2021 - Aotearoa - The Pandemic Adventure!

  Day 12 - June 29 Temp - feels like is 36° right now, but the temp is 44° Walk time - 2:35 - it'll be windy and freezing!! Day 12 means the final COVID swab up the nose this morning.  No worries that it'll come back negative, so this is just another brick in the wall (very Pink Floyd!).  Two people in one of the Auckland hotels tested positive on Day 12 (!) so that has extended the stay for everyone at that hotel!  What a horrendous option THAT would be!  Anxious to avoid that... Update: Escape time got moved to 1:30pm instead of 5:30am.  All good for a sleep in but it buggared up the flight I had booked for 8:50am to Hastings.  Lots of fiddling around today trying to coordinate with the Wellness team and Air NZ to figure out what to do next.  Finally, managed to get on the flight back to Auckland where they fly us all back to to start over (Ithink).  Booked a flight from there to Hastings, so should have this all sorted by 7pm T...

Day 11 - June 28 Temp - 40° (ish) It's a 2-walk day (see schedule attached!).  Easy to see the teacher in me coming out, by the yellow highlighter on the times!  Hey, this is important stuff people!  This is the schedule we get for walking times every day - and there's nothing better than a 2-walk day!  Polar blast moving in today...5 o'clock walk was down to just 3 people (staunch outside people!).  Was definitely a 'gloves required' event but still very do-able.

Sunday, June 27 Temp - 45° this morning but 53° currently (2:25pm) Walk time - 9:00a.m. Can you believe I have only 3 days left in confinement?? Me neither! Who knew that time could really fly when you are doing nothing!  Anyway, one more COVID test on Day 12 and exiting the facility on Thursday at 5:32 a.m. - not sure what the plan is for that yet but should find out fairly soon. Today is a Sunday kind of day (mostly cos it's Sunday!), so I am letting myself have a Sunday day. Very foggy walk this morning - jacket required for a bit.  Fog and mist have been rolling in and out this morning, but we appear to have blue sky right now.  However, it's still an inside day (like I have an option?).  Watched the Grand Ole Opry, live, which was great...currently watching a Netflix series called Sweet Tooth. Heads up if you are a Netflixer, this is a great one to binge.  Matter of fact, I was up after 11pm last night doing just that! Part of breakfast this morning...

Saturday, June Temp: 50° - great day! Walk time - 9a.m. AND 4:55p.m. - it's a two walk day! Second weekend in captivity! Yay me!  Big celebration though cos it's a 2-walk day!  Two different sessions so I took full advantage of both! Temperature was great - jersey weather but no jacket. Looks like we're back to just one walk tomorrow though (😒). Spending plenty of time yakking on Facetime.  Cheers to all the people who have called for a chat to help pass the time! Night walking! A separate celebration was the return of the laundry (the process works!).  All back, nicely folded but there may have been an iron needed on the t-shirts - no wrinkles thanks! Brekky - gotta love the bacon and egg pie! Lunch! Welcome to my lounge!

Friday, June 25 Temp 55° this morning when I was walking, but 60° now (1pm) - a very mild, lovely winter's day indeed! Walking time: 9:00 - 9:50a.m. COVID updates on TV daily at 1pm.  So far, no COVID cases in the community as a result of the positive case from Sydney last weekend.  Interesting that there were 20 places identified as places that person went while they were here.  Apparently they were making the most of their weekend! 10,000+ people have been tested so far. It has been very interesting to watch how NZ manages this situation so efficiently and effectively.  It's very impressive indeed! The laundry process seems to be working...either that or someone stole my laundry from outside my door!  We'll see if it all shows back up I guess... My lolly/chocolate order was delivered this morning - yay! I'm not sure how Amazon works here...maybe I should check it out...however, it's quite nice to have some kiwi goodies to munch on in captivity. Finished readin...

Day 7 - Thursday, June 24 Temp 55° - Wow! A perfect Winter's day! Walk time: 3:10 - 4:00 - great day to be outside Today marks the halfway point! 7 days has gone fairly quickly actually and we are now on the downhill side - woohoo!!!   A wee glass of something to celebrate? Why not! Laundry?  Well, yes I do have some thanks - 8 days worth if you count day 0, which apparently we don't (like, it's really a total 0!) although did I have 0 dirty clothes that day?  I think not.  There's a laundry process (of course there is!) which does not involve a washing machine or a clothesline!.  Put your laundry in a special bag, label it and put it outside your door.  Wow, that seems so much easier than what I usually do!    Spent lots of time on Facetime today - talked to my boss, caught up with my cousin in the UK for a very long and lovely chat, Sheryl (of course), Mum (of course), a friend in Welly and a principal friend in OKC...whew!...

