a day earlier today. 

Before taking my walk today I took my rubbish out to the red bin and someone has been dumping their bag of household rubbish into this red bin - I don't mind if walkers and joggers use the bin to put small amounts of rubbish into this red bin instead of dumping it on the footpath but dumping bags of household rubbish into someone else's bin on private property is actually trespassing! There is a public bin at each busstop equal distance reach side of where I reside less then 5 minutes away each way.

Just saw that only reached 15 degrees today not 17 degrees as forecasted. Tomorrow it should reach 18 degrees C. 

After watching the news I decided to watch the premiere of The Voice unless there is something better to watch before watching the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics at 8.30 pm tonight.

The final medal presentations in the stadium are received for the women's and men's marathon and entertainment includes Indigenous performances around Japan.

 

Almost 11.30 pm and the 32nd Tokyo Olympics has just been declared closed however the closing ceremony is not quite over yet a few more minutes to go. 

A short time after the Olympic flame is extinguished. Arigato .

The next Olympics is in Paris 2024 however the Paralympics  are still to commence on the 23rd August 2021. 

Monday 9th August 2021 Week  of what is it now of Unemployment? Week 72 Of Unemployment.

Day 42 of a now indefinite lockdown 

It was a freezing cold night and the sun is trying to keep out but can't quite do it this morning. 7.30 am and out it pops. Hopefully a nice day today.

Well South East QLD is now out of it's short lockdown however Victoria is still in lockdown and hopes fading of it coming out of it and  there seems no end to NSW's  lockdown and there are questions of why cases are still going up and spreading despite increases in lockdown restrictions with tighter restrictions in more Western and South Western Sydney?

90% vaccination of the Olympic Village and 600 000 tests performed but there was still a very small % of risk of COVID - seen by the unfortunate athletes that tested positive and unable to compete ending their dreams of the Olympics before they began and going into quarantine.

Let's now talk about tomorrow's Census. My cystral ball is still working. I wrote about the last test census and how I was doing a cyber security course online at that time of tge l ast census and mention how there was a cyber attack on it. Breaking news today threat of another cyber attack of the Census this year where 5 million people have already completed online  and where since the 2016 census it has been re-engineered to prevent another cyber attack. What exactly is an "ethical hacker" ? One is apparently being used to well hack into the Census so it doesn't get hacked again - De Ja Vu? Lie on your census it's the only way to protect your private and personal information ( I'm not encouraging this by the way).

There is a mad man walking along the main highway yelling and screaming randomly  entering and exiting private property whilst doing so. He just J walked across the main highway via the narrow median strip in the centre of the highway before continuing to walk in the opposite direction - the state he was in I thought he was going to get run over whilst waiting on the median strip. He has now well and truely disappeared.

I tried to book a COVID vaccine online today via the eligibility  questionaire. I got as far as searching vaccination locations near where I live ( very important I  case I get a reaction from it) to make a booking  and there is either no availability  or waiting time before the site crashed on me completely advising me with a message it was unavailable. I'll try again later.

I don't have much to do today - should I risk going essential grocery shopping today? Should I purchase that last stick vacuum clean from the post office? I don't have bills to pay but do have to take the rubbish out today. Done and I emptied my mail box out of all the junk mail!

The mad man yelling previously is back again. It looks like he is staying next door at the hotel. I think he has been shopping as he has returned with a Coles bag. 

I am trying to do a Woolworths and Coles click and collect online but it's taking me forever to search and select each grocery item I would like to put into the shopping cart so I gave up and instead for the 3rd day in a row after taking my rubbish out take a walk again down to Lane Cove shops.

First stop was to the donation bin behind the post office again to place more unwanted stuff into it - a washed white  fitted sheet and a digital clock. 

Next stop was to the post office to take a look at the last stick vacuum cleaner again to get some stamps a card and a registered mail envelope. The line suddenly became really long so I left minimising the risk of contracting COVID and decided to return later. I never returned. After stopping at the Westpac ATM to withdraw some cash hopefully to get some change for the laundry, I quickly stopped off at the newsagency and purchased a blank card so I can write a proper letter to the aged care resident I have been corresponding with and the newsagency had stamps in packs of 10 so I didn't need to go back to the post office at least for today. I would loved to have spent more time inside the news agency but there were a number of people in there browsing for a while so grabed any blank card I could find (and there were so many stands  of  cards) before heading to the counter and paying for my purchases. 

I really wanted to get some more edaname from Sushi Maru again since I did not have any frozen peas left but unfortunately they did not have any today so I found the last serving at another sushi place in the arcade across from that butcher/deli I visited previously. I handed the sushi place a $50 note but they would not accept it insisting they did not have any change and spotting my coins asked if I could use them I had to sternly tell he no because I needed them for something else and that I would come back as I needed to purchase something else from Source just down the arcade and would have change. Unfortunately after purchasing some raw hazelnuts, blacks of vegan unsweetened dark chocolate, Japanese rice crackers and some sour cherries, I went to pay cash and they only accepted card so there went my plan to get some change for my edaname and laundry. Luckily ( and let's go back a step) , I needed some tissues so stopp ed off at Priceline in between the sushi store and source in the arcade and asked if they had any and yes they did so killed 2 birds with one stone - crossed boxes of tisdues off my shopping list and got some change for the laundry and for the sushi store who were holding my purchase until I returned. Whilst at Priceline I saw these really cute animal toothbrush holders at the counter so purchased 2 panda ones which I am going to send to a little 6 year old special needs boy who just had a birthday. It's not what I had planned to send him but during a lockdown if you see something that may have a purpose you just buy it - no browsing or window shopping. 

After Priceline and Source it was back with my $3 in coins to the sushi store then I kept umming and arring about getting a half Portugese chicken from Chargrill Charlies. The queues were so long everytime I wanted to get some chicken but I was lucky this time round and did not have to wait and was served immediately. So what did I think of this Chargrill Charlies  compared to the original Rose Bay one and the first one that opened  in suburban Victoria? I thought it was just as good! I was so tempted to get a side of homemade potato wedges which looked so perfectly cooked but restrained myself to just half a Portugese chicken I had planned to purchase to compare with the other half Ogalo Portugese chicken I purchased and ate the other day. Chargrill Charlies half Portugese chicken was a little larger but it tasted so much better- not so dry either. Rating 8/10. A little more expensive at $10.50 for half a Portugese chicken it was worth it splitting it up into 2 meals again. Next time I may try one of their many other items on their menu. No wonder there is a queue every day. Just an abundance of good honest home style food. So much variety to choose from. photo below

There was one other thing on my shopping list I sort of urgently needed and that was fresh juice. By now most cafes and shops were closing or closed. I should have purchased the bottle of juice frtom the juice and salad  poke bowel bat before it closed so had to settle for 2 small bottles of Noah's juice one orange one green - they were closed and the guy in front of me was turned away but I managed to be served as I only wanted 2 bottles of randomly chosen juice on display. photo below. I am going to rate this a 8/10. I love my green juice usually but for a $4.50 a bottle juice that is not reconstituted it was one of the best prebottled juices I've had. So glad i purchased 2 random bottles. I love the glass recyclable borules they are in but unsure about the peel off coloured foil tops instead of a metal  screw lid which I think is not as environmentally friendly. Yes the bottles are still return and earn eligible. I was offered 2 straws but refused them as I don't use straws even if they are paper. 

My little shopping trip is as complete as I could do today. Time to walk home to eat dinner 

On my way back , I stopped and put my red bin out, it was heavy again but not as heavy as the previous fortnight ( I only put the red bin out every fortnight and other bins only when they are full ) I just have to remember to wheel it back in tomorrow.

Now that the Tokyo Olympics are over, I have become a little addicted to watching the new series of The Voice which just premiered yesterday on Channel 7. 

I went to sleep so late - I have been trying to complete an online click and collect  grocery order for both Woolworths and Coles for 2 days now. it just takes so long and I can't get the enter  list to work online. It keeps stopping after one item. I will try again tomorrow but by the time I actually complete it it will take forever for a 2 hour "window" to become available for pick up.

Sleep by around 11 pm.

Tuesday 10th August 2021

Day 43 of an indefinite lockdown?

I got up really early today after quite a good sleep at 5 am. It was a cold night again.

Breaking news this morning - it's Census day . Who cares mine has already been completed. I wonder how many people could not complete their Census because they are somewhere " in transit" - brings new meaning to  how you can complete your Census in advance if you know where you are going to be on Tuesday 10th August 2021 ie completing their census in advance  making it look like they will be at home with family on Census day when they are secretly on the move in a motor vehicle halfway to some regional area of NSW or even interstate escaping lockdown in NSW! Then there is breaking news on Modena the third approved vaccine now that it has been approved will be available at GPS and pharmacies in September 21 and there is growing pressure from employers for employees towards " the jab or your job" - there is my crystal ball again , no consideration about those who can't be vaccinated and the issue of human rights where there was a debate and discussion yesterday about how governments can force medical procedures on citizens. The other news in North America is Canada opens it's borders for the first tome again to Americans however the "deal" is not reciprocated by the US allowing Canadians to cross over into the US border - sound familiar ? Remember the temporary Australia/ NZ travel bubble which also started off oneway then opened up to both ways briefly then shut tight again? I  suspect that this same situation will happen between  Canada & USA. The other news relating to COVID happening in the US is vaccination vacations - international tourists unable to receive the vaccine in their own country travelling to the US to get vaccinated using up stockpiles of excess unused vaccines from US citizens that did not want to get vaccinate - now that's an incentive for me just to allowed to travel over to the US, it would work out perfectly - no waiting period or mucking around trying to find a GP in Sydney to get vaccinated. Get vaccinated at the airport upon arrival with no 2 week hotel quarantine, a short transit of 2 weeks in the US before receiving the 2nd booster shot before taking advantage of the current one way open border US to Canada crossing to reach my final destination in Canada of Vancouver & Whistler HOWEVER there are a few catches I could become stranded overseas for 2 reasons hence the double entendre of the meaning of "one way". 1. the vaccine is J & J - it may be approved FDA vaccine for use and on a vaccine passport for travel in North America but it is not approved at all  for use as a COVID vaccine in Australia so good luck with side effect liabilities and it will be extremely expensive and difficult to  get a flight (any flight) back to Australia when you decide to return - borders could be shut completely to returning Australians at anytime with current strict quotas rertrictions of returning travellers, there are still hundreds of  thousands of stranded Australians overseas still trying to return home - some technically "stateless" or "illegal" as visa expire and finances dry out. Pessimistic but reality. It could turn into a stressful vaccation - makes you want to stay at home??

It's meant to be a warmer day today and at 7.30 am the sun is just popping out really brightly. Temperatures should reach 20's today with no rain forecast. I think it will be another walk today if not at least go downstairs to bring the bin in. I have no idea when the garbos come to empty the bins. I will leave it until a little later as it is only 7.30 am and I am waiting for my hot breakfast of broccoli rice left over Portugese chicken egg and yesterday's edaname. Yum. Nothing like a good breakfast to start the day. A cup of hot tea and maybe some juice as well. I am short of fruit so conserving my last lime and pear. 

So I didn't  quite make it today to Lane Cove shops but I did take a walk to the nearest mail box which probably only gets emptied once a year although there is  very large printing on it advising that the mail box gets emptied at 12 (pm I assume daily). We shall see. I place my card and letter  I wrote to the aged care resident I have been corresponding with and a small mystery package containing 2 cute panda toothbrush holders to be sent as a present to a special needs boy who just had his 6th birthday and his little brother. I could not be bothered to walk down to Lane Cove post office and line up for proper processing so just stuck the gift in bubble wrap, sealed it in a plain plastic courier satchel, wrote the US address on the front of it and did not put a sender address or name on the back of it. taped it and stuck all the Australian local stamps I had on it ( I put approximately $10 worth of stamps on it and they are local stamps not overseas stamps  - yes there is a difference local stamps should only be used for postage within Australia  and overseas stamps should only be used for postage outside of Australia.  Apparently due to local stamps including GST & overseas stamps are GST exempt. In case readers are wondering- no this GST  is not indicated at all on stamps and most people probably don't  even know about this) . If readers remember my previous blog  last Christmas how Rudolf  the Red nosed Reindeer really does exist and managed to get as letter to me with only a unit and street number on it then this will be another test on the postal system - will my gift get to it's final destination in the USA with no tracking no return address and the incorrect postage ( stamps and amount)? TBA

I can't remember which order I did my chores and errands in the afternoon but I had a late shower, washed my dishes, made lunch and ate it  ( oven baked rice broccoli egg with the leftover Portugese chicken and edaname as well as a coconut lime & mango jelly), put the red bin back in, did my laundry ( finally now thast I had some change for the laundry) , tried to continue with my online grocery shopping at Coles and Woolworths ( still incomplete) and update my blog as well as watch some tv and continued packing.

I did not eat dinner and watched The Chase followed by the 6 pm news on channel 7 followed by The Cook Up on the SBS Food channel followed by The voice on channel 7 before falling asleep whilst watching whatever else was on that channel after it.

Wednesday 12th August 2021

Day 44  of  an indefinite lockdown

I woke up really early again today at 5 am and watched the brews. it was a very cold night and morning again. I probably had a drink a snack and went back to bed. I woke up aga in after 8 am. 

Breaking news today was the Census. I wonder if there is a question at the end of tge census asking people how long it tlook for them to complete it like some other government questionaire have. If there was I sure didn't see it. It didn't even take me very long to complete it yet Kochie on Channel  7 morning news was talki my about how he wanted to go back and change some of his answers on the Census. Then there was the mention of if anyone noticed the shopping cart icon that came up on the Census. What shopping cart icon? Did I miss this by not completing my Census properly? - I did receive a receipt # upon completion. Was my Census form not the current one everyone else filled out? - after all there was a complete overhaul to prevent cyber attacks reoccurring this Census. Maybe being single has it's advantages - answering no to half of the questions on the census saves you so much time in completing it. 

My crystal ball is still working. when I wrote about the Census  being skewed this year due to COVID, a valid example was bought up on the news this morning in regards to public transport usage. There was the concern that public transport services in certain areas would be cut due to the results of the Census where there would be cuts to public transport services due to the number of people answering no to the question of do they use public transport - of course nobody is going to be using public transport on the night of the Census - during COVID most people would be avoiding using any share ride services still available and using their own form of private transportation unless it is unavailable to them. 

My crystal ball continues to work when I wrote about how the lockdown is very likely  to continue beyond the end of August and I have been labelli my "indefinite" well it has now been mentioned that the lockdown will not end until the end of December 2021. That's over a 6 month lockdown just for NSW and no other state in Australia. That's definitely a breach of human rights and there will definitely be  violent mass riots and protests around NSW if not in Victoria and parts of QLD as well. 

Listening to the depressing 11 am daily NSW COVID announcement where there is an increase in COVID cases close to reaching 355 and the # of  deaths , a push for testing and vaccination ( with the mention of problems with the vaccination booking system) 4 million vaccinations to date far short of the target of 6 million and no guarantee of the indefinite lockdown ending. Still problems with the vaccine booking system. The premiere talks about possible lifting of some restrictions of lockdown not ending lockdown by the end of August. I don't understand how COVID has now reached regional areas like Dubbo where there are 2 mystery cases being investigated - we aren't allowed to travel outsiders of 5 km or 10 km of where we reside - regional travel is not allowed except for essential or emergency services. if we were allowed to travel regionally- I would be in Thredbo or Perisher Blue by now!!! I 'm still unemployed and too scared to even do an essential shop!!!!!! 

For F*** sake facts : vaccination does not reduce the spread of the different strains of COVID, it just reduces the chances of people ending up in hospital from it if they contract it - no vaccine is 100% effective in preventing you from getting COVID and you can still get COVID after double vaccination as well as be asymptomatic or have milder symptoms. You therefore are still able to spread COVID  unknowingly. The media at the daily press conferences are getting extremely "attacking", it's becoming a cat fight and reminds me very much like the shareholder question time sessions at the Myer AGMs where the board is grilled over an open fire pit and on the brink of a punch up. All sorts of rumours are starting to appear from members of the media and some have some very valid questions which remain unanswered by the NSW premier and her team such as what's with the singles bubble? And what's with regional travel? Come on less talk more action by the new government  would be appreciated!!!!

I would like to acknowledge all the great work the daily Auslan translators are doing! 

Time to turn off and time out - the daily announcements are not getting anything. I'd rather watch repeats on the Food channel then continue to watch the above - everyday it's the same thing going round and round in circles. The rest of the world has opened up in the past 6 months and NSW is still lockdown.

Breaking news the new date lockdown will be extended until is now the end of November 2021. Surprised? No. Another ski season lost and now another birthday lost as well. Next will be no Christmas and no NY and a 4th ski season missed overseas. I guess the prepaid tickets for the annual Blackmores Running Festival, Cake Bake and Sweet Show and the Good Food & Wine Show  will remain unused for yet another year!

