September 2021
OK, time to get back to working on our blog. Where have we been? Well, we’ve both succumbed to a bout of Lockdown Malaise (mine more severe than Rich’s, I think).
What is Lockdown Malaise? It’s sort of a human hibernation syndrome where one does a lot of sitting around and conserving energy. It’s not depression (although there are some similarities) and it doesn’t mean sufferers don’t fully support the lockdown (which was and continues to be absolutely necessary!). It’s just a form of the blahs in which it’s hard to get things accomplished.
I will say we haven’t been totally hopeless. We generally go for a daily walk, but a long walk now feels like a big accomplishment to be rewarded by afternoon movies, naps, and at times, wine. I wish I could be like those people who use a lockdown to get all sorts of projects and housework done. (They probably even change clothes every day instead of sitting around in the same sweatpants and T-shirt!). All this time on the boat, I could have gotten so much accomplished, but I’ve been going at a snail’s pace.
What I have been doing is reading lots of global Covid news as so much of what’s going on is relevant to our situation. I keep track of Australia and Indonesia (where we’re hoping to head next), of Fiji (plan B), of Europe and the United States (which paint a picture of the future ahead as they were first out of the gate with mass vaccinations and now are experimenting with lifting restrictions), French Polynesia to see the situation for the Puddle Jumpers, and of course, New Zealand. I also like to look at Facebook because it gives me an idea of how people are thinking and feeling. The photo below sums up the past few weeks of my life pretty well.
I will add that Rich has actually gotten a lot of projects done. He gets daily news summaries, analysis, and predictions from me (the poor guy can’t escape it!).
Meanwhile, I’ve had to do more cooking than usual. I enjoy cooking, but making 2 or 3 meals a day gets old quickly, and these days grocery shopping is stressful. But we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We know the rest of the world has spent far, far longer in lockdowns than we have. We’re very grateful to be here in New Zealand, which, in our opinion, has handled the pandemic better than any other country on earth.
Currently, we’ve completed five weeks in Level 4 before dropping to Level 3 (the food takeout level!), hoping to go to Level 2 (every other table in the restaurant or café taped off) next week, then hopefully this entire country can get back to Level 1. Right now there’s lots of mask wearing and increasingly, disdain for those who won’t get vaccinated. I know this has become prevalent in places like America and Europe and was due to happen here. Hey, if one wants to be a part of society, one has to do their part for the good of everyone in that society.
Anyway, it’s time to get back to work on blog stuff and to wean myself off Facebook and the fear of missing something important. I also have a fair amount of cleaning to do on the boat.
So picking up where I left off on the blog, we had just spent our first night in the charming and remote city of New Plymouth on New Zealand’s west coast. Next: sightseeing around the Taranaki region.
–Cyndi