Day 6 Wednesday, 23 June Temp 41° - looks decent so far Outside time: 1:10pm (did 30mins today) - sun was even out! Happy Hump Day y'all! A COVID story Big news in NZ this morning is contact tracing. a passenger from Sydney who came over for the weekend.  NZ and Australia have a travel bubble, which means people can travel between without quarantining. It has worked fairly well so far, and has really shown how you can reopen but respond when there are outbreaks.  It's kind of interesting how they are rapidly releasing exactly when and where the COVID person was.  Here in NZ, (most) people use a QR code to scan in and out of where they go.  Seems like this is a good example of how successful that can be when contact tracing.  The COVID process here really is a fluid thing, involving tracing, testing and quarantining close contacts etc. but it does show a possible way forward. We just have to get used to a new way of being.  Actually, it's not too dissimilar ...

Tuesday, June 22 Temp 47° - sunny then rainy...rinse and repeat! Today has been the epitome of balance!  First up....food health! then...brain health... Am I smarter than a 5th grader??? (that was rhetorical!) ..then... 'it's a beautiful day' health ...nothing but blue skies do I see... ...and finally - outside-at-last health!   Walkin' the yard at last! If you ever don't appreciate fresh air and the great outdoors, just give me a call! After various false starts, I finally got outside at 4:05 this afternoon!  The chill was great and it wasn't raining! We had an allocated time - floor by floor - of about 45 minutes.  Like everything else, the outside bit was closely managed - signed in and out by a little door guy..monitor floating around outside (playground duty!). Went in after 25 mins.  That wee zephyr of a breeze on the downside was only tolerable for so long! The pantr...

Monday, June 21 Temp 51° - clouds with some blue sky and occasional sunbursts!  Of course, occasional rain bursts also! Are you one of those people who rearranges the furniture all the time?  Well, I typically am not, but today I stepped into your realm and moved my cheese...well, metaphorically my cheese, but in real life I moved my desk! So now I watch the outside people (blue bands?) going about their daily life, unknowingly being spied on (!). The airport is close enough to watch people dragging their bags to wherever they are going just because "it's so close, we might as well walk".  Of course they don't take into account the wee chill in the air, and the ever present risk of rain.  Traffic...delivery vehicles...buses...oh yes, it's all action out my window! After the epic blue band fail yesterday, I earned the yellow band consolation prize, which should have meant IOE (Individualized Outdoor Exercise) with my 'personal trainer...

Sunday Temp 45° - rainy - very rainy!                  No outside for you!           Don't fence me in...unless I'm ever in a hotel, in quarantine, hiding from a global virus...yep, that'll never happen... Fail! Epic fail on the coveted blue band today - not getting one!  It seems someone on the plane tested positive, which is no biggee, but being on the bus with them for longer than 15 mins means everyone is a close contact (we all know how THAT goes!).  Luckily, it does not extend my stay.  Just means an extra stick up the nose on Day 6 (very inviting!) and I have to schedule time with an escort/personal trainer (?) to go outside for exercise.  I have requested one with high energy/high motivation skills since I have been sitting around since Thursday and I may require a lot of extra work!  All that will work out fine.  Just as well I am ...

Saturday (does the weekend really matter?) Temperature: 45° - cloudy Wake up time this morning was 2:15a.m. - the true definition of an early start!  That happens on about the 2nd day in because my body clock is still on Oklahoma time...which means I am still in yesterday...kind of....might be needing a wee Nana nap later on. So what to do...mental health tips in case you are ever in quarantine... Housework - it is Saturday after all!  Yep, that burned up 10 minutes...whew, time for a cup of tea!  I think it is important to keep your environment orderly though (mental health tip).  Wiped everything, did my manual dishes - both mugs and a spoon! (dish liquid provided), even made my bed today. Proof of housework! Do your dishes whānau! The poster child for MIQ!   Facetime - yep, it's like meeting for coffee...the MIQ way!  Did spend an hour (or more!) coffeeing with a friend from high school who came in from the...