Fact NSW but not the rest of Australia is now up there with Chile and Peru as countries with the world's longest lockdowns 6 months ongoing.

I want to know what the government is doing for people who can't get vaccinated and if it's discrimination and breach of human rights if the government decides to implement an immediate vaccine passport which allows for the  refusal of  entry to venue or events  or a no jab no job or travel against those those who have not been vaccinated. 

I check the COVID case map daily but when I checked today it was blank. "Houston we have a problem"  the government's COVID sites are falling apart! I forgot to go back online to see if I can book a vaccine appointment today. Still no further news on the use of rapid antigen testing. 

Don't you hate it when scam callers try to call you late at night. If someone calls and I  am unfamiliar with that number I always Google the number and see what comes up. This was a scam number  according to the number of negative revuews posted online which I did not answer. If you get a call from this number 02 8317 3378 it someone pretending to be from the Australian Tax office or legal department. My phone did pick it up as a possible scam or fraud number. Whoever rang me left a message it was the according to a message from Telstra Dave Sharp? federal member for Wentworth . Don't know him and how did he get my number?

Thursday 13th August 2021

Day 45 of a now minimum of 5 months lockdown not ending until November 21 just announced

It was really windy throughout the night but I managed to sleep ok as it was not cold just really windy. 

Woke up at 5 am this morning as I only went to bed at around 11 pm last night after a late shower instead of my usual early shower.

I went back to bed then woke up again around 8 am and had a proper breakfast of hot oats with a dash of cream and bottled apricots or peaches I had as I have now run out of fresh fruit, followed by oven baked salmon, left over roasted potatos from last night, oven roasted zucchini and my little  pigs in blankets I previously made with melted Halomi cheese on top.

My pantry is almost empty although I do still have a few cans of pear juice, salmon,  black beans, chickpeas , tomatos,  beetroot and salsa left. I also have a tetra pack of non lactose milk, cream and a tin of sweetened condensed milk. There is also a packet of udon noodles, lots of bulga wheat, olive oil, soya sauce and a few other odds and ends. I am running low on plain flour and self raising flour but have plenty of potato starch and 2 types of rice flour left. In the refrigerator there is 1 piece of salmon , 1 lime, a few mini capsicums, a large carrot, an onion, a corn, 2 shallots, some parsley stalks and corriander stalks , a few slices of bread , a small block  of halomi, a bottle of water,  and 2 eggs left. I still have some other basics as well. 

Newbreak yesterday , how could this happen ? - was it a mistake due to the lack of training or skilled staff? Surely there is not such a shortage of Pfizer vaccines in QLD where demand is so high they have to resort to diluting their stocks of vaccines available in order to enable more of their population to receive the vaccine. It will be interesting to see how much immunity these 6 people actually again from their low dose vaccinations - and would it make any difference to their risk of any allergic reactions or  side effects?

"Six people wrongly given 'ultra-low-dose' Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination, ...."

It is past noon and it's now a beautiful day outside , a contrast from this morning's overcast weather. I should really go for a walk. I am bored and do need stamps again.

I missed the 11 am NSW premier's daily COVID press conference announcement today as the stupid approved employment service provider Salvation Army Employment Plus decides to ring me to hassle me about changing my job plan from 4 job searches a month to 20 job searches a month. They are wasting my time . I am only not working because of lockdown . Why are they pressuring me to change my job plan now which means I have to fulfil my mutual obligation of finding 20 jobs a month during lockdown and in the future instead of 4 . This will become a problem when lock down ends and if I have to return to work as I have enough trouble searching for 4 jobs a month whilst working. The employment service provider  is just like any other private employment agency  except that they are an approved Centrelink employment agency and get a commission from Centrelink a government department for every client they manage to place into a permanent position rather then from the company that employs the client. Underperforming approved Centrelink employment service providers do not get their contracts renewed ( I believe) hence the pressure to place as many clients on welfare payments as possible into jobs. I don't need them to place me into a job, I had a job which I mentioned previously that they did no even have anything to do in gaining for me and they really are a liability in me losing it. They have not assisted me at all in my job searches and what gives them the right to give me tax advice? Yes they were giving me tax advice on the COViD support .Everyone's situation is different. If I wish to continue to report my fortnightly income to Centrelink  and not apply for the additional COVID support that's my choice - I do not need this employment service provider to practically push me into applying for it. On the one hand the person who rang and spoke to me tells me how the aim of Centrelink was to get as many people off welfare as possible but at the same time encouraging me to apply for the additional COVID support and pushing me to sign a new job plan increasing my current mutual obligations 5 fold and hence pressuring me to search for 20 jobs per month whilst in lockdown and when I return to work in order not to have my welfare payments cut off. I worked so hard to get welfare support at the beginning of COVID and waited so long to receive it, to stop reporting my fortnightly income now or get my payments cut off means I will have to wait another 3 months to get welfare payments again. I was explained that if you do work and your job plan requires you to completes 20 job searches per month, this amount of job searches required decreases with the amount of hours you are working. I don't believe this is how it works as I continued reporting my fortnightly income to Centrelink  throughout my casual employment at Myer, there several months I was ineligible for welfare payments as I was earning above the threshold- that's ok as I am only getting support when I needed it from Centrelink  however I was still getting messages that my payments would stop if I did not meet my month mutal obligations and reported my 4 job searches per month and my poayments actually have been on hold at least twice ( how can a payment be on hold when you are not even receiving any at the time becausr you are ineligible due to earnings above the threshold) . I explained how I can't always report my job searches in time online due to my work commitments. I put the job searches on at a later date to catch up. I have lodged so many complaints against this employment service provider   including a my threat to change providers - you can't ring them back if you miss their call as it is a private number and they constantly refuse to take note of appointments I had to miss because I  sm working - would they ratger me miss paid employment to attend an unpaid appointment with them? In summary why change a job plan in the middle of an indefinite lockdown? It may have been suspended for now until we get out of lockdown but it will make my life worse when lockdown is over and I don't need this.

I forgot to ask my readers (because I love to write but my spelling has always been bad, my grammar always dodgey and well - English was my second language) the following question :

SHOULD I ENTER THE SBS EMERGING WRITERS COMPETITION WHICH OPENS 16TH AUGUST 2021? 

I have no idea what the theme this year "Between Two Worlds" even means. Please explain to me. Comments/feedback from readers appreciated

Today I also sent a text to another Myer team member from the VM department to check up on how she was doing during lockdown asking by her how home schooling is going and telling her about the apartment block being a crime scene a few weeks back when the guy in Unit 1a passed away.

I had to go for a walk around 2 pm today after not venturing out the last few days as well as not being able to complete my online Coles grocery order I had been trying to put together. In tge end I tried to first ring Coles Lane Cove without sucess as the phone just kept ringing and no one picked up so I hung up and tried to phone the online shopping number where a recorded voice message that kept me on hold advised me that the estimated wait time was approximately 10 minutes therefore I hung up again deciding to risk a visit  to Coles  Lane Cove in person and ask a staff member myself  the question regarding my online shopping order. 

I ended up first walking to the post office saw the very long queue then decided to go to the news agency to purchase another 10 packet of local stamps instead as there was no queue.  Next it was in search of edaname- Sushi Maru was $0.50 more then the sushi place in the arcade so I purchased a serving from there. It didn't look as good but it's what's inside the shells that matter. Onto my next stop which I was trying to avoid - Woolworths. I checked how many people were in the supermarket and whether everyone was wearing masks which are mandatory  before scanning the QR code and entering. I grabed a basket and practically ran around and down the aisles  chucking as many items I could remember from my shopping list and could find into it. Straight to the checkout  where nobody was waiting - this was pretty bad customer service besides having to wait for service the checkout operator who was serving me abandoned me and got another check out operator to continue serving me. This  person did help me pack my shopping bags unlike the previous checkout operator who just put everything on the side of the checkout register. I made sure I checked out of the QR code scanned spending a record less then 9 minutes to fill the basket with grocery items. A toilet stop . Next stop Coles I scanned the QR code as there was a security guard standing out front checking everyone had done so even when I didn't intend to go shopping just ask a question at the service counter then leave. I was in there less then 1 minute and could not check out so had to wait a minimum of 2 minutes before I could check out. Back through the arcade to Source to get some blocks of dark chocolate- by now cafes and juice bars were starting to close . By the time I reached source, it was already closed  - I asked the shop assistant if they were closed and she said yes, I then looked at the time and said but it's only 4.30 pm and it says the shop is open until 5 pm - she said there was a family emergency so no chocolate today. I then made a quick dash to Bakers Delight which was preparing to shut as well. I quickly purchased a Portugese tart and a chocolate croissant.  It's been ages since I had either one of them. The tart was quite sweet but nice but the croissant was a little dry but still ok. 

Finally time to make my way home as it is now past 5 pm and it will soon start getting darker.

Home before 6 pm in time to watch the rest of The Chase the news and The Cook Up. 

Catch up on my blog, a light snack for dinner and watching of YouTube sleep by 10 pm.

Friday 14th August 2021

Well it's almost the end of another day of an indefinite lockdown in NSW where  it has gone a little quite about the lockdown potential November end date. It's now day 46 I believe of the NSW lockdown.

Another day of sunshine and a high of 21 degrees C. I did not sleep well again at all last night. It's actually the stress constantly keeping me awake at night thinking about the concerns about how much longer I can cope being in lockdown and living alone  and when will lockdown end ? Where am I going to live when I have to move out?  If I get vaccinated will I get a severe allergic reaction or not? What will happen to my job and will I ever return? How much longer will I be able to survive financially during and after lockdown? The constant fear not just leaving the apartment when it is dark but fear of contracting COVID just by leaving my apartment and being at the wrong place at the wrong time contracting COVID and having to get tested and posdibly go into isolation etc I am sure there are other readers out there that are constantly kept awake at night with similar pandemic concerns.

I still need to get the essential grocery items on my shopping list I could not or did not manage to get yesterday but just do not want to go out again.

I spent most of the afternoon today catching up on some sleep but after 3 pm I made mysrlf get up have a shower wash my dishes and go for walk again down to Lane Cove shops. First stop was Source to purchase some more dark chocolate bars that I used, the raw hazelnuts I ate and some more rice crackers I also ate ( I think this will be my last purchase of these rice crackers as the tub at source is almost empty) as well as some dates. So much for the last batch of dark chocolate raw hazelnuts and sour cherries that were meant to go into a brownie I had planned to make - I will try and resist eating my replacement purchases this time round. Next stop was Coles or Aldi. I agonized for so long after grabbing a Coles trolley before deciding on which supermarket to enter. I really didn't want to enter either supermarket but I really needed some essential grocery items I did not manage to grab last shopping trip. I abandoned the online  shopping as it was just too hard  in more tgen one way.  So I scanned  the QR code and entered Aldi. I grabed what I could but some of the essential grocery items I am really low on and need to replace were unavailable.  I had to get alternatives for some other items as well. I grabed a 4 pack of whatever toilet paper was in front of me not even noting how much it was. Still no mega rolls of paper towels and the non lactose cheese I just replaced with the largest packet of light tasty cheese. There was no browsing just grabbing what I could remember from my shopping list - eggs, flour, spaghetti, an extra tin of caned tomatos,  salmon,  spinach & rocket, turkey mince ( I hope that's what I grabbed as it is usually packed in a purple tray rather then a white one) , biscuits, Manuka honey - I forgot a few other things but that will do for now. I dump everything onto the checkout' s belt and paid by card. 

Next stop was Bakers Delight ( yes again!) as I have almost run out of bread and forgot to pick up some at Aldi. A mini loaf of wholemeal bread sliced thick, and one of each olive/cheese & mushroom/cheese bread rolls. I just had to get these as they are not available all the time. 

My final stop was next door - there was no queue for once so I ordered a small spicy chicken burrito from G & G  to take home for dinner. I actually remembered to present my loyalty card to be scanned this time round and I actually had enough for a free burrito. I asked if I could save it for next time as I was paying in cash and trying to collect more $1 & $2 coins for laundry.

Time to wall home as it is getting dark. As soon as I reach the apartment block and unlock the front door, I ensure the door is locked behind me. Back in my apartment, I take my double face masks off and wash them with bleach and hang them up as well as washing my hands before eating my mini burrito ( I could have done with another one of these) with a glass of green juice , followed by one of the bread rolls , a small square of dark chocolate and the handful of rice crackers. 

As usual during week nights I watch the 6 pm news on whatever channel I feel like and watch The Cook Up whilst updating my blog. After 7.30 pm there usually isn't much on that is interesting so it's a bit of channel surfing and if I fail to find anything intetesting to watch , I switch my attention to YouTube & The TicToks.

No plans for tomorrow but I have to take the rubbish out to the bins. Not much laundry this week yet so that can wait. I do need to continue packing and throwing stuff out. 

Saturday 15th August 2021

Day 47 of an indefinite lockdown.

Another sunny day although a little cold again this morning.

I managed to get a few hours sleep but again did not sleep well. I've noticed that my allergies are stable however my skin is extremely dry and very itchy. Despite continuing to use a lower dose of cortesone oilnments on my ezcema  my skins is actually not getting any better. I'm pretty sure all the stress from the lockdown has been and is a trigger for this. I have not changed my diet and watch everything I eat avoiding things I know I am allergic to. Maybe I am lacking proper doses of vitamin D - and I don't mean the weekly strolls outdoors down to the local beach ie no more then the limit of 5 km or 10 km within where you reside - I mean freedom to travel and do things you would normally do like go to work, do a dance class, go for a swim, attend events, visit places of interest and travel even if it is locally or interstate but outside of the 5 km or 10 km limit. If one of the treatments for my skin condition is exposure to UV rays then I am possibly not getting enough of it. I go skiing for a reason, it gives me relief and have noticed that missing whole ski seasons has had an impact especially missing my annual trip to Canada where going for a swim in an indoor pool treated with chlorine and uv light has helped along with healthy doses of  the Winter Northern sun which is not as harmful as our southern sun. Bathing  in the clean glacial or mountain water probably helps as well as my family on my mum's side who are Canadians always told me that the water from the tap in Vancouver is so clean and good for you because it comes straight from the mountains and there is no need to boil it or buy bottled water. Probably true as it is probably full of minerals along with breathing in the fresh mountain air. Here in sydney all I have been breathing in is filthy polluted air- how I long to get out of Sydney! Maybe this is why there is such a rapid increase in COVID cases in some areas of  Greater Sydney. What if the theory was the more strict lockdowns are enforced the greater the increase in the number of cases of COVID in those areas. When I was in high school I had a teacher that always opened up the windows to let fresh air in even during Winter because she was a big believer in cross ventilation to minimise "germs" from accumulating and spreading amongst students confined in classrooms just as I am a hater of air conditioning systems especially those with huge industrial cooling towers and noisey open fan rooms both looking as if their filters haven't been cleaned for decades ( and a source of legionaires  disease) . Are no open windows allowing fresh air  to circulate and poorly maintained filters in air conditioning systems partially responsible as the source and rapid uncontrolled spread of COVID?  To minimise the spread of COVID I think everyone everywhere should be made to wear a mask at all times outside of their home unless they are on their own and not near other people eg going for  a walk or jog. I agree that people should not be travelling outside of their LGAs where they reside however I don't agree with having to travel long distances to get to work. local companies and organisations should be trying to hire as many local people as possible as this would have multiple benefits including reducing the spread of COVID into other LGAs. I am unsure of whether I agree with the bebefits of mass vaccination especially how there is now a race to the finishing line approach which is a little too late but I am not an antivaxer . I don't believe in such strict lockdowns where you can't even travel even to regional destinations.  You should be able to still  travel to regional areas as long as you follow a set of precautionary rules such as scanning of QR codes for contact tracing and wearing masks on any type of share rides and not sharing accommodation with strangers for example not family. I also don't believe in the whole of Greater Sydney being in lockdown- yes hotspot areas should be locked down however other areas without any cases or very few cases such as less then 2 cases should be allowed to be free to go about their daily lives as close to normal as possible with continued precautions eg everyone still has to wear a mask wherever possible  and rapid antigen testing as an option. The Gold Coast mayor had the right idea about not being included in the latest lockdown because it had no cases of COVID .  I am sure there is a lot more LGAs can do that the government is either to slow to do or can't do eg Buy locally means creating jobs locally. Employing locally means reducing the spread of COVID outside of the LGA. 

