What's It Like? Part III
What’s It Like? is a new series exploring the effects of COVID-19 on the lives and wellbeing of people around the world. Hopefully by discussing how this global pandemic is affecting us all individually and collectively, we can help foster a small sense of hope and connectivity in these uncertain times.
We are currently presented with challenges in many forms, and how this might look to each of us can depend on circumstance, resources and even geographical location. These stories will help tell the human side of COVID.
Be well, stay safe and check in with your loved ones. Kia kaha everybody.
Part three keeps the anecdotes mostly local, with a brief jaunt over to British Columbia to check in with some family living it up with good food and radio news. It has been really interesting reading the variety of responses received, seeing patterns emerge and otherwise. We hope you’re all enjoying these small insights as much as we are.
Trudy, 22
Nelson
Student Teacher
Bubble of seven
How are you feeling? I have definitely been through a range of emotions. At the start of lockdown I was anxious and admittedly almost looking forward to spending some time at home and getting lots of odd jobs done. However, as the lockdown has continued the most common feeling which I’m sure everyone has succumbed to is boredom.
How has your work been affected? As soon as we went into Level 4 all schools including ECE were shut down. As a student teacher my workload whilst in lockdown has really just been reading up on company policies.
What are you grateful for? Technology and the internet. Facebook, Houseparty and Skype have been amazing for keeping in touch with friends and family which can make all the difference when the lockdown blues are hitting hard. I’m also grateful to live in a country with such an inspiring, proactive and bad-ass Prime Minister.
Tell us something you’re looking forward to: Seeing all the children at work again! You really get used to spending a lot of time with them, it’s definitely been strange living a child-free life these past couple of weeks. I’m also definitely looking forward to my first barista coffee post-lockdown.
How are you coping with isolation? Taking each day as it comes and being fair and kind to myself. Understanding that every day I have the opportunity to get a lot of things done but also accepting that some days are going to be more productive than others.
Work aside, what’s the biggest change to your daily life right now? I have lots of friends who live nearby and we’d often catch up a few times a week. Most Thursdays a group of us would catch up over a drink at the pub and most weekends I’d end up going on some sort of adventure to a friend’s bach or a lake or beach. I miss my friends.
How are you sleeping? Without fail and with no alarm set I seem to be waking up every morning at 7am. It’s a strange routine that I am not used to (most of my shifts at work start much later) but it means I’ve been getting up and going for a walk at around this time each morning which has been really nice. I’ve also noticed a big increase in my naps since lockdown started.
What’s something fun you’ve done in the past week? In our bubble we have made an effort to have Formal Fridays. At first it seemed like a silly idea but there’s something about getting dressed up that boosts everyone’s spirits.
What’s the best thing you’ve cooked or eaten in the past week? Prior to lockdown I was pretty shocking at poaching eggs. I can now confidently say that I have almost mastered the art and most mornings I will indulge in avocado on toast with poached eggs.
What are you listening to currently? Having exhausted my usual go-to bands and artists within the first week of lockdown, I've moved on to listening to a lot of the ‘decades’ playlists on Spotify, as well as revisiting some very angsty playlists I made in my teenage years.
Share a recent book, podcast or movie you loved: Currently reading The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A Fuck and really enjoying it. No time like a nationwide lockdown to get your life and attitude in check, right?
Caitlin, 25
Queenstown
Lawyer
Bubble of two (just me and my mum)
What’s it like where you are? Very quiet living just out of Queenstown.
How are you feeling? Somewhere between okay and good.
How has your work been affected? I have less work as not many people are buying or selling houses right now!
Tell us something you’re looking forward to: Barista coffee—a vanilla latte would go down a treat right now.
Work aside, what’s the biggest change to your daily life right now? Not travelling to see my boyfriend!
How are you sleeping? I’m actually sleeping great! I put on The Universe series on Netflix and I’m asleep within ten minutes!
What’s something fun you’ve done in the past week? A couple Zoom quizzes with friends!
