What Do You Think Today?

[peter]

Went for my 'daily exercise' (as per Government instructions) yesterday out to a remote 'beacon' near where I live. On the inclined path to the summit there were, squashed in the parking spot, scattered on the path and hanging from the gorse bushes, the plastic bags people use to pick up their dog's shit in - which they then, at the first opportunity, chuck down, entirely negating the purpose of picking it up in the first place. Why the fuck do they do that? I guess because they want to present the image of being socially responsible with out in reality actually being so in the slightest. The *****!


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If you've ever wondered how you would have behaved in one of the great developments of historical oppression of the twentieth century - now you know.

....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'

We are the Bloodguard

[Sorus]

Schools here are now closed through the beginning of May, but folks are still talking like we fall under the original 3-week mandate instead of the state version, which doesn't have a set end date.

The day-to-day uncertainly is really doing a number on my stress level. I hear we're getting shut down next week, then I hear we're open and I'm working 6 days, then I hear we're open but my hours are getting cut.

Meanwhile a driver on the disgusting bus I've been taking just tested positive. No surprise there - they're not getting any kind of protection. For those of us in essential jobs, it's the jobs that are essential. The workers are expendable.
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Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?

[Avatar]

Sheesh, that sounds awful.

Lockdown went into effect midnight last night. We're not even allowed to leave for excercise. Only to get food or medical attention.

Got a feeling this will not be fun. (Not, as I mentioned elsewhere, that I usually leave home all that much... )

--A
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It's easy to judge. It's more difficult to understand.

[Sorus]

That's pretty intense. We might have been better off going that route though it wouldn't have gone over well here. I'd like to see more people taking it seriously, especially people I work with. No social distancing from the clique, and the boss's attitude is 'We're all going to get it anyway, so why bother trying to prevent it?'
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Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?

[Avatar]

Well, no more news really. Some people arrested for ignoring lock-down protocols, otherwise mostly going smoothly so far, although it's early days.

On the plus side, they're already talking about lifting the ban on cigarette sales.

--A
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It's easy to judge. It's more difficult to understand.

[Sorus]

Corner stores were deemed essential here because hospitals don't want to deal with people going through alcohol withdrawal on top of everything else right now. Dispensaries were originally closed, but reopened when folks raised a fuss over it.

Our boss, who had been borderline flippant about the whole thing, randomly freaked out this morning and went in to get tested. They turned him away because he didn't have any symptoms. So I don't know what that was about. I think his boss is quarantined - don't know if he tested positive or was just potentially exposed. But we spent half the morning wondering if the whole lot of us was going to end up quarantined, so that was fun.

They think things are going to get pretty bad here over the next couple of weeks, and I wouldn't mind spending the time under a rock, but it looks like I'm still on the front lines for at least this week.
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Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?

[Avatar]

Sheesh, hope they pull that back for you.

Here, tales of police and military...heavy-handedness...continue to emerge, 5 days in.

Haven't left home yet myself, so no probs so far...will see how it goes.

--A
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It's easy to judge. It's more difficult to understand.

[Sorus]

Yikes. Police here are on a pretty tight leash - they're supposedly breaking up large groups of people, but that's about it.

New wave of restrictions just got added today, and I'm not sure if it affects me. Just bought my train pass for April - that's a non-refundable $98 if I end up being put on the non-essential list. Which it looks like I should be, but if this company can find a loophole...

Grass is always greener, I guess. The people trapped inside want to be out, the people forced to be out would rather be in.

Unemployment is scary. The virus is scary.
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Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?

[Avatar]

We traditionally have problems with authoritarian figures, considering they enforced an oppressive regime for 40+ years.

3 people killed by the cops since start of lockdown, and plenty of reports of people being fired on with rubber bullets etc.

Still, new cases remaining quite low, even as they ramp up testing, so hoping the isolation measures are bearing fruit, although will take another week or so to be sure...

--A
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It's easy to judge. It's more difficult to understand.

[Kizza]

Hi all, hope you are all well and safe.
Feels like I am (everyone is) living a story John Wyndham thought up.
Gotta do some reading catch up.
Have been busy.
Must admit I started March a little complacent. Now level 4 beckons.
Worry for my folks.
Anyway, bless you all...
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Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You'll never get out of the jungle that way. - Arthur Miller

[Sorus]

Good to see you, Kizza. Hope you're doing well.