My crystal ball is working again. News is about the Census today and reminding people of fines for non lodgement and misinformation as well as what the Census was trying to achieve - YES,  what is this Census  trying to achieve this year? What? They took the question about amount of internet  usage out? Wouldn't that have been an important question? - maybe Telecommunication companies could have used this information ( not collected)  to drive competition or plan/improve current technology to make the current internet services faster in the future. Oh I see,  questions like this were removed because it was already taking too long for people to complete the Census online ! The other question also asked on the news  was Is it too late to lodge the Census due to families have so much else to worry about during lockdown? No was the answer - stupid answer - The Census  should have been cancelled and postponed to a later date as I mentioned before like the local elections. Any government event that is compulsory, fineable and where collection of information to obtain accurate results ie taken seriously should be cancelled and postponed otherwise  it will be a total waste of time and  results in a (I wonder how many people used their Census questionaire papers  to fold paper aeroplanes that ended in the pool, used them in kids art activities where in lockdown if you can't access art and craft supplies you have to improvise , over the fence into infinity and beyond , as the dog ate my homework or just in the bin?) skewed result.

"I can't watch these news conferences anymore" this is what a newsreader said this morning  in regards to the NSW premier. "Have you noticed a difference in them?" "They are becoming shorter and shorter" was the response. Yes I am too, sick of watching them  ( and hence switch off after the first 10 minutes or so or skip them altogether preferring to go online instead or watch the repeats on the SBS Food channel) and yes they are shorter and very inconsistent as well as I have noticed that instead of just the NSW premier,  NSW Health Officer & Police Chief or  Commissioner   ( whoever he is) speaking as well as just one Auslan interpreter there have been countless representatives  speaking throughout a short but not so short daily conference with question time taking up more and more time of the daily press conference -  dragging it  on longer and longer each day. So many valid questions and so many unanswered questions by the media  representatives present.

Onto my next topic which I was sent an email today about from Fair Work. Can you get the sack for not getting vaccinated? The answer is:

"If the employee gives a legitimate reason for not being vaccinated (for example, the employee has an existing medical condition that means vaccination is not recommended for the employee), the employee and their employer should consider whether there are any other options available instead of vaccination. This could include alternative work arrangements. Find out more at Alternative work arrangements."

Sunday 16th August 2021

Day 48 of an indefinite lockdown.

Breaking news the entire state of NSW is now in a snap lockdown as of yesterday 3 pm. It was at the last minute with no press conference announcement, very little notice & done via social media which not everyone has. Why? It's the opposite to what I was blogging about yesterday. There are lots of regional areas in NSW which are either so isolated that they have not had a my COVID cases at all or are regional towns that have not had any COVID cases. Why should they have to go into lockdown? It's upto the Greater Sydney to control people escaping Greater Sydney and other COVID ravaged areas into regional areas of NSW not force these regional areas into last minute lockdowns resulting in panic buying to " protect them". Same should apply to certain suburbs in Greater Sydney that do and do not have any COVID cases. The ring of steel (or great wall of COVID I like to call it) which has been mentioned on several ocassions is either not working or not implemented properly. 

My crystal ball is still working. There is big debate on why we did not do what NZ did months ago where all of NZ went into a  total strict lockdown for several months where no one worked and no shops were open resulting in the total eradication of COVID. Again too little too late for NSW. 

The vaccine push has again ramped up in a race to get 80% of the population vaccinated by September more like October  with walk in pharmacy  involved now - no appointments necessary. 

Rapid antigen testing is now being rolled out to aged care residents and workplaces. The argument is that it is still not as accurate then the PCR testing.

Finally - my crystal ball is really working now, the discussion topic on the news today is Can you get sacked from your job for not getting vaccinated? I knew the answer to this yesterday!

The reason for legislation on this topic was to initially to protect the employer from being sued by an unvaccinated employee for contracting COVID in the workplace ratger then protecting the employee however the employee has a right not to be forced to be vaccinated as well. An individual's human rights? The document sent to me makes good weekend reading. Slater & Gordon the law firm that appeared on 7 news this morning were very diplomatic in their responses however behind the diplomacy they probably have very different a legal view point from Fairwork since there is not much legal precedent except in Europe & the USA where there are cases of mandatory vaccination of workers and protests.

Why? Why? Why? COVID! COVID! COVID! It's all that we are hearing on the news almost 24/7 every single day . Is anyone even interested in the war in Afghanistan  where the Taliban are taking over the country and there is a mission to withdraw soldiers and get US citizens as well as Australian citizens out of the country that are willing to leave? How about other domestic or international news such as the Haiti earthquake? How about animals at Boston zoo being kept cool with desk fans and being hosed down during heat waves? How about the late Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal involving Prince Andrew? Probably far too trivial to be news worthy.

It's a beautiful day again today however I did not venture out again. The only thing I ventured out for today was to take my rubbish out to the bin. I woke up around 6 am this morning but didn't do much except watch tv, watched Youtube, cooked and update my blog. I did however created a piece of artwork from all the free sample pots of expired coloured fondant I received from my  previous employer that had in my apartment. It is not for eating as it has been partially opened and used previously. I also had a collection of cake decorating and baking gadgets in my apartment so was able to spend part of yesterday and part of today creating the following 3D fondant artwork. I didn't have a proper  cake board therefore cut 2 halves of a cardboard box lid taped tgem together covered them with a layer of foil the covered the top of the board completely with a layer of black fondant and rolling over it with an embossed rolling pin to create a subtle textured background before creating the 3D fondant artwork. Photo below

Imagine this 3D fondant piece of artwork on an actual cake with it's black textured fondant background . Technically the above artwork is edible as it is not play dough but fondant but because they were used sample pots of fondant it will be left to dry photographed then probably dumped. It's too dry to recycle and use again as it has already started to crack. 

Received another few text messages from a VM team member and I sent her the above photo of what i made telling her how bored I am.

I continued to watch the Food channel and YouTube channel with aninternational online discussion of what mask sticks taste like - interesting - they are an acquired taste but are they really over flavoured rose water and very similar to the big cigar  candy? Comments like it's like calamine lotion - certainly not! Who goes drinking calamine lotion? It's the same chally pink colour though.

Why am I so tired but cannot fall asleep? So many thoughts are going through my head including why is my skin so dry and my eczema not healing despite using the prescription steroid oilnments and moisturizing daily? Am I bored or stressed or both? What is bothering me? etc I know the answer to these questions but there is nothing I can do about it - lockdown is the cause. 

I finally fall asleep around 11 pm. It is a bit of a cold night 

Monday 17th August 2021 Week 73 Of Unemployment

Day 49 of an indefinite lockdown.

It's a beautiful day. 

Breaking news today - A million doses of Pfizer arrive from Poland with PM Scott Morrison taking all the credit for securing it and another  COVID death of a 15 year old boy ( youngest victim)  however it was reported he had an existing medical condition meningitis - I  doubt that he died from COVID he just contracted it probably whilst hospitalised which probably complicated his existing condition. 

There is also a lot of discussion about how on one hand vaccinations is not the only way out of lockdowns and how offering cash and other incentives to fully vaccinated people not offered to unvaccinated people will motivate unvaccinated people who are sitting on the fence to get or not get vaccinated to actually get vaccinated. Cash or other incentives will not motivate me to get vaccinated. What about people who can't get vaccinated? There has not been any discussion on about this group of people. I don't want to be discriminated against just because I may not be able to be vaccinated. 

I receive lots of random sms most of which are obvious  scams which I block and delete however this particular sms  I didn't block or delete but sent a formal sms back to as it looked like a genuine mistake and I do hope the intended recipient ( who I hope the spelling of her name was correct)  does end up getting the message from the sender ASAP. I actually checked if Watertown was an actual suburb in Perth online and yes it was. I was tempted to add an emoji but decided not to in the end. Here is the message and my response to it.

"Hi A******, I really enjoyed speaking to you on the phone today and would like to invite you to a face to face interview for a team member position with us at Boost Juice Watertown.

This will be conducted at Perth Watertown at Boost Juice on Monday 16th August at 4:30pm.

Please let me know if you can make it. 

Kind Regards 

E**** B*****

Business Manager"

"Dear E****, 

Thank you for your response and invitation to attend an interview on Monday 16th August at 4.30 pm. Unfortunately unless there is a miracle and the current indefinite lockdown in NSW and VIC is announced to end at 11 am this morning, I will be unable to attend. Thanking you for the opportunity.

PS You have texted the wrong number. Whoever A****** is and if it's a genuine job interview and not a scam. I suggest you better contact her ASAP as she only has few hours before her interview today. Currently stood down from my job and if I resided in Perth I would have accepted. "

It only mentions phone not video call so I don't even know which state the applicant is from.. Let's hope the applicant is actually from WA as team member ticket girl pointed out she certainly won't be able to attend the interview if she is from NSW or VIC but she may still make it if she is from the NT SA QLD or TAS as these states are not in lockdown and can travel between them as their  borders are open except to and from NSW & VIC. 

I slept in this morning and it's now 8 am so I have to get up and at least have some breakfast. If my spelling is getting worse in my blogs , it's not me - the auto correct is going biserk, it keeps changing correctly spelt  or valid words to alternative random words and inserts them in. I just typed in "breakfast" and it automatically changed it to " Brea last". What the?

Breakfast half eaten, it's time to think of what I have to do today. Other half of my breakfast eaten it's time to pay  a bill. Since nobody knows when lockdown will end, I paid my rent in advance for this week and the next 2 weeks as well. I haven't heard anything from  the property management company they are probably not earning any form of real income ( either am I) so why not contribute to keep the Australian economy going  even if it is just only a tiny contribution I am making.

It's almost 11 am and I am waiting for the New  premier's daily press conference announcement. 

The NSW premier thinks vaccination is working. is it? Why are cases of COVID still rising when there is an increase in vaccinations? and there have been 7 deaths as of last night from COVID. Why did cases that were partially or fully vaccinated end up in hospital or die? There has got to be other causes of the virus spreading out of control and so rapidly. Prolonged lockdowns are not or no longer working. Maybe freedom is the solution and natural herd immunity rather then forced vaccination is the solution although it was deemed unsucessful and a total disaster  initially in Sweden. Maybe the period of time was insufficient for herd immunity to be fully effective. If  vaccination requires more then 2 weeks to give a person some immunity from COVID  with at least a second booster shot required to increase immunity after a few months and posdible future booster shots then natural herd immunity it would also need time to be effective. 

Yes I have crazy theories but what if my theories  maybe correct? There are other theories circulating such as what if COVID is just like the common cold or flu? I mean each year people get vaccinated  for the flu yet people still get it and always get it whereas some people don' either vacvinated or not. People who are vaccinated from the flu can and still get it and a small number of people unfortunately still die from it. Like COVID  the flu develops different strains and vaccinations don't cover these strains hence vaccinations will never protect you 100% from COVID  and questionable how effective they really are. You can still contract it and pass it on even if you and the person you passed it onto are both vaccinated. The only difference maybe symptoms maybe milder or non existent however some will still suffer the full effects of COVID.  There is also talk about a new version of the Pfizer vaccine being developed giving greater protection. Should I wait ? Maybe maybe not. The most bizzare conspiracy theory  on the news today was the theory that vaccinations penetrated the bone marrow and can cause cancer - this theory was quickly shot down this morning on the news. I hope this is false information especially after the known side effects of Astra Xenica blood clots, Pfizer enlarged heart and Moderna sore/allergic reaction at injection site known as modern arm.

More scam phone calls. I did not answer this mobile number,  instead I did a Google search on it first. It was indeed a fraud/scam as indicated by my phone. Aparently it was a charity telemarketer calling according to there comments posted online. ( I did not name the charity on my blog for privacy reasons) .

Ok time to take a break from blogging to do some other things today. Nah just watch tv but I did have a shower and wash the dishes. at 4 pm, I decided to take a walk down to Lane Cove but only because I had a craving for a large spicy chicken burrito from G & G. It was really busy taking and processing orders for delivery so it took a little while before they could serve me. I didn't mind as there was nobody else waiting, they were all waiting next door yet again for Chargrill Charlies. I placed my order and was tempted to go next door to Bakers Delight to get some Portugese tarts but refrained. The spicy chicken burrito was extra spicy today and the chicken extra chargrilled! It was good though and I ate it whilst watching The Chase. 

Newsbreak : 8 deaths and 478 cases of COVID.  today! And confusion over how far the travel limit of  5 km from where you live is - confusing because you can still travel within your LGA so if you live in a large LGA then you can travel way over the 5 km limit from where you reside.  I still say lockdown won't end until the end of November 21  - there will be no Christmas or NY this year! Why bother being immunized now that the government is advising everyone that even if you are fully immunized you still have to follow all the rules ie stay at home orders, mask wearing and keeping social distance.  How are people fully vaccinated still spreading COVID on to  others? Why are partially  or fully vacvinated people still dying from COViD.  Out of the 8 people that died today only 2 were under the age of 70 years old. The 15 year old boy that died was only counted in COVID deaths becaause he had contracted COVID when he died although he died frtom meningitis. 

It was a nice day today but it is really windy outside now and the forecast is a drop in temperature tomorrow - yep it is going to be Winter weather again- cold - well below 20 degrees C .

It was past 10 pm before I actually fell asleep after watching The Chase at 5 pm folliwed by the News at 6 pm then The Cook Up in the SBS Food channel at 7 pm and because there is not much on and I could not wait for The Voice or Have You Been Paying Attention to come on later, I watched some random programs that were repeats such as 8 out 10 does countdown Hypothetical  etc. 

Tuesday 17th August 2021

Well we have reached day 50 of an indefinite lockdown - that's day 50 only according to when I went into lockdown not the actual amount of days since parts of NSW actually went into lockdown which was maybe upto a week before this.

The early morning started off dark & overcast but has become a nice sunny but still slightly windy day and as forecasted slightly cooler then yesterday with temperatures falling at least 3 degrees. 

Daily news is now almost equally about COVID and Afghanistan  with  a splattering of other news in between. 

I often wonder what is happening to the world - it's not just all about a worldwide pandemic but there is war, floods, fires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts, crime and murder. At least once a month amongst the splattering of news headlines there is somewhere around the world on of the above mentioned. 

452 cases and 1 deaths which was a woman over 70. Vaccinations are still increasing yet cases of COVID are still high. There has got to be another reason why the number of COVID cases is not plateauing or decreasing. I do have another theory which is has not been mentioned which I think is a little far fetch. I was looking at vaccinations by percentage by suburbs in NSW and there are a number of suburbs that have a 50% or more 1st dose vaccination. These seem to be the more affluent suburbs eg Northern suburbs hence these areas seem to also have low or even no COVID  cases. Most of the COVID cases seem to be in the less affluent South and South Western suburbs which is already known. In these areas it is known that there are large numbers of "extended families" . So we recently had a Census which should give a snap shot of how many "extended families" there are that reside in these South and South Western suburbs - not quite. If the Census can be done in advance and online and information on where residents are on the night of 10th August 21 isreported this way - information reported  and collected is based on an "honour" or more like honesty system much like the ATO's "self assessment" of annual tax returns lodged where it's upto the individual or company to provide information as accurately and honestly as possible . Get my point? When I mention "extended families" I mean the definition of  what constitutes an extended family - if they did not legally have the right to live in Australia but we're living with family and therefore were not entitled to any government support or benefits such as Medicare, Centrelink etc there is no record of them in Australia and it is likely the families they are living with would not have included them in the Census, (although the information residents provide to the ABS meant to be anonymous) in fear of the goverment deporting or detentioning them. What if there was a group of  hidden super spreaders living amongst "extended families" or even friends - if they fell ill they would not be likely to come forward to seek medical assistance or treatment - they would not be likely to come forward for testing if they contracted COVID  and they certainly  would not come forward for vaccination - they could be risking their lives and possibly others. They would self isolate and they may escape serious illness  or would they come forward for testing treatment or vacination? How about escaping and hidden  within regional areas? They may not even be illegal immigrants but others avoiding identification or detection. 

Time flys even when you have nothing to do except cook eat drink sleep and watch YouTube & TV!

Today in order to consolidate and clean out more stuff I don't need or want , I got all my old free Coles  and Woolworths magazines and pasted a many recipes that I could into an A4 indexed recipe notebook I created many years ago. It's a really long process as I have so many magazines to cut and paste together. Another fun activity using whatever resources I have at home. 

I don't think I am venturing out again today eventhough it is a beautiful day again maybe tomorrow.

I fell asleep past 10 pm again after chanbel surfing and watching the 6 pm news on chanbel 7,  the Cook Up on the SBS Food channel, some other food program , The Voice on channel 7 , Now & Then on channel 7 and Gordon Vino & Fred Ultimate Road Trip also on channel 7  which I finally fell asleep watching ( interesting food show but it was airing far too late at night)

Wednesday 18th August 2021

Day 51 of an indefinite lockdown.

It's getting more difficult to remember what day or date it is now and  even more difficult keeping track of how many days we have been in lockdown now.

