Aunty Jacinda* announced yesterday we’re gonna keep Auckland at Covid-19 Alert Level 3 for another 12 days.

It wasn’t too much of a surprise, I don’t think. A couple of Auckland-cluster-related infections were discovered in Tokoroa (south of Auckland) so we were gonna need more days to test, quarantine, and get this flipping virus under control aka out of Aotearoa.

My tertiary institution had already decided to keep students studying remotely for another week. It’s so hard for students, I really feel for them. The ‘experience’ of University is a bit shit for them this year. We are luckier than many countries, but it’s still a bit shit.

I walked up to the local store this afternoon - our national lottery is at a whopping $50million dollars - to buy a Lotto ticket. I took my mask and wore it while I social distanced in line, waiting my turn for the “one-in-one-out” policy in stores. I used the Covid-19 tracing app to scan the store’s QR code to record that I had visited the store.

The sun is cool and the sky is blue. A really beautiful late Winter’s day.

Today I’ve been listening to BTS loud-and-proud while doing some long-awaited housework. It almost feels like early Spring cleaning (if that was something I ever did). I listen to a podcast called Stanning BTS and it took me a while to realise when they thanked their VIP Patreons by name at the end of the show the “Michelle” they they meant me.

*Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister, New Zealand.