Day 42 of lock down, and normal life feels like it was worlds away. I often wonder if it was like this in the war – everyone gathering around the daily 1pm press conference on TV and radio to find out what the very latest news is on the fight against this invisible enemy.
We are 8 days into the change of restrictions, where non contact trades and manufacturing were allowed to re-start, and online shopping and food orders were allowed from take aways or restaurants who were able to adapt.
Working online 
Zwift 
Meetings online
My entire day seems to be connected to something online. I feel like I need to go sit under a tree and do something entirely different. It is fair to say I am getting a little stir crazy sitting indoors. I miss the sea. I miss the bush. I miss proper coffee!!
Mark went back to work last week when we changed to level 3. I have found myself envying the variety he now has in his day! He thinks my lock down life is much more preferable! I don’t and neither does my locked down business, nor my temporarily unemployed staff. The next review of the lock down restrictions is Monday 11 May. Hoping for another step down and the ability to open business again, but I am also feeling a bit doubtful because soooo many people have become complacent and started to flout the rules that the government have already threatened to extend lock down further if people cannot behave.
So I have started seeing this theme on my FB page, from the people who ARE locked down and getting sick of those who are messing about down at the beaches ignoring the rules. This seems to be a trend the world over as well.
And then there’s the leg. well the leg has not been playing ball. and of course all further progress is in limbo because all the hospitals are closed, despite them all being half empty if not more, and doctors surgeries struggling to make ends meet. There is a lot of unrest in New Zealand at the moment and a keenness to get the rest of the economy going asap.
I spent a whole 9 hours in ED last week, trying to get on top of this new and completely crazy nerve pain, and now have this lovely sight for breakfast and tea every day. I thought knee replacement pain was the worst pain in the world. Well I have changed my mind.
So, when the pain allows, I ride around the block on my mountain bike. When it doesn’t, I sit on the Cervelo in the garage on the trainer. What’s the difference? I don’d have clip pedals on my mountain bike so cannot pedal one legged, which I do quite regularly on the indoor trainer, because the nerve pain leg will only tolerate a few km at a time without a rest. I refuse to get on and off all the time so I simply unclip the left leg, keep pedalling with the right and then go back to two legs when it has stopped hurting. The TKR is rocking it at the moment! Who knew!
At the weekend I am going to a virtual fitness convention (that should be unique) and on Monday I am going to hope to hell that Jacinda decides to lift this lock down.
We are also waiting for the results of the trans Tasman discussions which MIGHT mean that Australia and New Zealand form their own we bubble allowing holiday flights between the two countries to resume.
Its already too late for our Gold Coast Holiday take 2 because that was planned for next month and Air NZ cancelled those flights last month! (take 1 was abruptly cancelled when Mark was hospitalised). You never know, we might actually get a proper, uninterrupted holiday at some stage soon.
Hey, we could even go to overpriced out of our reach Queenstown, which is a tourist ghost town at the moment and is experiencing boom to bust!
Watch this space….
Melanie Magowan 