Today it was a nice day but slightly overcast at times. It was 9 degrees this morning when I woke up but I did manage to get 5 or 6 hours of good sleep waking at 6 am. 

The major news break are still COVID and the Taliban in Afghanistan. 

Cases of COVID have been over 400 cases for 4 days in a row now however yesterday/today's number of cases has dropped  slightly from the previous 3 days so does this mean the number of cases has reached and past the peak and now should start decreasing in NSW? Still a mystery are the cases in Auckland NZ that has popped up after so long without any cases and the 3 -  5 daily mystery cases in Victoria with cases increasing and the debate of whether the police should patrol kids playgrounds to stop the spread of COVID amongst kids.

As readers know besides COVID  news, the other major world news headline is about how the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan just a few days ago and today appeared in their first "press conference" assuring everyone that women,for example, will continue to have the rights such as education that they currently have although nobody is convinced given the Talibans' poor human rights history where you could be shot for committing adultery or having your hands cut off for shoplifting as examples. There is something really creepy about the timing of this happening. If you remember on 27th July when I went for a walk down to Tambourine Bay Park, in my blog I mentioned that there was a side street near it named Taleeban Rd and how it could have been mistakenly mispronounced as Taliban Rd. When I actually read the  street sign I actually thought it was called  Taliban Rd and did wonder who would want to live there. Was this some sort of sign of  a future event about to happen or just coincidence? Is it my crystal ball again? I don't know what would be worse  in Afghanistan  - being ravaged by the COVID pandemic or the Taliban taking over. Is there actually  COVID in Afghanistan? Yes there is - even war cannot stop COVID.

633 recorded cases of COVID and 3 deaths (2 men over the age of 70  & 1 woman in her 60s I believe) are just announced at the daily NSW premier's 11 am press conference today. That's just under 200 more recorded COVID cases then yesterday! What is going on, there was a record number of vaccinations yesterday! What are people doing ? Are they not wearing masks? Are they not social distancing? Visiting family members  The NSW keeps reiterating how just because you have been vaccinated with your first vaccination it does not mean you are immuned and it takes 2 -  weeks for immunity to start occurring so it is important to still practise COVID safety. I still can't understand how the regional town of Dubbo contracted COVID. It has been announced that the NZ case has been linked to the NSW outbreak.

I have turned off the News now to concentrate on writing my entry for the SBS Emerging Writers Competition for 2021. Yes I have decided to enter it. I have heaps of time to enter now that entries have opened on the 16th August 2021. I have a long way to go as I have only written about 600 words of a minimum of 1000 words and a maximum  of 2000 words.

Applied for another part time HR assistant job at Luna Park today online via Indeed aand reported on Job Active online as well although mutual obligations are not required at this point in time. Still being harassed by the salvation Army Employment Plus to sign a new job plan agreement ( contract) to increase my mutual obligations to 20 job searches per month instead of current 4 . Mutual obligations are not required at the moment due to lockdown so I don't know why they are doing this and it will become a real liability to my job if and when lockdown ends as it will be impossible for me to search for 20 jobs a month whilst working. Once tgey get me to agree and sign the new job plan , they can then put pressure on me to go to any interviews they pout me forward for even if they are not jobs I may be suited for, skilled in or interested in. If I don't attend them or fulfil  these new 20 job searches per month or any other  mutual obligations they require, , they have the power to notify Centrelink to cut my fortnightly income reporting and payments off if I still qualify ie they basically are holding my life in their hands. If people think Centrelink  is the bad man - they are wrong, these so called Centrelink approved employment service providers are worse because they get a commission for every welfare recipient they place in a job or risk not having their contract as an approved Centrelink employment service provider renewed. So if you are already working in regular casual employmrnt in a job they didn't even help you find they will do everything possible to make you leave your job or risk you losing your current employment for their gain and be a liability to your current employment.  I would love to hear from anyone out there that has had similar negative feedback. Note too that  It'dsnot the easiest to change to an alternative approved Centrelink employment service provider either. The current approved service provider would not even give me the 1800 number to call to do this and certainly don't assist you to do it. I know the employment service provider will keep ringing me with a private number which I can't ring back. They rang me just last Friday and again on Tuesday and again today.  I probably won't answer because they ring me at the most inconvenient times and my phone does not ring at all whenever they call so I have to actually be  physically in front of my phone to see them call me.  I do tend not to answer  private numbers to due to the number of spam calls. If they leave a proper message or if I am absolutely sure who is trying to contact me I will answer private numbers.

Because I did not venture out today, I at least took out my rubbish out to the red bin before it became dark. 

I am now upto the editing stage of my entry  for the SBS Emerging Writers Competition. There is very little chance that I will win anything but it gives me something to do during lockdown. 

Another late night watching some interesting programs mostly on SBS channels. After abandoning the editing of my entry for the SBS  Emerging Writers Competition it was catching the end of The Chase on channel 7, then the 6 pm news before watching to the SBS  Food channel to watch The Cook Up before switching to SBS On Demand  to watch 8 out of 10 does countdown followed by What Does Australia Really Think hosted by Kirk Fearnley with tonight's topic disability. 

It must have been after 10 pm before I finally fell asleep after doing some number and word puzzles. 

Thursday 19th August 2021

Day 52 of an indefinite lockdown.

It was another good night's sleep but another cold morning to wake up to. I slept in to a darker overcast morning at around 6 am. By 8 am the sun is out but still surrounded by clouds - let's hope it clears up by 10 am today.

Newsbreaks are still mostly about the increasing number of COVID  cases in NSW ( and VIC with the question of What do a pizza worker accountant & homeless sex worker have in common? as listed professions of the mystery cases ) with no end in sight to an end of the current lockdown no guarantees of freedoms after the 80% vaccination rate has been reach and the continued debate of the "no jab no job" policy where Qantas has now become the second company to make vacvonation compulsory  for all their employees by a November 21 deadline which is a contrast to Coles supermarkets which is not going down that route but instead offering incentives to get vaccinated or for vaccinated employees and only offering  a "recommendation" only to get vaccinated policy. I hope Myer goes down Coles route and not the Qantas route as I will be pressured into getting vaccinated  - there has not been much discussion on the news about those that can't get vaccinated due to medical conditions, according to Fairwork I can't get sacked from my job for refusing to get vaccinated if I have a valid reason however there is no protection if I am forced to get vaccinated and the vaccination results in adverse side effects resulting in loss of employment - it's all about protection from liability of both parties.

Apart from COVID dominating daily news headlines, the Taliban taking over Afghanistan and rescue/evacuation flights from the US & Australia makes up most of the other half of daily news. It's now all about the blame game in the US - Biden? Trump? Third Party? Afghan Army? It's a war! First priority is to get as many people out as safely as possible particularly women and children.

Other splattering of news included a mention of the recent Haiti earthquake, Paris Hilton's coming wedding & hopefully increasing coverage of the Paralympics which starts on 23rd August 21 ( it's on quite late at night and I hope there will be some day coverage of events as well)! 

Received a What's App Group Chat  in relation to a request to read the mcomns for nominations for inspirational people open to all team members. I wanted to nominate someone but don't even know there surname and when I opened the questionaire it was just too difficult  as you need to obtain their metrics stats - HELLO! How do you obtain these? No thanks I don't want to share how I nniminated and what if you ask for help from the person you are nominating? and Isn't all this confidential information? This was just one of the additional group chat message received after the initial one

"You can nominate anyone in the store and it would be nice to share who we nominate with each other it is a great feel good when you see people nominated. Please don't be shy in sharing."

I am sure we all have other more important things to do or worry about besides nominate an inspiring person from Myer. Real inspiring people  come from those within the essential and emergency services not from a retail company that can't even pay shareholders a dividend.

Speaking of inspirational people, the actress Milo on the well known Google ad currently airing is inspirational -  one of my favourite ads on tv! The other one is the series of NRMA Home Insurance ads with with kids and koalas and the slogan " Every home is worth protecting".

The 11 am daily NSW premier's press conference - 681 cases and 1 deaths ( a man in his 80's and had 1 dose of vaccine with an underlying medical condition)

Newsbreaks- How can the unemployment rate have dropped? We're in lockdown / stood down! Where on earth do Australian statistics come from? I'm no mathematician but this just not add up!

I'm getting harassed by the approved Centrelink employment service provider again this time with an actual phone number appearing. I did not answer it. 

I actually am still applying for part time jobs online - I applied for a a job at Luna Park yesterday as a HR Assistant  - it's close to where I reside although I don't expect a response, it's more about showing Centrelink that I am still looking for employment although mutual obligations have been paused during lockdown. Anyway I'm sort of interested in it.

I had a shower, washed the dishes , put my 2 loads of laundry into the washing machines and ventured out after lunch first to the ATM to get some cash out to pay for my groceries I was about to purchase and get some more change for the laundry and to do my rather large list of essential shopping. I was all out of juice, fruit, chicken, green vegetables, herbs, carrots, bread, yoghart, corn chips, chocolate chips , sugar, laundry detergent, dish washing liquid, tissues and so many other things. I still had a few rolls of toilet paper and tea bags left but was running very low on them so topped up on these as well. I wanted to buy more stuff so I didn't have to go shopping every week but had to put some things back as my low profile Coles shopping trolley was almost overflowing and I was hoping that I would be able to carry them all the way home with me. I had decided to take 2 large reusuable  shopping bags and a wheelie bag with me. All my final haul of groceries just fit in the wheelie bag and 2 shopping bags. I did struggle a little with them as they were quite heavy but stopp ed to swap carrying arms several times on my way home. This was my workout for today!

As soon as I arrived back home, I found tgat someone had dumped an asbandoned Coles trolley in the front carpark behind the letter boxes. I don't know if the person who did this as well as the people that dump their bags of domestic rubbish into the red bin that belongs to this apartment block or that rummaged through the red bin that belongs to this apartment block which is in the front carpark behind the property's front all are actually trespassing on private property.  There is CCTV around the property - so tempted to put a sign with "Smile your on CCTV" up . I took a photo of the abandoned trolley. I suspect the people who are trespassing onto this property think there is no one living in this apartment block anymore which looks as if from the side has been abandoned. Someone did ask me if there were any squatters living in the apartment block . Not that I know of . I would not be surprised if someone tries to break into Unit 1A which has looked like a squatter lives in it with it's broken fly screen on the window to the side of the door and an open bathroom window which makes it look as if it's an abandoned or vacant apartment . All the black smudge marks from when the people came to remove all the pieces of furniture and personal belongings makes the outside of this apartment look even more run down and abandoned.

As soon as I opened the front door put my groceries down and closed it behind me ensuring it was properly locked, I took my wet laundry out of the washing machines which both by now had finished their respective wash cycles and placed it into the dryer to start it's first dry cycle. Whilst it was drying, I took my groceries upstairs to unpack them and watched some tv and also enjoy some snacks. I went back downstairs to check on my laundry in the dryer but it was not dry therefore I put it through another 40 minute drying cycle whilst I did a few other chores. It was getting dark so as soon as the drying cycle finished I dumped all my dried clothes still warm into a large bag to lug back upstairs  to my apartment. 

I watch the Chase, the news, the Cook Up where there was an interesting discussion on whether it is correct to say "Goat Cheese" or " Goat's Cheese" or "Goat's Cheese"  or even "Goats Cheese" - chef Mark Best says it is "Goat Cheese" where Adam Liaw asks him what just one goat?,  must be a very busy goat! - I have to agree with Mark- an apostrophe before or after the "s" ( number of goat(s) to cheese is irrelevant) indicates ownership and the cheese is not owned by the goat - the goat produced the cheese however it's a verb where "Goat" could be the verb describing the type of cheese or a 2 worded noun when combined ie a compound noun such as ice cream, 8 Out of 10 Does Countdown as well as other food program's whilst folding and putting away my dried laundry. Next was updating my blog before going to sleep again around 10 pm.

I got a lot done today.I should have a good sleep tonight waking to a very warm day tomorrow forecasted around 20 + degrees C.

Friday 20th August 2021

Day 53 of an indefinite lockdown.

Well it's almost the end of yet another week in lockdown. It is a beautiful day again today with the forecasted temperature of 23 degrees C today ( It was another cold morning I woke up to this morning at 6 am and the nights are already getting shorter with daylight hours longer earlier , it feels like 25 degrees outside and it's only 8.30 am)! Although it's not the end of August when the Australian Winter ends, it is already an early bye bye to Winter  - yes if it's over 20 degrees C for several days in a row where temperatures keep rising it means Winter is well and truely over and there is now zero chance of me going skiing again for now a third ski season. I don't know how much longer my body can take not breathing in fresh high altitude alpine air or bathing /swimming in mineral rich alpine water or plunging in freezing cold sea water or even just going for a swim in an indoor pool ( when I go skiing or backcountry in Thredbo I like to go for a swim or use the whirlpool in the Alpine Sports Centre). I can't  even go for a skate as all the ice rinks are closed in NSW.  

Again another day full of breaking news and updates on COVID  and the Taliban in Afghanistan. It's getting depressing. There is another freedom from lockdown protest planned in Melbourne this weekend and the residents of Afghanistan  - well they can' even protest, they just want their freedom in addition to battling the COVID pandemic. Let's hope as many Afghan visa holders as possible are sucessfully evacuated as quickly  as possible to safety. It is unfortunate that not everyone will be able to be evacuated. 

Most COVID updates are taken seriously - stricter restrictions, curfews, get vaccinate, get tested, stay at home, isolate, wear a mask, social distance, don't visit family, strict border closures, etc etc  It's repetitive drummed into our heads day after day after day people are getting so sick of it with the constant question of "When will this end? " Fed up, the pressure is now on  the Australian government at both Federal & State levels. rumours of a succession plan for replacement of the current NSW premier GB ( I try not to mention her name as I know at least one person who does not and never did like her and always questioning what she has actually done for NSW) in the event that she decides to resign/step down or  is "terminated". Hints of false hope that pubs/cafes/restaurants & gyms will reopen to fully vaccinated patrons only with a vaccination passport and with limited capacity  only. What about those who aren't vaccinated because they can't be vaccinated and not because they refuse to be vaccinated? Nothing has been mention about this - is this going to result in discimination cases? People want definites not false hopes and a solid plan to bring the spread of COVID under control - so much for the aim of zero cases before NSW "reopening up" ( but not out of lockdown), it's far too late for this as the spread is out of control. We can't do anything - can't travel, can't go for a swim, can't go for a skate, can't go to a dance class, can't even work (except virtually)! No wonder people want to protest and questioning why lockdown wasn't done earlier and harder for a shorter period of time . I have to be honest I am not against anyone that wants to attend a protest - it's freedom of rights and speech. Australia is not a country of dictatorship or is it a communist  country hence the phrase in our national anthem " ...... for we are young and free....." - sure doesn't feel like it in most of Greater NSW at the moment.

Then there is the decreased effectiveness of vaccinations against the Delta strain of COVID ( remembering that no vaccine is 100% effective)  with both Pfizer and Astra Zenica after both doses are received. A British study has found after 90 days of the second vaccination the % effectiveness drops from 85 % to 75% and from 68% to 61% respectively. If these statistics are accurate my questions are : There is talk of a 3rd booster shot, will this actually increase or decrease a person's immunity to COVID?  Will the effectiveness of the booster vaccine decrease again it's effectiveness and within a shorter  period of time? If just being unvaccinated ie someone who has possibly had COVID or is patially vacinated ie just receving the first vaccine shot be effective enough or even more effective and/or give a person immunity to COVID? Will this allow people's bodies to build up immunity naturally - herd immunity but with a bit of help. Is having a booster shot actually like "over medicating" the body's immune system where for example like the overuse of antibiotics in fighting certain infections rendering them almost if not ineffective over time. Antiviruses may work differently to antibiotics as advertised overseas " viruses don't need antibiotics - wash your hands" in fighting diseases but what if this theory behind it is actually a possibility? Would the discussion of  mixing and matching different vaccines actually increase or decrease the effectiveness of immunity against COVID 's different strains? What are the side effects - good or bad? So many questions. More funding need to go into more research. Australia also need to research &  develop it's own alternative one shot vaccination ( yes I know initially QLD was going so well with their initial research until it was abandoned in favour of " big company big dollar government approved mass production " vaccines for the masses - forget the side effects they are dealt with later )

Finally onto a COVID  related news story that had a slightly humorous twist but serous consequences to it. An incognito "tradie" from Sydney's South Eastern hotspot suburbs ( remembering we are not allowed to travel more then 5 km outside of where we reside especiall in hotspot suburbs and all state borders are closed to residents of NSW except if you have a permit/exemption eg travel for essential work/services ) tries to cross the QLD border  from NSW in his truck complete with the tools of his trade but is stopped by border crossing patrol officers with the incorrect permits. The "tradie allegies he was from South Australia  where there are no border restrictions into and out of QLD) . Feeling suspicious,  the QLD border patrols when finding out that he is not from SA but from NSW, contact the police who by coincidence search the "tradie's"  truck after questioning where he had come from and why he needed to cross the border into QLD as he did not have the correct permit to enter QLD to perform essential work/services. Not only did police find hundreds of kilos of cannabis  hidden in his tools of trade, there was the question of  whether the service(s)  he was providing was (were) classified as an "essential service(s)" and I don't mean construction work either. The moral of the story is a double entendre, he should have been in procession of the correct permit to cross NSW/ QLD border. 

