Day (14) 08 January: freedom, freedoms and living in quarantine

Ready for release

Departure day has arrived, not sure if it is more like end of term or end of vacation. For me, quarantine has been a good experience. Following on from a very tough second half of 2020, fourteen days in isolation has been a pleasant break from the hassles of life, a chance to draw a line under the nastiness of 2020. Though, a significant amount of preparation went into ensuring I was ready for quarantine.

From the media coverage earlier in the year you would have been forgiven for thinking quarantine was a disaster. For us in quarantine there have been very few complaints on our Facebook page. Similarly reading a number of quarantine blogs most people have at least coped if not made the most of 14 days to themselves. It just goes to show how much the media play up the bad news, not that it is fake news just one part of the story. It is not surprising there have been a few cock-ups in this totally new situation. Us quarantinees need to remember that even though Melbourne went through a long lockdown Australia is doing far, far better than almost all the countries we traveled from. After quarantine we will enter a world that is relatively normal compared to that which we left, 14-days is a modest price to pay for that.

The thing that really annoys me is the way the well-connected manage to quarantine in their luxury homes or skip quarantine altogether (I’m look at you Tony Abbott and you Kerry Stokes,  and Alan Sugar, Nicole Kidman, Dannii Minogue - shame on you all, and shame on Morrison for letting you get away with it). 

ten quarantine tips

1. Accept it for what it is, don’t sweat the small stuff nor the things you cannot change.
2. Set yourself some objectives and tasks to do, be sure you have everything you need for them.
3. If you are working, remember to have some time off.
4. Don’t sweat if you don’t get the tasks or work done; quarantine is strange, not getting things done is what happens in life and quarantine is no different.
5. Exercise daily (there are many good routines on YouTube, find one or two before you travel).
6. Keep regular hours (notwithstanding jet-lag and strange meal times).
7. Be nice to hotel staff, security, medics, police and ADF personnel, they are there to help you.
8. Connect with your fellow quarantinees through social media, enjoy the experience together. 
9. If you are travelling with someone think carefully whether you quarantine together or apart.
10. Planning, preparation and relaxation makes for a happy quarantine.

Daily facts

Sleep: quality 62%, in bed 6h 51m, asleep 6h 04m (up early for Dutch evening class at 0500)

Breakfast: cereals + gingerbread-man (nice with coffee)

Lunch: Thai papaya salad (another high to finish one, even without dessert)

Dinner: n/a quarantine freedom .........