What’s the best thing you’ve cooked or eaten in the past week? Banana cake for my boyfriend’s birthday, which we got to eat because he’s not in our bubble!
What are you listening to currently? A lot of Blackbear.
Share a recent book, podcast or movie you loved: SuperFreakonomics (lol).
“[I’m feeling] Somewhere between okay and good.”
Mark & Val, 60
Edgewater, BC, Canada
Surveyor & Chef
Bubble of two
What’s it like where you are? We live in a small village (500 people), we still see people we know in the street all the time—and speak to them from a safe distance. But there are differences: the world has gone quiet.
The roadside cycling has never been better – well, not since the 60s and 70s when it was like this all the time – people have slowed down. I was out cycling the other day and saw a guy with his kitchen table out on the deck, and he was sanding it down. Now I never talked to him or anything like that – I was socially distancing right – but it occurred to me that that guy has probably been talking about refinishing the top of that table for fifteen years. Now he had time. It was a COVID moment.
The essential services are open such as grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores, gas stations, car parts places, mechanics, liquor stores—and the cannabis shops. Funny about that, they were illegal until two years ago and now they're an essential service. But the streets are empty, we're barely spending any money, and only driving in for groceries once a week.
In Canada the price of gas has dropped down to 60 cents/litre, where it hasn't been since the 80s. But nobody's driving. In fact it's noticeable how many people are walking—which is not considered a natural activity in Canada. As someone who does walk I can assure you that in the past it was more or less likely to be greeted with looks of blank incomprehension: people would rush to the windows to stare and point and so forth. Now however, a sort of Invasion of the Body Snatchers kind of thing has occurred, and people whom you dimly recognise as being the neighbours you see driving by in their pickup trucks to buy cigarettes at the store all the time are suddenly transformed into walkers. The dogs in town are in danger of getting their legs walked right off them.
How are you coping with lockdown? We’re barely affected at all. Being seasonal worker types we would normally be off work now anyway, so hanging around at home week after week is not out of the ordinary for us.
How are you feeling? We are well, thank you very much. No COVID-19 has been identified in our region, although a few people did have to get tested earlier on. Canada, like NZ, is probably going to come out of this fairly well.
How are you sleeping? Sleep has been fantastic. I always sleep well; however, it seems better than usual.
Walk us through a typical day in Edgewater: We spend our days reading, drawing, going for walks and bike rides. Then comes the evening ritual of listening to the radio news – which is all about (and only about) the outbreak – so you don't want to listen to that all day long. We alternate one evening of CBC with one of BBC Global, which at least talks about somewhere other than Canada/US.
What are you listening to currently? Not listening to music, but if I was I'd be listening to Bodega, Car Seat Headrest, and (older but sensational) The Strokes.
What’s the best thing you’ve cooked or eaten in the past week? My wife is a chef and the cooking is always exquisite; she has been using the abundance of time to turn out all sorts of marvellous creations.
Share a recent book, podcast or movie you loved: I'm a woodworker, so I was looking at stuff about what it takes to build a wooden gear clock and I found this brilliant video of someone showing you just how to go about it. Highly recommended!
“The dogs in town are in danger of getting their legs walked right off them.”
Brittany, 24
Richmond, Tasman
Apprentice Joiner
Bubble of two
What’s it like where you are? Pretty quiet. Occasional families cycling or walking past.
How are you feeling? Neutral, verging on bored. It's easy to get a little bit of the old cabin fever when confined to a living space, especially one as small as the flat I share.
How has your work been affected? Workplace shut down—we're unable to work from home. Fortunately the company is making use of the government wage subsidy to keep us going.
What are you grateful for? Having that financial support, being able to talk to my family frequently, even if we can't actually be in the same room. Living in a country that prioritises humans over some ephemeral concept of the economy.
Tell us something you’re looking forward to: Just being able to bike over to the mall if I forget to buy milk, or to pick up some new socks when I put a toe through my favourite pair, or feeling all the sheets that Bed, Bath & Beyond has on sale. It's little things like that which really emphasize how different life is during lockdown. But, really, I miss iced coffee and hugging. Touch starvation hitting hard.