Breakfast was the below:

It's all about being able to slice this up into servings and seeing the layers. It's not perfect but was a nice filling breakfast.

Grabbed 2 slices of wholemeal bread , poured some olive oil to the bottom of a baking dish before soaking both sides of both pieces of bread in it to stop the bread from sticking to the base of the baking dish and to give the slices of bread a nice crispy finish. The 2 slices of bread fit perfectly to cover the base of the baking dish witb no large gaps. Next layer a single row of 4 thin raw chicken sausages lengthways across the 2 slices of bread. They also fit perfectly with no gaps in both directions as I flattened them to lenghten them to fill up the baking dish and so they cooked faster as well as corn a flatter surface for the rest of what is going on top of them. Next layer some raw baby spinach to cover the baking dish. Top with 2 square slices of light tasty cheese and finally in a separate bowl prepare an omelette mixture of 2 eggs whisked, some mixed herbs, some frozen peas , some extra corriander finely chopped, a dash of thick cream and some finely chopped onion with some salt and pepper before poring it over the 2 slices of cheese in the baking dish. Ensure the cheese slices are covered in the omelette mixture by spreading it evenly to cover the surface area of the baking dish. now it is ready to bake in the oven at around 250 degrees C. It should be easy to cut into 4 slices once it has cooled slightly. Instant breakfast. You can vary this with whatever you like lamb sausages with basil & tomato , beef sausages with mushrooms, spinach and shallots even make vegetarian versions. Mine was a single or double serving but this is easy to scale up for a family breakfast as well. i also added bbq sauce and mayo which is common in Japanese curry and Japanese style  pancakes (okonomiyaki) .

So much to do today - Centrelink fortnightly income reported today with zero income and zero hours worked. A new question came up with have I ceased to work for Myer , I wasn't sure about this question so answered no as I assume due to lockdown as a casual have been stood down not terminated like most of their staff including some permanent staff - speaking of which with all the money Myer is saving I should be expecting a dividend ( even on the financial reports on the news, here was the discusdion of how companies are already planning how they are going to use any savings they have accumulated as well as trying to explain the fall in unemployment rate when we are currently in a lockdown - oh so the figures are a quarter behind which means we won't have to forecast a rise or fall in the unemployment rate for next quarter - I predict it will be around 5 - 6% according to them not me - my figure would be double and calculated to be 9.2 % ). 

There are some crazy people loose on the street- yet another yelling and screaming man just walked past. He had multiple bags in his hand. Moving or homeless perhaps?

Now that I have finished texting team member ticket girl and sending her photos of my baking efforts to inspire and encourage her to put together a recipe book of her baking efforts during lockdown and joking around about nominations and not so much vaccinations. It is now time for me to get up and possibly go for a walk and concentrate on editing my essay I am going to submit to the SBS Emerging Writers Competition now that my rubbish bin is no longer full to the brim because I have emptied it, my dirty laundry is no longer piled up high because it has been washed dried and folded and there is no longer nothing left in my pantry or fridge because I dragged myself out yesterday to do a massive essential grocery shop. Yep No excuses with clean clothes to wear , an empty garbage bin and a full tummy except for the pesky guy from the Salvation Army Employment Plus who rings me every morning at 9 am on the dot to pressure me into signing a new job plan. Ignore! Until I find out from Centrelink whether he was telling me the truth about how the job plan works I am not going to agree to signing it. according to when I initially spoke to Centrelink,  I am suppose to be able to negotiate how many job searches per month I had to lodge or change employment service providers not be pressured during lockdown to sign a 20 job search per month job plan when mutual obligations have been paused. 

Oh great I missed the 11 am daily announcement today  but caught up with the 4 pm news  with cases today 644 -  well it's now official the NSW  lockdown (except for Shellharbour & Central Coast of NSW) has now been extended until at least the end of September 21 although October has also been mentioned and curfews are now in place for the 12 councils areas that are hot spots from 9 pm - 5 am daily. Click & Collect only for most remaining retail stores still open and masks mandatory outside except when exercising ( question:  how many people could you potentially pass the virus onto in that hour of exercise you are restricted to whilst outside  moving around within the 5 km restriction  from where you reside without a mask if  we have been advised previously that the Delta strain is much more contagious and  can be spread just by passing someone who has it?) - so everyone should be and since when have they not been?Everyone around  Lane Cove and even near by has been wearing a mask except when going for a run by themself. I wear a mask just to take my rubbish out to the bins! Speaking of exercise I thought I wrote about this somewhere but it may not have been saved, there is now a new lockdown restriction added to the existing lockdown restrictions limiting exercise to 1 hour  is that daily? or weekly? A lady interviewed by channel 7 news, when she heard about this new tighter lockdown restriction, responded with how you should only need an hour to exercise otherwise you are dwadling . How correct was she actually? - let's think about it - I think she may be spot on 100% correct  because of the other existing lockdown restriction where you cannot travel outside of 5 km from where you reside. Well I managed to complete one of my many 3.5 or 4 km fun runs in 26 - 30 minutes which is my PB for that fun run distance therefore   theoretically  I should be able to finish a 5 km run in under an hour even at a slower pace So to confirm my calculation and theory I Googled the times for completing a 5 km run and yes my theory and calculation were correct. Here's what I found : 

"Factors such as age, sex, and fitness level can influence your 5K time. Many runners complete a 5K in 30 to 40 minutes, and many runners are satisfied with their time if it's around this benchmark. The average walker finishes a 5K in 45 to 60 minutes.9 Aug 2019"

Remember the study on decreased vaccine efficiency - well the study also showed it is impossible to achieve herd immunity hence a 3rd booster shot planned and possible continued vaccination in order to maintain immunity and that fully vaccination does not mean you still can't pass the virus onto someone else just as it is known that you can still contract COVID when fully vaccinated - you are just less likely to end up in hospital or die from it and that if you are unvaccinated  you are still at the highest risk of being hospitalised or even dying from the virus. Am I convinced?  Not 100%. As mentioned previously it needs more research. What if COVID  is just like the flu in ways? People still die from complications of the flu? People can still get the flu whether they are vaccinated or not. People still need to get vaccinated every flu season if they want to prevent themselves from getting it . The flu vaccine has to be " updated" annually as there are always new strains of flu mutating. why do some people not get the flu and why do some people get it  more severely then others? Is this the same with COVID  where some people may never get it, most people will get it but are either die from it , very sick,  moderately sick or asymptomatic? Then there is the question of the safety of the COVID vaccines - it's currently 1 dosage fits all and it is still being researched on whether it is safe and suitable for children to be vaccinated with - does the dosage need to be reduced for children under a certain age? Again so many unanswered questions. Maybe I should have continued with my applied science qualifications majoring in biomedical sciences rather then just completing a qualification in chemical technology where my first job was condom testing before  becoming severely alkergic to the latex and lubricant on them and forced to retire from my science career after 2 years - I was never into dissecting frogs  or studying biology at school and college  - I gave it a go with a few extra subjects in addition to my chemistry subjects but dropped out due to the labs we had to do using "bodily secretions" .  I ended up completing another major in Business  Accounting and management so much safer instead as a back up career!

So people are even more restricted to how far and where they can travel. if this is the case why was there a report of an increase in people using public transport today? No there hasn't been - all the buses travelling along the main highway near where I reside have a maximum of 2 passengers on board with a good portion of buses completely empty! And why are there so many motor vehicles zooming past  in both directions at all hours of the day and night. Where is everyone travelling to and from? Surely there can't be that many essential workers! It has become so noisy I can't actually open my window - not even a little bit. it's so loud I have to turn the volume up on my tv now. 

The usual update of blog, 6 pm news The Cook Up repeat of 8 out of 10 does countdown the end of The Living Room and the encore of Have You Been Paying Attention. Still editing my entry for the SBS Emerging Writers Competition. So slack I cooked but did not have a shower or wash my dishes - it can wait until tomorrow.

10 pm I hope to finally fall asleep. 

Saturday 21st August 2021

I have noticed that I have been losing paragraphs of my blog in the last week even after saving therefore I have to rewrite all of which I just wrote.

Day 54 of an indefinite lockdown officially extended now until at least the end of September 2021.

I had an ok sleep but wake at 6 am to a dark overcast day. By 7 am I eat breakfast I prepared from leftovers last night and look out the window to see the surface is wet - it must have rained overnight however it is not currently raining and there is not the swishing sound of motor vehicles passing by. It is not cold but far cooler then the forecasted temperature of 23 degrees C today.

Melbourne's lockdown is set to be extended as cases of COVID  increase. Police are out and prepared for another planned major Freedom protest in Melbourne (and in Sydney  to a lesser extent due to tight restrictions preventing a huge number of people gathering to protest with police prepared for the worst scenario).  I am not against  these "Freedom" protests as people should have freedom of speech and entitled to human rights. Australia is not under a dictatorship rule nor is it a socialist or communist  country however I would not participate in any protests myself. I even question whether these protests  are actually sources of super spreaders of COVID.

The new tighter COVID retrictions start on Monday. 

While QLD has now had a lot of their restrictions lifted and they have been out of lockdown for a while now, it will be a great weekend for them to be out and about , meanwhile in down here in Greater NSW there is nothing we can do and I'm hoping it's an absolutely miserable weekend so we can't do anything anyway - stop rubbing it in QLD! Unfortunately only a tiny bit of rain today in Sydney this morning before a top of 23 degrees C.

News discussion topics today Are lockdowns working? I say no. Why a 3rd COVID shot may be needed sooner . I say if you are going to get vaccinated - get the COVID COCKTAIL  - one of each vaccine available in this particular order  start with Pfizer  because it is the most effective  followed by Moderna which should be available by the time you need your second booster shot and because it works similar to the Pfizer vaccine ie a alternative mRNA vaccine hence may reduce possible side effects due being more compatible to the Pfizer vaccine finally followed by Astra Zenica as a booster shot because it is the least effective vaccine but holds it's effectiveness slightly longer, is a different type of vaccine to Pfizer & Moderna therefore works differently and possibly less compatible with more side effects and because it has the most severe known side effect as well as being readily available in Australia and is not an accepted vaccination to enter the US. On that note although nothing more was heard on the story of the person who had both shots of Pfizer and both shots of Astra Zenica very close together - well if this was indeed a true story and not just a rumour , whoever they are they probably had the right idea but jumping the gun by ruining the theory by getting all the vaccines far too close together and not allowing immunity to gradually build up nullifying the experiment results!

It's past 12 noon and I have turned off completely from any COVID  news and am watching cooking channels on YouTube watching the Food channel on tv and searching for baking recipes.

Before I turned off the news there was one piece of news which is a little sad. Golden Century the well known Chinese restaurant that has been an institution in Sydney for decades , (where everyone from myself growing up where my  parents and relatives used to take us to eat on special occasions ( along with visits to the Mandarin  Club, BBQ King & East Ocean) , where business men and women would hold their meetings over lunch or dinner and where illegal immigrants worked for slave wages or cash in hand and where the Chinese Triad and Mafia , sex workers and drug lords also hung out ( rumoured but I can't confirm it - this definitely happened at East Ocean down the Road though)) ,  has now closed it's doors due to COVID - another restaurant bites the dust.

Time for another new product or new flavour taste test. Tim Tams - everyone knows them  but arnott's seem to be constantly bringing out new flavours some exclusives to certain grocery chains. Dark Chocolate Banoffee flavoured Tim Tams. I spotted these and grabbed a packet of these on my last grocery shop at Coles.  I am unsure how new these are and I don't usually like banana flavoured snacks as they always taste artifical - reminds me of creating esters back in my Chemical Technology days. I expected these to taste extremely artifical and sweet but I just tasted one and either I have COVID and have lost my sense of taste and smell or Arnott's has actually got this flavour right. I actually quite liked this dark chocolate banoffee flavoured Tim Tam unlike some of the other artificial tasting sickly sweet ones with something in them that makes them addictive previously. Maybe it's not as sweet because it is dark chocolate not milk chocolate.  It says on the front of the packet that it's made from "real chocolate" - I'd hate to think what they were made with if they weren't! I will give this a 7.5/10. Taking a bite this flavoured Tim Tam looks and feels lighter and a little drier too. Is it just me or is Arnott's skimming on the chocolate coating around each Tim Tams ? - it's a very thin layer  which is not what i have seen in previous flavours of Tim Tams, the upper and lower layer of biscuit looks a little thinner too and the caramel centre is very "solid" and is not ozzy, it's very dry and hardly visible but there is a layer of cream coloured cream sandwiched in between the 2 biscuits that is also quite solid and dry but thicker then the 2 top and bottom layers of biscuit combined. It's ok. Buy it again? Probably not.Value for money ? At the moment yes but why does a packet of plain Chocolate Ripples also by Arnott's more expensive the a packet of Tim Tams? Probably because Chocolate  Ripples don't have any competition. Photo below

5 pm and I decided not to venture out today. I had a late shower and washed my dishes. I am planning to take my rubbish out to the bins tomorrow as I can't be bothered today. I don't feel like cooking dinner either but too lazy to get some takeaway and no I don't want to use a delivery service. 

Dinner ended up being leftovers and some fruit salad. There was nothing interesting on tv but I came across a movie I had not seen before on channel 7 which started at 8.30 pm but missed the first 15 minutes of because I was channel surfing.  it was some kind of scifi CGA movie so I had to Google what the no ie was called before watching a trailer of it on YouTube to find out a little more about it. Alita  Battle Angel a 2.5 hour long 2018 release movie about cyborgs.  It's not really my type of movie and I didn't think I could watch the entire movie but I did and yes it ended at 10 pm! Well there's nothing else you can do on a Saturday night during lockdown so why not stay at home and watch a movie on tv. It took me a while to get I to it and there was a lot of violent scenes in it mainly the decapitation of bodies human and cyborg but I didn't dislike it. Somebody has to die in the end even if it's a good guy who was also a bad guy who turned back into a good guy and tried to make things right again only to die in the process right near the end of the movie.  

Time to sleep.

Sunday 22nd August 2021

Day 55 of an indefinite lockdown  the end of yet another week of lockdown.

Last night as I was trying to sleep there was the heavy smell of smoke. At first I thought it was from the house behind  this apartment block which obviously has an open fire place as there is always smoke coming out of their chimney during the Winter but no it was actually from the start of back burning season in the Northern Beaches in preparation for the Summer to minimise bush fires. The smell of the smoke was so bad I had to completely shut my window which was only open a cm or so. The back burning continued and this morning I woke to a  haze -  a blanket of grey smokey haze covering Sydney outside all the way into the distance. The sun was shining bright earlier this morning but it is still cloudy and overcast. It is forecast to be 25 degrees today yet by 10.30 am it is still mild and now more overcast then before. The sun has disappeared and there is no more breeze.

I don't know how much longer I can now handle lockdown - I have noticed that I am finding it harder to breath  just in the last few days due to the back burning as well as my coughing fits have returned and I have been starting to  constantly. My eyes are watering and my nose is running more. I haven't been out and there are no cases of COVID anywhere near where I live for weeks and everyone wears and has been wearing masks and social distancing.  What the? today's announcement is advising people to still come forward to get tested if you have any respiratory symptoms even if it maybe from the haze. Of course it's from the haze - happens every year around this time of the year! 

It is a Sleep in Sunday and after quite a good night's sleep, I finally wake up around 7.30 am and have a breakfast of fruit salad yoghart with Promite on wholemeal bread and a cup of tea.

News thos morning is there are now I think 830 cases of COVID now and another 3 deaths ( in 60s 70s & 80s) - sorry I'm beginning to switch off with statistics from newsbreaks.  The Freedom protests were not only in Melbourne where there were 4000 protesters that were present, but there  was protests national around Australian capitals where in Sydney despite the over police presence, tough penalties of $5000 or more for beaches of COVID rules/restrictions and tighter stay at home and travel lockd own laws 250 people managed to participate in a protest.  There was apparently even Freedom protests in QLD and WA in their capital cuties where these states have no cases of COVID , where there are no lockdowns and few or now restricts and where the residents are free to travel around to other states except to and from NSW and VIC. 

It's almost 11 am and as advised by this morning's weather report the smoke cover has now mostly cleared although you can still see it in the distance and the clouds are disappearing but most importantly the sun is now out again and skies are blue. It is going to be another nice day however the weatherman advises that this beautiful warm weather is about to end and a cold snap is set to return - nah he said that last time and it hasn't happened  yet.

