The (still) waiting game

The government announced this afternoon that the parts of the Waikato that are at Alert Level 3 (and Northland) will remain there until 11:59pm on Monday, and not move down levels tomorrow night. To say I’m disappointed is a bit of an understatement, however, the folks in Auckland have it much worse than me and have for weeks and weeks.

The issue for me and plenty of others living alone is that Lockdowns, whether Level 3 or 4, are particularly hard on us. We have no in-person time with real people, and humans are by nature social animals. I should add, though, that Leo does a good job of keeping me amused and entertained. Still, as I say so often these days, it is what it is.

What I face in mostly just a list of inconveniences. For example, my car was supposed to go in for its regular service tomorrow, however, at Level 3 they can’t give me a loaner car and there’s absolutely nowhere in the area I can go in the meantime (it’ll take hours). The dealer is way too far from my house for me to walk home (and then back later), and public transport isn’t an option. Shops, cafes, and restaurants are all closed to the general public, and while some offer contactless pickups, that’s not exactly the same as being able to just browse in a shop, so, not helpful at all. I also can’t even go visit anyone who lives close to the dealer. So, I rescheduled to next week—fingers crossed we’re down to Level 2 by then, or I’ll have to reschedule again.

Apart from that, it’s things like getting stuff for my projects around the house. I can get some supplies through click and collect, or maybe even delivery, but I also need plants for my garden and I need to select them myself, mainly because I know a lot of people who had shops select plants for them during lockdowns last year, and that didn’t turn out well. Sure, places offer guarantees, but it’s just another layer of hassles in what’s already an extremely trying time.

All in all, I’m better off just kind of biding my time, doing what little I can do as I wait for the levels to change. Besides, it’s not like the mountains of stuff I need to do have an expiry date or whatever.

So, yeah, I wish we’d gone back to Level 2 tomorrow night, but I’m sure not even remotely as much as Aucklanders want Level 2. The sooner we get vaccination rates well above 90% the sooner we can all kiss goodbye to these Lockdowns. It can’t come soon enough!