How are you coping with isolation? It's alright honestly. Communication technology has really bridged the gap—Zoom, Discord, even social media. I've been keeping myself busy and (mostly) sticking to a routine, so that’s keeping my mental health in the positives.
Work aside, what’s the biggest change to your daily life right now? Most days I'd visit at least one of my parents. I also haven't been able to see any of the family pets for the last few weeks, or even pet the neighbour's cat when she climbs in the window at my place.
How are you sleeping? I'm keeping to a solid nine hours, but my bedtime does creep back an hour or two every now and then, or I'll accidentally take a five hour afternoon nap. Could be more consistent.
What is something fun you’ve done in the past week? Big family Zoom meeting for our Nana's eightieth. I hadn't seen some of those cousins for years, so it was great to catch up. Similarly, my coworkers and I had an ‘after work drink’ a couple times, also through video chatting.
What’s the best thing you’ve cooked or eaten in the past week? I made an awesome apple pie! It's my third attempt, but I think I've really made leaps and bounds on the lattice and crust.
What are you listening to currently? Mother Mother – Bit By Bit. Although it just transitioned to Hozier – NFWMB. Mostly that kind of indie folk stuff.
Share a recent book, podcast or movie you loved: I've recently gotten into horror anthology podcast The Magnus Archives – it's been quite handy having all this free time to binge it, even if I have to make sure it's during daylight hours.
Milly, 33
Freemans Bay, Auckland
Director – Someday Studios
Bubble of four
What’s it like where you are? Food heaven—we are very into cooking (and drinking). Our flatmate Nick (founder/owner of Everybody Eats) has installed another fridge and a ‘spice bazaar’ in our garden shed. When we’re not eating (and drinking), we’re reading, watching films, shows, playing board games and arguing. It's a fantastic time!
How are you feeling? I’m usually very motivated, I love to be always on. That’s when my productivity is best, so I’m feeling a bit stir-crazy. I have a decent amount of work on, and a stack of books beside my bed, but it still seems a great struggle to get much done in a day. There are many online wormholes to fall into right now.
How has your work been affected by the lockdown? Working in PR & Brand, it affects us and all our clients. For our fashion brands, their industry is hugely disrupted, their businesses have changed forever, they have to adapt and we have to help them strategise how to stay connected with audiences. With the sudden closure of many of our most iconic magazines this provides more uncertainty—the most important platforms brands now have are their own. And at the same time it leaves room for the new guard to flourish – like CJ. Likewise with our hospitality and food brands, restaurants and cafes just cannot survive this pandemic. It brings to light major issues that already exist like the ridiculously small margins and high overheads and it's ironic because eating out at restaurants with our loved ones and friends is inherent to our culture, it’s the one major thing we’ve missed during lockdown. Every industry is experiencing huge change – its long standing issues that are finally having to be addressed – which is terrible and exciting at the same time.
What are you grateful for? Our beautiful country and the people that lead it. And on a more personal note, I’m so grateful we got to have the most magical wedding—only a few weeks before this all happened.
Tell us something you’re looking forward to: Having aperitivo with our friends at Annabel's Bar, eating out at one of the many exceptional restaurants on our doorstep then dancing the night away with my friends. General normalcy which we've been taking for granted.
What’s the best thing you’ve cooked or eaten in the past week? Depot @ Home. Snapper fish sliders, potato skins and iceberg wedges with ranch dressing!
What are you listening to currently? Karen Elson – The Ghost Who Walks, Solange – When I get Home, and I’ve recently discovered Antonio Williams and Kevin Morby.
Share a recent book, podcast or movie you loved: I've gone back to reading old magazines I haven't had the chance to finish. Recent fave was about the late Donald Judd's houses from the perspective of his children in Apartamento magazine.
Would you like to share your COVID-19 story with us? Send us an email to hello@counterjournal.co.nz or message us on Instagram @counterjournal, we’d love to hear from you.