The 11 am media press conference is a lot different over the weekend to weekdays. Over the months they have become shorter and shorter and with more and more number of "on behalf of" speakers including Auslan interpreters. rather then just the NSW premier and NSW Health Officer just speaking for the entire media press conference with the addition of the police chief/commissioner whoever he is  They are consisting longer and longer with question time taking over these daily media press conferences and less and less on updates/changes in lockdown rules/restrictions and COVID statistics. There is still the same amount of drumming into people's heads of stay at home get vaccinated get tested wear a mask social distance don't travel outside etc etc. The one big noticeable difference between weekend and weekday medua press conferences is the absence of the NSW  premier and NSW  Health Officer which has resulted  in a less "cat fight"  style media press conference.

Only a few more days until the opening ceremony of the Paralympics on 23rd August 2021  - can't wait !

Just checked my emails and last year's 20th Anniversary Blackmores Running Festival which was cancelled in September 2020 and postponed   and postponed to 18th September 2021 has been cancelled yet again and the alternative postponement dates in October and November 2021 have also been cancelled so I guess we will have to try again in September 2022. Apologies to my late mum who I run this annual race in memory of as she passed away quite a few years ago now whilst I was running in it one year. Every year it is the only fun run I complete and make a day of in memory of her. Now COVID has taken that away from me 2 years in a row. What else is COVID going to ruin in my life? 

There is something  a little creepy I just discovered which may be just coincidence. I question the timing of channel 7 airing Alita Battle Angel last night. Because I did not know the background story of this movie and missed the first 15 minutes of it, I decided to research asnd read a little bit more about it. What I found was interesting. I can just see this as an HSC question  ( that's if it hasn't been on a previous HSC question as this movie is about 2 years old now)  similar to : Discuss the parallels in the movie with what is currently occurring in our world giving examples of both. If you think about the movie wasn't there some kind of "pandemic" in it which was spreading fast throughout their population causing death and how one part of their world was cut off from the rest of the world very much like the currrent situation of  the  COVID  pandemic and how NSW with all other states shutting their borders to NSW leaving it cut off from the rest of Australia except VIC?  Cyborgs - don't we already have these  with advancing technology of artifical body parts and even AI ? Bounty hunters - aren't they the police and people who are dobbing in people found breaking current COVID restrictions ? ( although they don't go around slashing and killing cyborgs in order to collect spare parts in exchange to earn money , I guess there was a very different return and earn system to ours in the movie )  How about the war that was in the movie - That's the current war in Afghanistan  and the Taliban well they are the "bad" poeople in the movie.  I can think of loads of parallels between the movie and what's currently happening - it's just all a bit creepy. But there is one scene towards the end of the movie  where the  "resigns"  from her position alongside the "dictator"  and the "dictator" is killed for his actions and based on "promises" which is a parallel of what may result in the things to come in NSW - I will have to continue to watch the daily announcement / media press conferences to see if it happens. Cryptic not psychic . Where's  my crystal ball? 

5 pm and it's getting dark. I didn't even take my rubbish out this afternoon. Instead of venturing out today,  I made myself some udon noodles with a miso soya maple ginger onion marinated grilled salmon,  brocclini, capsicum & peas garnished with chopped shallots and seasame seeds. Yum! I have enough leftovers for tomorrow! I open my window to let in some fresh air now that the smoke has disappeared but by 6 pm the smoke smell has returned although nowhere  as bad as yesterday. Time to close my window again. It's getting a lityle windy anyway. 

Why are all the interesting tv programs so late at night? It's past 20 pm and I'm still watching tv.

Monday 23rd August 2021 Week 74 of Unemployment

It now nearing the end of August  2022 and it would have been the end of lockdown this week but there is no lockdown end date, it just gets extended one month after another. The lockdown has been and is indefinite. Today is day 56 of this indefinite lockdown. Eve of the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympics!

It started of with a beautiful day but by 9 am it has become windy and overcast. The forecast for today was a low of 23 and a high of 25 degrees C. Really? Just the say before it was forecast for a cold snap. It sure is windy outside and overcast. Maybe in the afternoon the sun will come out and warm up.

A nice night's sleep however I did scratch a bit. A good sleep in until 6 am and a breakfast of leftover Bolognese sauce and 2 toasties filled with a layer of  Promote stuffed with sliced button mushrooms chopped shallots sprinkled with ground pepper and fried shallots and topped with a slice of cheese all melted. Yum! A glass of green juice and mug of black tea completed my breakfast. 

In between watching the morning news and after breakfast I prepared the bags of rubbish to take out to the rubbish bin and I must remember to take the Red bin out today for rubbish collection day tomorrow.

News today arguments discussions protests etc all about the road out of the COVID pandemic but not out of lockdown. Lockdown in NSW was likened to a caged  bear at one point - that's not far from the truth as it is even worse. Conflict over whether the target of zero cases of COVID is achievable before some freedoms are allowed verses reaching 70 - 80 % of the population being vaccination before some freedoms are allowed. Then there is whether COVID  will ever be fully  eradicated or if we will just have to live with COVID as it will always be around like the flu. Then there is the "why?" - Why did we not have or go into a harder shorter lockdown earlier ? and Why was the vaccination program not rolled out earlier resulting in possibly the current spread of out of control numbers of COVID cases being prevented. I would also like to add - Why has mask wearing outside only been made mandatory to everyone except kids only now and not continuously from the very beginning of the COVID pandemic?  Other discussions were around companies providing incentives again to people who can prove they have been fully vaccinated to motivate people to get vaccinated. One "celebrity" that was interviewed commented on a very valid point, a couple of frequent flyer points would not be enough to motivate them to get vaccinated - yes Qantas! take note 10000 ( yet to be approved with the TGA)   frequent flyer points won't get you far or anywhere for a start and we haven't been able to and can't travel anywhere at the moment so these frequent flyer points are totally worthless, and who knows when we will be able to travel more the 5 km outside of where we reside let alone fly again in the future! The points will probably expire  or depreciate before we even get to use them. 

Still no word of what happens to those who can't get vaccinated but there is mention about those who are unvaccinated being the most vaunable  to COVID. Looks like the PM's ( in his national address ) COVID plan is to live with COVID  and reach a 70 - 80 % vaccination rate.

The COVID  topic today was lockdown "languishing" or what I would call COVID  "baby brain" which is a type of brain fog.  

818 COVID cases overnight & 3 deaths all in their 80s. My question is were any or all of these people thst died . Apart from the deaths due to other medical conditions or odd younger victims, the pattern seems to be older people are dying from COVID some of whom have other medical conditions that actually contracted COVID and also some are partially or fully vaccinated as well so that proves that vaccination does not protect you against COVID and does not prevent you from hospitalization and even death as a result of contracting COVID which has been publicly advised.  What's happened to the Chief  Heath Officer of NSW Kerry Chant? She has been replaced on the daily 11 am media press conferences by another speaker. Is she on leave or go on leave? Did she resign or step down? Was she terminated? Did her contract  term end? 

The cases of COVID are still increasing despite tighter lockdowns. It just doesn't make sense, the more the population is bejng vaccinated,the more lockdown restrictions are introduced the more cases there seems to be. If the government sticks to a rate of  70% of  the population double vaccinated - it will take forever to get back to partial normality let alone out of lockdown - NSW will be in financial ruin! That's an unrealistic target. 

There was even a NSW/QLD border protest yesterday with people storming the QLD border with people attending due to all sorts of reasons  such as antivacer, business  owners facing financial pressures, etc etc.

I'm still being harassed by the Centrelink approved employment service provider which I will continue to ignore until at least the end of lockdown. 

The Census on the 10th of August is well and truely over yet the ad is still airing on tv with a slogan " it's not too late " to lodge the Census  - isn't this an obvious indicator that there was significant number of Australians that did not and still have not lodged their completed Census forms? I'm not surprised - what's more important navigating  and surviving the COVID pandemic or a stupid Census ? Either way the results of this year's Census collection of statistics will be skewed directly or indirectly due to COVID. 

After having a shower and  washing the dishes, I took the rubbish out to the red bin and made myself walk to Lane Cove to go grocery shopping. I had to get some essential toiletry items that only Woolworths have unfortunately  like a brand of toothpaste that was on sale at half price a brand of toilet paper that does not clog up the toilet like the  current brand I am using does and a special 3 in 1 kids shampoo conditioner & body wash that does not irritate my skin that other supermarket chains stopped carrying for some reason. After that I really wanted some type of take away Chargrill Charlies G & G or I Love Pizza - I decided on I Love Pizza because a large pizza was $16 Monday to Wednesday  still. I would have some leftovers for later then.

After collecting my pizza - the same as last time, which was a large thin crust Mediterranean lamb pizza that took 10 - 15 minutes to make whilst I waited outside the store on one of the 2 public benches on the street before it was delivered  to me, I started to waddle home with my 2 full shopping bags full of groceries that I had to chuck into at the checkout at Woolworths as I grabbed a basket and not a trolley ( the trolleys are actually locked together ) before repacking them outside on a public bench. A quick toilet stop as well after that.

Walking back home it was not 25 degrees C as forecasted, not even 23 degrees C but overcast and it even started to rain on my way home  lightly. As I walked past the Service Apartments on the main road I noticed that the from $300 per week sign has been taken down and even more odd the comfort Inn directly across  from it in the side street had the No Vacancy sign lit up which has not been lit up previously. What's going on? Are both properties not taking any new tenants?

Well what do you know, I was about to write about how I spotted people walking around not wearing masks which are now mandatory  outdoors except when you are exercising where you still needs to carry a mask, has just come up on the 6 pm news of how many people have actual been doing so. A awful lot of people around are out and about dressed in active wear and  going on a "run" just to get around the no mask  if exercising rule.

It's dark outside and I think there are also flashes of lightening in the distance. I am not going out again to put the bin out - will do so next week when it is actually full. I thought I just heard thunder in the distance as well. Weather forecast tomorrow 50 mm of rain and plummeting temperatures - one more time before Winter offically ends ah?!  Time to get out the ground hog  or wombat here Down Under. Sounds and looks windy outside and yes the lightening is now real , more frequent and a lot  closer and here comes the thunder outside and i look out the wondow and it is raining- not just a sprinkle anymore, the road is wet as the sound of cars swish by. Less then 30 minutes later I estimate it's calm and dry again with just the slightest of breezes.

I watch The Cook up after the 6 pm news whilst eating dinner  of pizza ( it is nothing like the last pizza I purchased from I Love Pizza - the same pizza was ordered and same size but the toppings were different where  were the olives? Why is the lamb so dry and overcooked? Are the ingredients leftovers and there was far too much sauce and not much cheese and as for the tomatos - large roughly sliced whole tomatos and not cherry tomatos where the slices of tomato were not even hulled. & lack of onion - it was not too good rating this time a 6/10) followed by 8 out 10 does countdown & HYBPA.

Watching HYBPA, one of the quiz  master's questions was One word named NZ's source of it's first COVID case what was it? The correct answer was Australia before adding NZ blamed Australia Australia blamed NSW NSW blamed Sydney  Who did Sydney blame? Bondi - I say now that's the fastest contact tracing I've seen!

Tuesday  24th August 2021

Day 57 of an indefinite lockdown and edging towards the end of August  2021 with still no end in sight of this lockdown. 

It's 11 am and very wet , dark  and slightly windy outside . It rainined most of the early morning and continued to rain. I slept ok  last night but was itchy again and could not stop my nose running or sneezing this morning. My right eye has also been itchy. My body must really hate when it rains. I am spending today indoors and so glad I did most of my essential grocery shopping yesterday.

Not much news to report except 6 million vaccinations reached  753 cases of COVID  reportedand no deaths overnight. Most of the news this morning was the continued arguments of the pathways to "normal" as I have written about in my previous blogs. There are still a large portion of those fully vaccinated still contracting COVID more then those with single vaccinated - why?  Are statistics being reported daily actually correct? 

Time to swtich over to the food channel.

It's been dark, wet and windy all day outside. A llittle cold too, enough to turn my heater and light on at 4 pm. It was hardly 11 degrees C today according to the weather report with worse to come tonight.

There is now 1 death from COVID  a woman in her 30s in South Western Sydney. 

The pandemic lockdown has cost the Australian government 1.3 billion dollars per a week! Yes you heard right.

So excited as tonight after 9 pm on Channel 7 after The Voice is the opening ceremony of the Paralympics!

It's nearly 7 pm and outside its 9 degrees! My window is closed and my blind is down to try and keep the warmth in and to minimise the loud sound of swishing motor vehicles, wind and rain outside.

After watching The Cook  Up, news and the last part of the Voice I watched  The opening ceremony of the Paralympic  Games which started at 9.15 pm.

It was spectacular just as good as the Olympic opening ceremony ( and almost if not just as long finishing at midnight)  with fireworks, amazing performing arts interwoven with graphics and highlighting  what people including myself think is the equivalent of  Australia's Nikki Webster  from the Sydney 2000 opening ceremony - a performance from a 13 year Japanese girl in a wheelchair in the form of a one winged plane. This was probably one of my favourite parts in the opening ceremony. I loved the diversity and inclusiveness.

I actually fell asleep briefly while the athletes were walking out onto the stadium. It wasn't alphabetically and I missed the apparently only 2 chosen Australian flag bearers walking into the stadium with the rest of the team of athletes watching from the village either due to protecting  them from COVID risk or because they were the first up to compete in their sports tomorrow. 

Finally I go to sleep at midnight. It is really cold dark wet windy outside. I feel so grateful that I have a roof over my head and  am safe warm and dry in my bed curled up. 

Wednesday 25th August 2021

Day 58 of an indefinite lockdown. It's getting close to the end of August the original date of the new lockdown before it was announced that it will be extended until at least the end of September 2021 although the NSW lockdown is still indefinite at this point in time with fleeting mentions of false hope that the NSW lockdown restrictions could be "relaxed" in October or November 2021. I said "relaxed" and not "lifted"  not  the lockdown being "ended" as NSW will  NEVER end. 

I woke at 7 am this morning but was awake at 5 am when my alarm went off. It was still dark wet and windy outside so I went back to bed. By 6 am it was light and it was no longer raining but still overcast and very windy. It is still cold so I have my heater on but the sun did try to peep out very briefly only to disappear  behind the grey clouds. 

It's almost 9 am and I've had part 1 of my daily breakfast ritual - fresh fruit salad with thick plain Greek yoghart , a mug of hot tea with a teaspoon of Manuka honey, a one Omega 3 fish oil capsules and some green juice. Part 2 of my breakfast is baking in the oven 2 slices of wholemeal bread with some olive oil to stop it from sticking topped with chicpeas, chopped English chard ( spinach), cherry tomatos, shallots, red capsicums, corriander, chilli flakes, parsley and halomi  cheese with a egg mixture of 3 eggs and some cream. 

I watch the news and it is still all about COVID news with smattering of other news  but not much about Afghanistan anymore. Has Australia lost interest? The death of Rolling Stones drummer, the Paralympics, the wild weather overnight which caused a bit of damage around Sydney overnight and  even a house on fire on the Gold Coast were bigger headlines then what's currently happening in Afghanistan.  the only mention was how in last night's Paralympics opening ceremony volunteers carried the Afghan flag into the stadium in absence of their athletes.

Newsbreak 919 COVID cases. Really? The number of vaccinations are rapidly increasing yet cases of COVID  are as well. The constant discussion of whether cases have reached their peak and signs are that cases are now on decline  verses the argument that it has not. I don't believe cases are decreasing and my prediction the number of cases will reach 1000+  by tomorrow. Whatever happened to the guy on TikTok who calculated the number of covid cases accurately on a daily basis? He just dropped off the face of the dropped  - Did he become a statistic himself? So 16 - 39 year olds can now get vaccinated but there is still discussion on the vaccination of those under 16. Whatever happened with the group of people in WLD a while ago who received "diluted" doses of vaccine? Did their immunity build up just as well as those that  had a full first dose of  the same vaccine or did their immunity increase or decrease ie was the diluted vaccine received just as effective as a normal first dose of the same vaccine or less effective? Did they get revaccinated with a full dose of the same  vaccine and was it asap or did they have to wait  until they were due for their second vaccination  for it? Of so did the % of effectiveness increase  or decrease as known and within what period of time compared to the known studies results of  vaccine effectiveness. The message now is that it is safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women to get vaccinated and to do so asap however there is a waitlist to do so. There is also a push for kids and teenagers to get vaccinated as there is an increasing numbers of kids getting the virus and spreading it onto adults or is that actually the adults passing it onto their kids? who knows. What's this about booked out QLD quarantine hotels for people crossing that need to over the border for various ressons?  This Friday is d day for announcements from the nSw premier of what it means for NSW  which has now reached 6 million in vaccinations. Well we can't remain in lockdown forever. 

