Hold your fucking horses people! The lovely Gina from AirNZ just called, and she has managed to get us on a flight on the 27th - 3 days EARLIER than the flight we got bumped from!

Legend!

2020 has still been a bitch, but I'm gonna celebrate one of the small wins tonight

Firstly thanks to everyone who has shared on this thread. Absolute legends all. I certainly have benefitted from reading your stories.

Thought I'd add a little colour to what prompted me to start this thread.

A little over a year ago I was in a strange space. Not depressed, but bored and stale. Same job for 14yrs, stuck in the crazy hectic Sydney life of work, traffic and running around after 3 kids. Doing OK financially, but locked in a high-opex Sydney life meaning both of us were working pretty hard. Mum back in NZ with terminal lung cancer, time remaining unknown.

Decided to take a year off and reset, managed to secure a sabbatical from work, and moved the whole family to Bali. Thought by not working I'd be able to get back to NZ fairly easily to see Mum as needed.

Obviously 2020 got in the way of most of that, and we find ourselves back in Sydney again, back into the hectic lives we left behind - just without the cultural experience we had hoped for and with a big hole in our savings!

Had started back at work early given we were back in Sydney, and although some of the staleness remained, I had a new found appreciation for the stability of a job I still liked. Until a week ago that is, when I found out my company is exiting the country in a few months . It was announced to the market just last night, whic is why I haven't posted until now. Looks like I have a role until April, after which I'll be job hunting (haven't had a job interview since March 2005...eeek!).

I certainly don't write this to complain, I am very conscious that many folk on here have had extraordinary events happen in their lives, and 2020 has totally destroyed some peoples lives around the world - like many others have said, that has made me very thankful for all I have.

But its been quite interesting to find out a bit about myself this year. Before 2020 nothing really bothered me. Never really got anxious about much, was always pretty confident. That definitely got shaken up this year. Even the minor task of getting the family back to Sydney from NZ caused me an inordinate amount of anxiety at the time, and now I find myself pretty stressed again at the thought of seeking and (hopefully) starting a new role.

Turns out I really do value stability in my life. Routine. A sense of control, whether its real or not. I am looking forward to getting that back, the volatility of 2020 has really not been enjoyable.

Thanks again to all those who have shared, and to the wider Fern community. 2020 would have been a whole lot worse without you horrible cnts to "talk" to.

Wtf is going on here

So in all this chaos, here is a great kiwiana story for youse all.

I'm in Day 2 of iso, and have a Countdown delivery order coming today. I tried to change the address online yesterday because we changed our accommodation after I placed the order, but couldn't do it. I spoke to the local store, and they said to call back this morning.

So I grab the phone this morning and hit the most recently called number. But I'd forgotten that we ordered fish'n'chip delivery for dinner last night, so Anna, the owner of the chippy picks up instead.

At 7am.

Oops

Anyway, I apologise, she asks who I was trying to call, we get chatting. Less than 45 minutes later she has dropped off eggs, bread, butter and
crackers to our driveway for brekkie.

What a fucking legend.

It's good to be home.

Mods, feel free to delete if innapropriate or unnecessary, but I wondered if it might be worthwhile having somewhere for our little community to ask for or offer help to each other.

People could post requests (advice, favours, whatever) or offer assistance in some way.

For example, it sounds like many people could be becoming unemployed in the near future. Maybe Ferners can assist with CV reviews, job market advice, financial modelling for home budgets etc.

Obviously physical movements are limited so don't any of youse hit me up to help weed your garden...

I'm aliiiiive!!!!!!!

All went pretty smooth in the end. Up at 4am, easy drive to Akl, 5mins wait with the police at the border.

All the airline staff were awesome, plane totally empty, and the pokice and army at the Sydney end were all great.

Ended up at the Meriton Suites in the CBD - 2 bed, 2 bath, 3 tv apartment on the 29th floor, ocean glimpses west and north, city views south,and a balcony with real fresh air. Really cant complain!

Aside from the fucken NBA being cancelled of course!!!

When you let someone into traffic in front of you and they don't give you a wave. How fucken hard is it to raise your arm you lazy fluffybunny!

@Stargazer said in Coronavirus - New Zealand:

I don't see the problem with including this lady's death in the numbers. Even if COVID-19 was the primary cause of her death, it was likely a contributing/secundary factor. If she hadn't had COVID, she might have lived (a bit) longer, even at her age.

Oh come on! She recovered and tested negative twice! You might as well chalk her death up to the chicken pox she had as a 5yr old or the head cold she got when working in the seafood markets as a 30yr old.

I have a 74yr old mother with lung cancer and months to live. If she got Covid now, it would likely be lethal, and of course would be recorded as a Covid death. But even then, I still wouldn't say she died of Covid, she is dying of bloody lung cancer!!!

Its absurd to consider this recovered case as a Covid death if we want to use the figures for any useful analysis of the virus.

@donsteppa said in Coronavirus - New Zealand:

@voodoo said in Coronavirus - New Zealand:

we have complete apathy for vaccinations

As an aside, I'm in priority 'Group Three' and was texted about booking a vax. The very earliest I've been able to get booked for locally is the 7th of August...

I'm booked in for Pfizer 1 in 3 weeks, looking forward to my free WiFi wherever I go!

Jeez fellas, everyone is a bit jumpy here aren't they? I went to the chemist yesterday (got hairspray for my daughter, a prescription for my son, and some Toothpaste) - better isolate for a week or so.

Some folk won't listen to targeted restrictions? Better slam the border shut! Should probably also ban knives from all society because stabbings occur sometimes.

Just highlights for me how fucking stupid this situation is we are in. Nobody is in hospital, hardly anyone is sick, we have supposed world class tracing systems, and yet we have complete apathy for vaccinations and zero tolerance for any cases.

@nepia said in Coronavirus - Australia:

@voodoo said in Coronavirus - Australia:

@nepia said in Coronavirus - Australia:

So my jinx ability has continued as the bubble is paused for 72 hours and I was flying on Friday morning. Have changed flights to Saturday morning so hopefully it's only a minor pause.

Stink bro. Good luck. My BIL was scheduled to fly tmrw, that ain't happening.

Life still good here in QLD, I may never go home.

AirNZ are pretty good about changing flights, they let me change twice today. Tried to get a flight earlier than Friday just in case, 20 minutes after that changed they put the pause in place, so I phoned up and changed to Saturday.

Have you gone full bogan?

Thats great mate. Probably reflective of flights not being that full given people still a bit hesitant to travel?

My inner bogan has never been far from the surface. Unfortunately my hair is more affro than bogan

@nepia said in Coronavirus - Australia:

So my jinx ability has continued as the bubble is paused for 72 hours and I was flying on Friday morning. Have changed flights to Saturday morning so hopefully it's only a minor pause.

Stink bro. Good luck. My BIL was scheduled to fly tmrw, that ain't happening.

Life still good here in QLD, I may never go home.

And the poor 2021 sacrificial women who we are asking to have their Olympic dream destroyed to the long-term gain of the sport.

No good outcome out of this.

ESPN reported that Simmons’ 34.2 per cent free-throw percentage through the postseason was the worst in NBA history from a minimum of 70 attempts.

You'd be so gutted if you're a Philly fan. Because you're almost certainly trading Simmons now, and you're only getting 30c on the dollar for him. All that after the years of the Process.

Joel Embiid: "I'll be honest. I thought the turning point was when we — I don't know how to say it — is when we had an open shot and we made one free throw..."

Wow

@shark reckon you'll win in 5 with Kawhi out and CP back for G2