Well, we're not fully shut down at work, but the company wasn't able to fully dodge this round. Looks like I'm going in to face some drastic cuts.

Didn't sleep at all last night from worrying about that, but on the other hand, things are supposed to get pretty bad here over the next couple of weeks, and judging by the way this company has handled it so far...

Other companies have put up plexiglass shields to protect their front-line people. We got a small box of hand sanitizer that expired two years ago, and were issued badges that politely ask people to stay back six feet.

I really thought the badge was an April Fools' joke (and one in poor taste, at that), but no. Completely serious.
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Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?

[Avatar]

Ok but that's pretty funny from the outside. You have to maintain your sense of humour I guess...we don't have much else...

(Nice to see you around Kizza. )

--A
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It's easy to judge. It's more difficult to understand.

[Kizza]

Hello Av. All the best!
I am working from home most of the time.
The domestic transport and logistics world is facing its challenges but I am helping and herding by phone. I never liked airports anyway.
If I was not so concerned about the health of my extended family I would be enjoying the time spent at home.
Sorry to hear what Sorus and Peter described. The 6 foot badge thing was gobsmacking. It sounds like a bullwhip would be a better distancing tool.
But the dog turds in plastic bags on the bushes.... I laughed and could almost hear them flapping their escape in the wind!
I have not looked too far around yet but where is Sky?
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Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You'll never get out of the jungle that way. - Arthur Miller

[Savor Dam]

Sky, animal minder extraordinaire, is rescuing koalas and other wildlife that survived the bushfires. She even managed to find someone with an infrared-capable drone to assist with the search for critters in need.
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Love prevails.
~ Tracie Mckinney-Hammon

Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.
~ Rainier Maria Rilke

[Kizza]

Thanks SD. God bless her cotton socks.

I already miss being able to go to the pub on a friday night.
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Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You'll never get out of the jungle that way. - Arthur Miller

[StevieG]

Hey Kizza, good to see you around. Yeah, no pub. Not much of anything really.
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Hugs and sh!t!! ~ lucimay

I think you're right ~ TheFallen

[Sorus]

The bullwhip idea is very appealing (and not against dress code!), but the latest round shut down the front line and I'm back in the world of warehouse ops. Still on public transportation, but my exposure level has gone down somewhat.

Expecting more belt-tightening in the near future, as I'm not filling enough orders to justify my keep. Have applied for under-employment; at least that's an option. We'll see what (if anything) I get from it. If they'd just route me more orders I'd be fine, but while I will give this company some credit for trying to adapt, they have a long way to go.
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Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?

[Avatar]

Whips are cool. I could see you wielding a whip to keep back unruly customers Sorus. Pity you won't need it now.

Yeah, might be rough times ahead for everybody. Good luck all.

--A
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It's easy to judge. It's more difficult to understand.

[Cord Hurn]

Yes, good luck, everybody!

Sorus, I hope you gets lots of fresher, more potent sanitizer soon. I'm glad that filing for underemployment is an option, for you!

Savor Dam, thank you for the news on Skyweir; I think her rescue missions on behalf of wildlife are wonderful!

Kizza, it's great to see you again, and I miss going into a bar for billiards and a whisky shot, though I never did it regularly on any particular day of the week.

StevieG, I hope you're doing well on Tasmania!

Peter, the evidence of all those people throwing down their dogs**t bags after filling them would p!ss me off, too!

[Kizza]

Easter is nearly here. It feels like it has crept up on us.
Our family has been eating a seafood lunch in one of two restaurants on Good Friday for over 20 years now. We are not particularly religious, although i recently learnt what the word "apostate" meant.
I reckon this year will be a quiet one at home..... I like that lunch every year though. Always enjoyed the food and the driving home part.
Stay safe all.

Watched a movie this weekend called "Never look away". German (by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck) with English subtitles. A great watch, if you are ok with subtitles. Dresden must have been some place before WW2. I recommend the movie.
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Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You'll never get out of the jungle that way. - Arthur Miller