There was snow again in Oberon in The Blue Mountains - pity I can only see it on tv again. 

I just made a cloudless orange mandarin and rosewater cake with almond meal and dark chocolate chips sweetened with Manuka honey icing sugar and maple syrup. During lockdown you really learn to use what you have and also avoid wastage of food. I used instead of whole oranges boiled in water because I only had 1 orange left which I wanted to conserve for other thing, the thinly depithed and sliced peels of all the orange and mandarins 'skins left over from my fruit salad instead of throwing them out. I was originally boiling them in sugar water  for hours to make orange peel as Woolworths did not have any at all . It worked out well as I used the included sugar water and the peel to use in this cloudless orange rosewater and chocolate cake instead. To get it right, it took some technique and a load of time  but the resulting "cake" was most and delicious not too sweet as I did not use any additional sugar just the infused sugar water. Do no milk no flour and no oil was needed in the cake. Like brownies this cloudless orange cake will get better with age especially as I made a syrup out of the infused sugar water and poured it back over the cake when it had cooled. Photo below

There is a nice glossy skin forming over the top of the cake where I lured the infused orange and mandarin sugar syrup which was thickened with tapioca as I did not have any corn flour or gelatin.

I'm having an early night tonight going to slerp after watching The chase, the news , The cook up and some YouTube videos.  

Tried to continue editing my entry for the SBS Emerging Writers competition all day today but kept getting calls from the stupid Salvation Army Employment Plus - I am still not answering them as I know what they want from me -  to sign the new job plan which will require me to search for 20 jobs a month instead of existing 4. I'm not signing it as it will become a liability for me when lockdown ends and I return to work and after reading about if I can change approved Centrelink employment service agencies and valid  reasons for doing so , I am going to research alternative ones in my area and finding out how to do so as I can't even search and apply for jobs  during lockdown without them constantly ringing me multiple times a day every day.

9 pm time to go to sleep.

Thursday 26th August 2021

Day 59 of an indefinite lockdown. 

What a difference 24 hours make to the Sydney  weather. Last nightwas clear and dry again after a day of wind rain and cold weather. It was a little cold overnight but not too cold and I had a great night sleep although still a bit itchy. 

I slept in until almost 8am this morning ignoring my alarms at 5 am and 6 am.

By 7 am the day was off to a beautiful start! It is really warm this morning and the sun is out a littl e windy but with clear blue skies.  I must try and get out today. 

I have my rubbish ready to take out and my pile of laundry ready to wash and dry. 

I have run out of bread eggs and a few other things so hopefully will take a walk down to Lane Cove today. 

I would like to finish editing my entry for the SBS Emerging Writers Competition  but I know tgat pesky Centrelink Employment Service provider will ring me up again. I really need to lodge a complaint and change service providers. 9.30 am and I missed their call. They will try again later.

News discussion topics today are the legal  consquences of mandating no jab no job and  retailers not allowing unvaccinated customers into their premises. Retailers don't to deal with the the legal aspects of these and believe it shoulld  not be their job to but the government's. Have any employers actually read the Fairwork information on the legal implications of no jab no job ? Obviously not. Still no mention of what hapoens if you casn't be vaccinated rather then refusing to. Do bbusinessesactually have the right to refuse unvaccinated customers? Let's see what today's 11 am announcement by the New premier  has to say about new freedoms for fully vaccinated NSW  residents - especially for non vaccinated and partially vaccinated residents.

Speaking of which next topic was on  why people don't want to get vaccinated and their theories behind it - not all are antivaccers due to conspiracy theories. The vaccine is not like a tetanus shot or a polio ,  measles,  chicken pox or mumps vaccine - not even a flu vaccine. COVID and the COIVID vaccine is unchartered territory. nobody knows the effects it has. Vaccine hesitancy does not mean anti vaccination. Everyone has concerns. The what ifs unanswered questions eg is it actually effective or safe.

Which leads me to the discussion of long COVID . What causes it? Studies are still to preliminary to  confirm any results but if you are fully vaccinated you can still get  a form of long COVID just as much chance as if you are unvaccinated  but in a milder form  ????

My crystal ball is still working with 1029 COVID cases and  3 deaths overnight all unvaccinated in their 60s 70s and 80s. 

New liting of restrictions in September  far too small and not applicable to me. Extra hour of exercise for residents of hotspot LGAs in South Western Sydney and now 5 adults are allowed to get together as long as all of these adults are all vaccinated and Regional NSW lockdown will continue until 10th September 2021. There is a hint for businesses to be ready to open up with their QR codes up and running etc and people to be vaccinated as you only be able to participate if you are fully vaccinated. 

I'm watching the wheelchair ruby and it's 2 countries in group B playing. Today is the USA verse Canada and as mentioned  by a commentator it is very difficult to tell the 2 teams apart as they both have dark uniforms and the only way you can tell the teams apart is the difference in the colour of their numbers on the back of their uniforms. It's a very tight game - typical it's always a tight game between the 2 rival countries in everything . The USA just won by 1 point ! Wheelchair ruby really is a sport that is a cross between basket ball , handball AND ice hockey - I noticed there was a bit of a biffo only a few minutes into the game between a Canadian and an American! Developed in Canada the sport was originally call "murder ball" - I can see why! Australia ( The Steelers) are in group A and has already played against Denmark and lost so now they play against France and possibly Japan. NZ is group B - they should have been  in group A with Australia - it would much more exciting watching as Australia and NZ are rival sporting teams just like the US and Canada! Whilst watching the match yesterday I thought I saw one of the team members in the Steelers was a female - Wasn't this a male wheelchair ruby team? - There is no mixed Australian wheelchair ruby team! I was right after reading up on this, there is indeed a female  wheelchair ruby team member  - she is the first female to represent Australia in wheelchair ruby at the Paralympics and her name is Shae Graham. I wish the Australian team luck against France  the next country in group A they play against. 

My laundry is washing and the rubbish is out in the red  bin. People are still using the red bin as a public rubbish bin.

I went for a walk and stopped at Aldi to get some eggs cheese corn chips a bottle of water mushrooms chicken and some nuts after stopping at Bakers Delight to get a loaf of wholemeal bread. Except for a few slices of cheese and a bottle of water I had none of the above basic grocery items left. I then stopped off at G & G for a chicken burritio with extra chimi  mayo on the side. Then it was a walk back home. It was a quite hot outside although the maximum temperature was just 20 degrees C. It felt a lot warmer. Spring definitely here and I'm scratching so much. 

As soon as I get home I take my washing out of the machine as it has finished it's wash cycle and place it in the dryer. I then make my way back upstairs to the apartment and put my groceries away then eat my chicken burrito whilst watching the 4 pm news and the chase. 

I fell asleep after taking my washing out of the dryer before it got dark &  in between watching The chase, the news and The Cook Up etc.

I had a very early night as I was scratching a lot and  got an allergic reaction earlier  from a face mask I put on causing my face to puff up. I took an antihistamine to try and calm it so I could  get some sleep. 

Friday  27th August 2021

Day 60 of an indefinite lockdown. Almost the end of Winter and another week in lockdown.

Today I really slept in this morning until around 8 am. I had breakfast washed dishes and put my washing in the dryer again as they did not dry yesterday. 

Right on 9 am the approved Centrelink employment service provider rings me but I missed the call . He'll try again later but I will ignore  it.  He will ring me everyday until I answer.

I applied for another job as a Christmas casual at TJMAXX Chatswood- I applied the previous year and was unsucessful - I also mentioned in my application not just this but how I'm unvaccinated and if vaccinations are mandatory for all their employee that the job is unsuitable for me. Someone has got to think in advance of Christmas! Speaking of which this year there will be no Christmas tree up by September for me and no Christmas cards or presents to post out by September. I won't even think about plans to travel back to Whistler next January 2022. It's not going to happen. Rules for any travel change every day even every hour. I'm even too scared to travel interstate domestically when borders reopen let alone overseas in case I get stranded! I'll stick within the 5 km for now.

It's not as nice a day today as it was yesterday - it is a little overcast. I don't think I will venture out.

11 am daily announcement by the NSW premier at the media press conference -overnight there were 882 cases of COVID  and 2 deaths ( both contracted COVID in hospital and one at least had other medical conditions). There was a story yesterday about a man who had a medical condition and went to hospital for treatment - hopefully he was not joking when he said that he would probably contract COVID now, he did and died from it and not from his medical condition. Kids 12- 15 are now approved for vaccination.

Today I have nothing planned. I did attempt to make some rough puff pastry this morning after breakfast. It has been resting in the refrigerator. I have wanted to make some custard tarts for a while but not the Chinese ones which I like but find too eggy . I prefer the Portugese type. I haven't made baked custard tarts before so am unsure how these will turn out when I eventually bake them.

Washing dried as best it can be and folded. I just ate a piece of bread and some cheese as a snack although I am craving KFC. 

I was about to pay some bills and checking my emails when I get a random message via Gumtree from a guy who spotted my ad that I had posted over 2 years ago which was an ugly necklace that belonged to my mum. It's still with the antique dealer and I forgot all about it. The guy who contacted me asked if I had any old watches as he was a collector, unfortunately I had to advise him that I did have a collection but just donated them to charity ( because they were really ugly but I didn't tell him this) and then he asked me if I had any other vintage or antique items - I said probably but can't access them as they are in deep storage off site and we're in lockdown.

Dinner was organic corn chips with freshly made guacamole made with a pinch of salt ground pepper chilli flakes fried shallots finely chopped corriander and shallots red capsicum avocado and of course fresh lime juice and some cheese.

Another early night after watching The  Chase news The  Cook Up and The  Living Room.

Saturday 28th August 2021

Day 61 of an indefinite lockdown. 

I slept in until 8 am this morning to an overcast morning. People are already out and about walking. Last night around midnight there  was a skate boarder that was dressed in a black hoodie  out on his own. Hopefully he wasn't the person who dumped their empty cigarette packet onto of the red bin I spotted this morning from my window. I did not sleep very well again last night. Parts of my skin are so dry even when I moisturize wholes other parts are just itchy. I think it's partially from the stresses of being in lockdown. 

Breakfast was fruit salad, plain Greek yoghart a mug of tea with some Manuka honey 2 slices of wholemeal bread with cheese and Promote and some oven baked skinless chicken thigh. 

4 eggs are in the slow cooker gently  boiling away and a tray bake loaded with chopped up vegetables (potatos onions zucchini  carrots celery cherry tomatos ) and chicken seasoned with olive oil salt  pepper chopped parsley fried shallots and chilli flakes. 

First thing this morning instead of being hassled by the Centrelink approved employment service provider, I am interrupted 3 times with an important text message from Myer in regards to the latest updates on COVID regulation on our mcomms where if you live in any ofthe hotspot LGAs  and work outside them you have to apply and carry a valid permit with the reason to leave and have at least have had your first vaccination. I am lucky that 1. I don't live in any of those hot spot LGAs and 2 Have been stood down since the beginning of this lockdown therefore don't have to travel to/from work.

11 am daily COVID announcement media press conference -  1035 COVID cases  and 2 deaths overnight.

After a light lunch of my above "tray bake" I got myself financially organised for the month ahead and paid most of my bills due in September - one rent rent, phone bill, income protection, private health insurance and part of the monthly off site storage rental. Everything is taken 1 hour at a time  1 day at a time 1 week at a time or 1 month at a time. It's still impossible to plan anything beyond this.

I just made my version of a Portugese tart. I repetively folded and rolled the dough puff pastry I made yesterday that I kept in the refrigerator overnight and partially  blind baked it whilst making up my thick custard mixture using cream and a combination of hot water  and cold sparkling water not milk sweetening it with some maple sugar. It was a little lumpy but thoroughly mixed. I could have sieves the thick custard mixture or used a stick blender to remove the lumps and make the custard smooth but could not be bothered as it would mean more washing up so just poured the mixture into the still slightly blond cooled rough puff pastry shell before returning it to the oven to completely bake. I had a huge puffed up section of the pastry shell but did not worry about it as the weight of the thick custard mixture poured over it flattened it down again ( this recipe is only  for me so I'm not really worried about presentation or techniques as long as it tastes good which  did). When it is baked enough I will remove it from the oven  and sprinkle some sugar crystals over the top of It, turn the oven to top element broil only and let the "brule" skin form over the top of it . I am unsure if this well I work as I also sprinkled the top with some sugar syrup. Again I'm not fussed if the "brule " skin does not form as the dish is too far down from the broiler .  Just tasted the pastry and it's thin and really crispy  and the custard is just the right sweetness to go with it. I destroyed the sides of the tart shell by eating 3/4 of the sides  - it only has a base left making it now a custard slice rather then a custard tart!

Shower and dishes washed, There's not much to do. Sleep early again tonight.

Tomorrow I must take my rubbish out to the red bin and hopefully go for a walk.

I watch YouTube and the Food channel.

It's between 1 am and 2.30 am and yes I am awake. Strange people are always out and about taking a walk along the main highway at this time of the night and they always seem to stop outside next door which is a motel. They don't go inside, it just seems that outside this apartment block and next door seems to be their rest stop on walks. I would not like to be out alone on a walk jog or run at this hour of the night or morning. 

I answered a random text message from a friend who lives near Brazil with a very long 1 text message response. Time to go back to sleep as it is now 2.30 am Sunday morning.

Sunday 29th August 2021

Well it's the end of yet another week  in lockdown. Day  62 of an indefinite lockdown.

Spring is in just 3 - 4 days. This morning was really cold earlier but the day is off to a beautiful  warm day this morning as the sun is now out with a very slight breeze. It is forecast for a top of 20 degrees C today although the sky is not 100% clear and blue yet. 

Breakfast was the regular slices of wholemeal bread cheese fruit salad a mug of tea yoghart Omega 3 capsules and I forgot about the Manuka honey today.

The weather outside has turned overcast and it's quite cold. I have my heater on whilst in bed doing some puzzles  from a very old and poorly put together puzzle book with a few pages of answers and solutions missing watching the food channel and trying to edit more of my entry for the SBS  Emerging Writers Competition. I am so unmotivated and don't even know if I will finish it to be submitted by the closing date if the competition. I know I have very little chance of even making it to the finalists as I've never really won a proper academic related competition outside of school or university before however "You will never ever know if you never ever go" as the saying goes so what have I got to loose? I love writing and have loved it since I was about 5 years old even with my lack of English as English was my second language at that age. I didn't like reading and could not spell but it was my creative writing that caught my teachers' attention in primary school and I won a book ( which I still have although it has lost its original sleeve/cover) and a few certificates as well ( unsure if I still have these in storage somewhere).

Outside there are quite a few walkers joggers and runners for an overcast Sunday but every now and then the crazy people come out and walk down the main highway either yelling and screaming cursing and swearing with bouts of loud verbal abuse towards their partners. There are 2 regular couples that obviously have a mental illness and/or there is domestic violence  involved which may be a result of alcohol abuse. One couple passed by twice today - they walked Northbound this morning as the male half of the couple cursed and swore asnd shouted at his partner who walked at a "social distance" from him both empty handed and walked back Southbound this afternoon still cursing and swearing  and shouting abuse however this time pushing a Coles shopping trolley full of their belongings again the female half of this couple was walking at a "social distance" behind him with a coffee in her hand. There is still 2 abandoned Coles shopping trolleys outside the front of the apartment  block  - I have not touched the one behind the mail boxes which is filled with empty glass bottles of some type of expensive liqueur or spirits and the other one is parked on the greased strip on the footpath behind a barrier. There are no abandoned Woolworths or Aldi trolleys as these are all coin/token operated chained up trolleys from Lane Cove whereas Coles trolleys don't have any locks on them although I'm unsure about the wheels.

In between staring out the window, I made a nice chicken and salmon congee which is bubbling away in my slow cooker. Nice and warming. I have a snack of organic plain corn chips with processed cream cheese in a jar ( it must be so processed that any lactose in it has been "killed off" as I don't seem to be allergic to it. It is really bad for you looking at the list of ingredients but this was purchased as part of my long life non perishable emergency pantry stash and is a sometimes food only) and salsa ( also  part of my emergency pantry stash). Corn chips well I always buy a pack - I have to allow myself some type of savoury junk food and during lockdown besides dark chocolate and the occasional taste test of new snack products!

6.30 pm it's dark and my heater is still on although I'm unsure if I still need it on. For the past 3 hours or so I ate my deliciously hot congee a cup of hot tea and watched snippets of ALW's musical theatre version of Cinderella and watching any vocalist out there doing covers of the songs as well as critiques  from vocal coaches around the world. 

I had a very late shower and washed the dishes.

