The new normal - Life in a world with COVID-19

Well, my god has this been a rocky road of a week! Infact, I’ll up that a notch, it’s been a fucking disaster. We managed to get a flight back on Saturday, arriving back in NZ on Sunday morning. I was stressed, but a sense of relief knowing we were back in civilization, safe and just before the self-isolation cut off…or so we thought.
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Arrival was easy, in fact it was a little too easy. No temperature checks, not asking where we were staying, no checks to see if we were sick – we found it all a little too easy. We hired a car for the day and spent the day searching for new wheels to get us around before making our way to the Airport hotel for the night. Good news is we managed to find one which was fab, it’s a little Nissan Lefesta (7 seats so not so little but we can always sleep in it if things get worse)

We were stoked, we have a car, we arrived before the quarantine – life is beautiful… or so we thought. Yes, we made it in before the isolation rules came into place, but really is that sufficient to not have to self-isolate – we weren’t sure. Once our friends started justifiably saying to stay away, we realised that we were right and for the safety of all we really should be in isolation.
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We are currently staying at my cousins which I cannot be more grateful for, I can’t put into words how amazing these guys have been because on Monday when this all came to fruition and our PM made the self-isolation compulsory, we pretty much all lost our jobs. Actually, the whole of NZ tourism and AU tourism have lost their jobs, so yup, now we are in quarantine, both jobless and homeless. Could this be the worst possible situation to be in right now…I think it maybe be getting pretty close. 

​We are now on day 5 in quarantine and it’s been quite a struggle, how many times can I log into SEEK, trade Me , jobaroo, jobaday, jobarabadado, who the fuck knows. It’s killing me. The Government has offered to support individuals and businesses who are now facing unemployment’s / no more money which of course I have applied for but that was nearly 3 days ago and so far nothing. They said it cold take up to 5 days, but I just don’t know. If I don’t get this government funding then I am truly fucked. About 3000 jobs have disappeared overnight and more to come. I am looking into Supermarkets, café’s, restaurants any anything I can do but the chances are we will all be in compulsory lock down within the week so then what do I do? Aww fuck, it’s a bloody nightmare. 

In the grand scale of things, as much as I feel so alone, so isolated, rejected and lonely, I know this has to pass. It really does, this cannot be it. The world cannot just shut down, that’s not the plan at all. This self-isolation rule is great. Really it is, but for us who have just arrived home after 1 years away it is truly saddening. I described it today as being grounded. I want to see my friends so ,much, I thrive from contact and right now knowing that I cannot see them is heart-breaking, then on top of that of having no income and being homeless, it is surprising I am able to get up in the morning.
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5 days in and 11 more to go… we have got this, but I will probably blog a whole heap more in these 11 days as it’s keeping me semi-sane.