Covid Musings

Anonymous Student

I know — all we’ve heard about lately is the Global Coronavirus Crisis (the GCC?). But bear with me, I've had a lot of time to think, and half a bottle of wine to drink. Avert your eyes, ye who hates foul language.

I fully intended to use this time to be productive as hell. I was gonna get back on the yoga bandwagon, detox from all the junk food I can’t get my hands on anymore and nurture my vege garden to be a self-sufficient queen of produce. In reality, I’ve played umpteen games of Scrabble with my partner, raided my flatmates abandoned snacks (sorry Māui!), and not a damn thing has sprouted in my fucking garden.

What I have done though, is reflect a lot.

What’s with casual contracts? They are meant to be for the super flexible, for people who are happy to take (or leave) an offer of extra work. It’s not really aimed at people who rely on it for regular income, yet here we are. Yes, I’m looking at YOU LU, with casual contracts coming out your ears. Perhaps it's time to examine how we look after more vulnerable workers. (Read: it's damn well time we look at that).

Why haven't more people been working from home before now? Look! It works! This could’ve made a huge difference in the lives of those who are differently abled, or to parents who need to work around children’s schedules. And then there’s the bonus of less traffic and emissions, and less time wasted picking my nose in traffic. A lot of the same can be said for LECTURE RECORDINGS. There was no good reason not already be offering this as standard, really. Glad we finally got there.

The groceries situation. I suspect that a lot of people actually aren’t panic buying. I’ve been buying a bit extra to limit the number of times I need to go out, so that I minimise the risk of spreading the virus. People with larger families simply need that much in their trolley. And all of us are actually at home, meaning we’re not buying hot chips, coffee or overpriced sushi. We're also actually shopping at our local supermarket, not at the supermarket on Moorhouse on our way home or the one in the mall after guiltily buying another pair of kicks.

The people who ARE panic buying need to chill tf out and leave some for the next person.

Aside from missing the freefor-all snack fiend that I used to indulge, I actually find this all oddly relaxing. The streets are quieter, I have an extra 45 minutes in the morning now that I'm not rushing to be somewhere, and I've taken walks in my neighbourhood more in a week than I have in the eighteen months I've lived here. I have time to make myself a decent lunch, space to take a nap when I'm knackered, and literally no reason to rush anything. I haven't done all those things that I set out in the beginning, but I have rested and looked after myself, and spent time talking to my family (which literally does not happen normally). O

n a broad, broad level: what’s the fucking point of it all? All that misery in commuting, to be miserable at a desk, 5 days a week for 48 weeks a year for 45 years of your life. I know some of us are getting into jobs we actually like, but my point is, we bust our asses and then we die. Why can’t life be a bit more flexible in terms of worklife balance, access to equitable outcomes and letting happiness be a good enough raison d’etre?

I hope my brain dump hasn’t given anyone a migraine, if they’ve stuck with it this far. I also hope that this shared experience gives us all some perspective. We don’t need material things as much as we need human connection. Be more present, more mindful, more kind. Grow a garden, be with one another, read a book. I hope more workplaces permanently adjust to a partial work-from-home model, saving time, emissions and money. I hope parents and their children get to spend more time together, and that people examine who they’re willing to look at for a straight month before they have kids. I hope that education systems become flexible and inclusive. We could stand to think about what is considered knowledge and education too. I hope that everyone comes out of this with more empathy and compassion for one another.

I hope we learn.