8.10 pm and whilst watching The Voice, I look out the window and hear voices, usually they are just people going for a night run or walk but as mentioned previously there are a few crazy people out and about and I spotted 3 people walk past -  it's too dark to see any of their faces as the first person kept walking southbound and I only spotted the back of them, the second was a female who just stood leaning against the front brick wall of the apartment block facing towards the main highway so I could not see her face at all however the 3rd person was a male smoking a cigarette and hovering around the front entrance of the apartment block into the front carpark and walking closer and closer towards the front door of the apartment block. As he continued walking and smoking his cigarette he was not just entering to use the bins to dump his cigarette but he was trying to trespass and break into the building So I made sure he saw I was watching him from above. He saw me and turned before walking away Southbound with the other female that was still leaning against the brick wall. He will probably return so I may have to keep a light on. 

After that trespassing incident I kept my floor light ( as it is easier to change this light bulb then a commercial ceiling fan light one) and owl nightlight ( that changes colour on the window sill looking outwards onto the highway) on  all night whilst I tried to sleep. I am getting increasingly freaked out with the crazy people walking by especially those that I've caught trespassing or trying to. There is CCTV around the apartment block however I'm unsure if they are actually working. I'm now starting to feel too scared  to leave and too scared to stay where I am. Maybe if i move the abandoned Coles trolkey out off the property onto the footpath to join the other abandoned trolley and take the red bin out full of rubbish it will deter trespassers. the side window next to the unit 1a  door should really be boarded up. i thought it was the internal flyscreen that was ripped but it 's actually intact and the glass window is actually  smashed.  I am unsure if a tresspasser actually smashed a bottle at it or if it was from the original fire brigade breaking.

I did not sleep very well and only got about 4 hours sleep managing to sleep in until 7 am the next morning.

Monday 30th August 2021 And Week 75 Of Unemployment

Day 63 of a no change in restrictions indefinite lockdown in NSW. 

Yes it is only NSW that  has been and is in an indefinite lockdown - VIC is also in yet another lockdown but it is not indefinite, they have had 6 or 7 lockdowns but not continuously instead Being in and out of lockdowns ( refer my blog about my last day trip to Melbourne just to go to the NGV as I was too scared to stay longer in case I  got stranded interstate in the event VIC decided to shut their borders at the last minute) . The focus is now shifting to news about the fighting between state governments and federal governments in regards to everything to do with the pathway to Australia opening up . Because TAS WA SA and QLD  don't have any or very few COVID cases and haven't had any for months they want to keep their borders shut to NSW  and VIC.  TAS is probably the best state to be in right now because they not only have no COVID , they are isolated, seem to be free to travel to WA SA QLD and even the NT , have the highest rate of vaccination and are not as involved in the disputes between the state and federal governments. I wish I was stranded there during COVID -I wish I didn't live in the worst state of Australia - no wonder people are moving out of NSW for a tree or sea change many Northbound to escape NSW. My friend is seriously considering it as soon as we get out of lockdown and able to travel. The dispute   between governments has become so bad i don't even want to write about it. All I know is if lockdown does not end soon, we well all be in a giant recession because the current financial situation of Australia is not sustainable and there will be more people being admitted to hospital or dying from self harm as a result of mental illness then COVID. I know that reduction in cases of COVID will not decrease even with the rapid race to get as many people vaccinated as possible. I predict if the government is waiting until the target of 70 -  80% of the population being fully vaccinated before easing some lockdown restriction and not ending the lockdown, there will be no Christmas or NY for NSW residents and definitely no travel outside of Greater Sydney not even to region NSW and therefore no family reunions. These are just some examples - pessimistic? No I am just being totally realistic! I predict increase in unrest protests strikes and blockades - you just have to look at the daily news headlines  - the truckie blockade of  the Pacific Motorway Gold Coast Brisbane who believe that vaccination should not be mandatory to do their job and how they were not antivacers - yes they copped a fine and even Pauline Hansen apparently made an apearance (  if readers don't know who she is Google her) but the trukies eventually moved on but only due to livestock being held up. Are we losing our freedom of speech or freedom in general as a result of this COVID pandemic? Maybe we are. 

There were 1290 COVID cases and 4 deaths overnight. 36% of population have now been fully vaccinated.  There seems to a pattern where  the deaths from COVID are mainly from  either  elderly either from an outbreak from  aged care facilities or with other existing medical conditions or contracted it from hospitals or healthcare facilities.  Shorter  speech  from the NSW premier with stats and a lot more speakers drumming into everyone to get vaccinate get vaccinated get vaccinated etc etc.... Vaccination works they claim. Does it and is it working? The question was vaccination is increasing but cases of covid are still going up. What happens when the 70% or 80%  double dose vaccination target is met ? -  there will still be more cases . The NSW premier says October is going to be the worst month? I don't think so. So many questions still.

The questions still in discussion is : Can employers mandate Vaccination? Can you get terminated for refusing to get vaccinated? The answer was yes according to a legal representative on a morning show today - the question has opened up "a can of  worms" ie legal  employment rights such as employment workplace discrimination such as religious reasons for not getting vaccination, those with medical conditions that prevent them from getting vaccinated etc  and have any of these legal representatives actually read the legislation on the Fairwork information  website? It's all about "liability" who is responsible if an unvaccinated person contracts COVID ?0 I've given the example before of the discussion on whether an employee who refuses to get vaccinated or  can't be vaccinated contracts COVID at work of whether they can sue their employer. On the other side of the argument  if someone ( employee or not) who only refuses to get vaccinated because they have a valid medical condition which prevents them from being vaccinated,  is pressured or forced to get vaccinated  due to a mandate or compulsory vaccination policy (by a company , government or other) , gets vaccinated then suffers severe or moderate short or long term side effects - Are they now entitled to sue or take legal action to seek compensation against the organisation department or company responsible for the mandate or compulsory vaccination policy ( employer government or other)? 

I had a shower  and washed the dishes. I watched some more of the Paralympics whilst getting ready to venture out for some essential groceries. Team USA was playing wheelchair ruby against team GB and it was a hard fought game from the start. The USA  lost the gold medal match taking home a silver medal. I think they were devastated. I forgot to tell everyone what happened to the Australian wheelchair ruby team - after losing their first match,  they narrowly won their second match only to lose the bronze medal match therefore missing out on a medal - I think they were also devastated. 

Then there was sitting volley ball and goal ball. I didn't pay attention to which teams were playing just on how the games were played. I like the concept of goal ball. That was interesting  to watch. If I didn't have to take my rubbish out to the red bin and take the red bin out for garbage collection day tomorrow as well as move the abandon trolley filled with empty glass spirit and liqueurs bottles and then walk down to Lane Cove to get some fresh air exercise and essential groceries, I would have stayed at home and watched the rest of the Paralympics and be hassled with another phone call from the Centrelink approved employment service provider at 4 pm today. 

Coles was my target grocery shopping destination today. I managed to get to the checkout with an expired mouldy packet of mini capsicums and a tub of dolmades without a barcode therefore had to run and get alternatives twice. I apologised to the customer waiting behind me and appreciated that the checkout operator had packed my groceries into my 2 cloth shopping bags by the time I returned and thanked her for it. I wanted to get out of the supermarket asap. My sensitivites to supermarkets has not changed over the years with only mask wearing preventing me from coughing fits everytime I enter supermarkets. The only good thing that has come out of COVID is by wearing a mask whenever I go out I have had very few coughing fits but my skin is so dry sensitive and allergic and when the mask is off the sneezing , runny nose and itchy watery eyes rerurn. I walk back home unload my groceries. on my way home I receive a what's app group chat message "wishful thinking" with a photo of  the frames of the Christmas trees are already up in Balgowlah! I respond back don't laugh I usually have my Christmas tree up by Sept each year and all my cards and presents sent out. I've been a bit slack this year. Text message from team member ticket girl in response and she told me about cases of COVID  in a supermarket in Mona Vale. I check the map and list of cases daily and there was nothing about the supposed 50 cases there then I checked Lane Cove and also nothing so where is she getting her info from? I even checked Service NSW and all the government websites. Nothing. Has the  COVID map been abandoned? It looks as if it hasn't been updated for days.

I went to bed really late only to be woken up by the same cursing couple as the previous days taking a "midnight " walk  again along the footpath. Can't remember if they were walking Northbound or Southbound. Hopefully back to where they reside.

I eventually went back to sleep and slept in until 7 am the next morning.

Tuesday 31st August 2021

Last day of Winter and day 64 of an indefinite it's never going to end lockdown in NSW. 

The NSW Dine & Discover program introduced by Service NSW  to encourage residents of NSW to  to get back out and support the local and regional hospitality and tourism industries around NSW during COVID  was due to expire today but due to this current indefinite lockdown , this program has been extended until 30th June 2022. I am sure there are still quite a few of the 2 complimentary Dine and 2 complimentary Discover vouchers worth $25 each unused and floating around as for the past 2 months or so nobody has been able to use them due to most attractions and dining establishments closed or doing takeaway service only. I still have one dine and one discover voucher left to use.

I watch the news and make myself a breakfast of fruit salad, egg salad on whole wheat bread and a cup of tea. I love a good egg salad sandwich but my egg salad is a little different as I use what's  available. Usually I use mashed boiled eggs mayo chopped shallot  sweet baby pickled cucumbers chopped fresh dill salt ground pepper and grain mustard. I didn't have mustard and was trying to use up my baby  cucumbers therefore this egg salad contained 3 mashed boiled eggs, chopped dill, finely chopped stalk of celery,  3 finely chopped baby cucumbers,  the juice from a jar of sweet pickles,  salt,  ground pepper,  mayo,  finely chopped shallot stalk, ground tumeric, ground cumin, chilli flakes and a sprinkle  of fried shallots all mixed up well.

7.30 am this morning and 2 masked men with fluorescent yellow work tops walk past and straighten my red garbage bin I put out last night on the footpath as well as take the yellow and blue bins out for me . That's nice of them but now I have to bring them all back in! I later look out my window and find that they are the garbos and the garbo truck is actually about to arrive in about 5 or 10 minutes which is really late for garbage collection day. 9.30 am and I was about to go downstairs and bring all the bins back in and look out my window only see the garbos arrive again to empty the blue and yellow bins 10 - 15 minutes later ( the red bin was  well and truely emptied earlier as the lid was off. ) How wrong I was!   I went downstairs  with a mask on and gloves and only took the red and yellow bins in. The blue bin is still full - fuller then it was when I last looked ( days ago) . People are using it as a public bin as well. So when is the blue bin actually emptied? It's past 10.15 am and there is so much traffic on the highway  - I always thought the garbbos came in the wee hours of the morning when it was still dark to avoid any traffic! It's 12 noon and finally after lunch the garbos came back to empty the blue bin which meant i had to go downstairs again and pull the blue bin with its lid off back in. DONE!

Another  cold morning ( no wonder the weather man advised last night  it was a top of hardly 20 degrees C and a low of hardly 9 degrees C) but by 9 am it's really sunny and warm - the sun is out and the skies are blue - but we're  still in lockdown indefinitely. It's now edging closer and closer towards Christmas. Thinking about the early Christmas trees frames already up at Balgowlah yesterday, I wonder if the QVB in Townhall  has put their "it's not the Christmas Tree" tree up yet, as they had their early " The 2020  Tree - Ignite joy and empower Sydneysiders to feel hope " up last year ( refer my blog & YouTube channel  last year before November 2020) before the real Christmas tree  was installed. Do any of my readers remember that? QVB need to put it up again - too late now if they  decide to do it,  it should have been errected before August 2021!

Today's 11 am daily announcement media press conference - 1164 COVID cases and 3 deaths overnight. I missed the rest of the announcements - it must have been really brief. An outbreak in Parklea prison - those protesters who got arrested will not be going there I hope?!. Same daily message except it is now  "GET VACCINATED DON'T BE SO SELFISH.............! " 

Excuse me?????!!! There is now pressure from a barrage of questions from the media - How can people  get vaccinated if there are not enough vaccines and an example was given of how someone was unable to make a vaccine booking for at least a month on the government website. Contradictions of vaccine  targets against what was previously promised eg international travel by December 2021 - not going to happen. Why is Australia still allowing international travellers into the country eg  movie celebrities sports people etc yet most of NSW  can't even travel outside of 5 km from where we reside anyway ?Should have concentrated on getting all stranded Australians overseas back first and much earlier first before allowing anyone else into the country. 

Rapid antigen testing has been abandoned  after just a brief test run  and where workers from hotspot LGAs now are no longer required to get tested every 3 days replaced with a valid permit with a valid reason for leaving their LGAs  and prrof of a compulsory 1st dose vaccination.  

Look more lockdown protests in Sydney outnumbered by police - I am not surprised. It will just get worse - looking more like  the movie "Alita Battle Angel " everyday! I am not surprised either that Australia has become the laughing stock of the world with reports of how Australia is currently handling ( rather not handling ) the COVID pandemic with news reports using words such as "savages" and "peasants" and while the rest of the world is opening up Australia is shutting down (again). Yep back to square 1. A little embarrassing in a way as the rest of the world was  looking at how well Australia was doing compared to them as they plunged into lockdown Australia was opening up under 2 years ago now.

Earlier this morning there was a Q&A about different aspects of the COVID pandemic. Questions were sent in by viewers and answered by a infectious diseases expert ( I didn't actually pay attention to who they were apologies to my readers I was probably more worried about the rubbish collection) . Some questions were very interesting. One question stood out. Someone asked why WA QLD SA have managed to do so well ( the answer wasn't to do with locking everyone from other states out either). Reasons were 1.These states are more spread out so more fresh air  ( their populations are smaller too) 2. Viruses don't like heat or sun . Poor TAS ( who are doing great on their own) didn't even get a mention again! 

The above make sense open your windows instead of relying on air conditioning systems which are germ pools if left unmaintained - cross ventilation is really important and helps dissipate the virus "spores". Of course viruses don't like heat or sun, that's why UV light has been used on sushi train food and in public pools with chlorine to kill off anything that could result in the spread of  diseases . I therefore question why COVID cases are still increasing with increase in vaccination particularly in the more locked down regions of NSW. There is a pattern NSW has the largest population and Sydney is the largest city and the most populated , everyone is already squished into a small area which increases the chances of contracting COVID living in such close proximity to each other.  If the government continues tightening the restrictions within certain hotspot LGAs until they can almost no longer tighten them, of course the cases of COVID will continue to increase there will be more people living closer together then normal putting pressure on the virus circulating around and having nowhere else to go. Imagine what would happen to you if you never saw the sun or breathed in any fresh air. Imagine if you saw no one for months on end and only saw the same people you lived with  for months on end - you would go crazy even turn on each other possibly  killing  each other. Maybe this is what's happening  to the virus it can't go anywhere so circulates around and around in the same areas instead of dissipating . Yes you can stop it spreading by shutting people in and out of the hotspot LGAs completely ( that's COMPLETELY no exceptions or exemptions which is not what is happening  currently) but you can't stop it spreading within the hotspot LGAs, it will continue to spread faster and faster  from person to person the more people are restricted together within that area and the closer people become confined to indoor areas . The people that have to leave or been allowed to leave these hotsopt lGAs to other areas outside of these hotspot LGAs are now hundred even thousands or more times likely to have contracted COVID and hence hundreds and thousands or more times contagious. This makes them literally a "single spreader" . A superspreader therefore not just considered as an infected  person or groups of people that attend a protest illegally or gather illegally at an event or party unintentially. 

What would happen if you just opened up NSW completely except travel to and from other states ie no restrictions within NSW except common sense wearing masks and keep distance and no large indoor gatherings  regardless of vaccinations now and just continued as we did previous to the Delta strain? Would the Delta strain of COVID  just disappear again like COVID did before?

Taking a break from COVID now to watch some YouTube channels and the Paralympics on tv at the same time. My postcard I posted at Lane Cove Post Office a few weeks ago reached the U.S. ok. Let's see what happens with their gift I posted  the following week at the dodgey post box.

5 pm and something is going on up the highway Southbound as there are some ambulances parked along the highway. I only spotted them when a couple taking a walk stopped out the front discussing and pointing towards it. I am too far away to see what's happened. I can just see the ambulance flashing in the distance. It looks as if it's parked in front of Coronation Park?! I'm unsure if that's what it is called. Traffic is flowing normally so it may not be a motor vehicle incident.

I watched The Chase then the news followed by The Cook up  and 8 Out Of 10 Does Countdown ( a repeat episode I haven't watched before) and The Greatest Showman in between watching YouTube videos (catch up) and continuing to edit my entry into the SBS Emerging Writers Competition  which is far from complete and I'm wondering if I am submitting the right piece.

Wasn't feeling the best as I ate something which has given me an allergic reaction - it may have been something in the Thai green curry. I was scratching  all night and finally fell asleep.