Item
Alexander Oral History, 2020/03/24
Media
Title (Dublin Core)
Alexander Oral History, 2020/03/24
Description (Dublin Core)
Alexander describes how his life has changed in the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown. Some of his challenges include teleworking for a new job, watching over his kids now that they can’t go to school, and coping with shortages of necessities and lack of normal entertainment such as sports. He talks about how he thinks it is a good thing that his kids are not at school, as primary schools are known to be germ spreaders. Alexander conveys his hopes that the lockdown will end soon and normal life will be able to continue.
Recording Date (Dublin Core)
Creator (Dublin Core)
Type (Dublin Core)
Oral History
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
03/24/2020
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
04/07/2020
10/11/2020
10/22/2020
12/02/2020
05/23/2021
07/05/2021
05/06/2022
05/10/2022
06/02/2022
Date Created (Dublin Core)
03/24/2020
Interviewer (Bibliographic Ontology)
Alexander
Interviewee (Bibliographic Ontology)
Alexander
Location (Omeka Classic)
Blackburn North
Victoria
Australia
Format (Dublin Core)
audio
Language (Dublin Core)
English
Duration (Omeka Classic)
00:08:06
abstract (Bibliographic Ontology)
Alexander describes how his life has changed in the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown. Some of his challenges include teleworking for a new job, watching over his kids now that they can’t go to school, and coping with shortages of necessities and lack of normal entertainment such as sports. He talks about how he thinks it is a good thing that his kids are not at school, as primary schools are known to be germ spreaders. Alexander conveys his hopes that the lockdown will end soon and normal life will be able to continue.
Transcription (Omeka Classic)
Alexander 0:00
Alexander 00:00
This is the 24th of March 2020.
Alexander 00:07
I'm sending this recording this in my mini study joining our kitchen. In our house in Blackburn [inaudible].
Alexander 00:20
And I'm just doing this sorry, just doing this for this new archive of the Coronavirus project. The moment I'm at home with two of my kids one of them's just gone for a bike ride, and one's just grabbing a snack.
Alexander 00:52
We're in a type of lockdown here so I should be at my new job. But I'm not I'm here at home. We've got a day off today, I work at the State Library. Started just recently finished a position at RMIT University at the AFI Research Collection. Yeah, so it's been a pretty crazy time here. Aside from the general media chatter and the need to keep our distance which we are trying to practice as I've been locked down on my own life, new job and trying to move my father's things out of a nursing home flat. And that's been quite difficult. And now this whole process is adding another layer to it.
Alexander 01:51
But yeah, I guess think back how this Virus is kind of affecting me and my family. So I'm going to be working from home state library is closed. My wife is a teacher, and she's actually at work. But in Melbourne, they've closed all the schools. So thankfully she gets to work without the fear of catching the virus from little kids. I think this has been a big thing about this whole social distancing talk, which has been going on that there are some jobs that you just can't keep a social distance. And particular school teachers really, really [inaudible] pretty bad having little kids in their close vicinity. If any of them have got the virus it means pretty much everyone very good chance a lot of people in that room will catch a virus and little kids they're not the cleanest of tykes they ah slobber over one another. And yeah, so as anyone who has been around a primary school long enough knows that a lot of primary schools are really good breeding ground for a lot of illnesses and viruses, colds and coughs and so on. So just to think what a Coronavirus could do there is pretty scary.
Alexander 03:19
So we're very lucky in Victoria, I think that the schools are closed. Yeah, so anyway, my wife's at work. So my kids are at home and their love their video games, unfortunately. But so they're spending a bit of time doing that. They've got no homework to do so which is nice. So I think we're just going to have to ride it out over the next few weeks. But yeah, I mean, aside from that other things have been affected. I was, I'm musician, and I was going to play a gig. But that got canceled on Saturday, which I was really annoyed about because I've actually been practicing quite a bit. And so that's sort of fallen through. So that's a shame and yeah, and I guess in the other day to day things, it's the feeling of not being able to catch up with people.
Alexander 04:21
The going went to the cafe to get get a cuppa this morning, our little cafe down the road battle cafe and everyone's standing outside waiting for their coffees. So and obviously the whole thing the big thing has been publicizes the shops over the last few weeks lack of toilet paper, which is kind of silly, but you know, it's a bit of a scary thing for people and that scared. I mean, we had enough stuff. We're all right. We've got two freezers in our house. So we're lucky. It meant that we weren't ever going to be short of food and we had a lot of toilet paper but there are some friends of ours that didn't. My wife actually gave some toilet paper s-- some her colleagues because they just couldn't buy any. So it's pretty crazy. But gee I wonder what this really means? That's my dog pepper. So I'm getting a walker every day, which is good. I try to walk every day but that's a good reason to get out of the house. I just wonder if we're all gonna go mad really? Yeah, sometimes we've got short tempers, so that whole thing is hope we're all going to be cool and get through it all but yeah, I'm I'm
Alexander 05:49
just really hoping we'll be okay. I guess it's trying to find time to do the little things I like doing for myself. While still doing the things like trying to do things like keep the house tidy. Best I can support my wife with that and still work properly when work is going to happen. And yeah, just keep on pushing through. No Aussi rules, no AFL I mean, that sad no foot n-- football or soccer. So I love sport we miss it here. My son is you know, loves his football was quite good at it. But he's getting back onto the skateboard. As is my daughter too. So yeah, anyway, I'm hoping that hopefully hopefully, you know we'll find some sort of cure soon and things can return back to something that used that way things were a few weeks ago but it's a bit of a scary time and just hope we can just hang in there is I'm a I'm a bit of a history buff and I'd read about these big events that would happen and so think Wow, well imagine if I was you know, there during World War II or things like that now feels like this is kind of well it's not quite World War II it certainly or a depression? Not yet. It's certainly a big event. And try and get a head around how quickly it's hit us is very strange. But yeah, anyway, um, I don't know what else to say. Apart from I hope everyone stays well and big love to to all of you. So yep. 24th of March 2020 1130. I started round about this little piece. So yeah, I'm just doing it into my computer. So um, anyway, best of luck, everyone, and hopefully I'll post again. Okay, bye bye.
Alexander 00:00
This is the 24th of March 2020.
Alexander 00:07
I'm sending this recording this in my mini study joining our kitchen. In our house in Blackburn [inaudible].
Alexander 00:20
And I'm just doing this sorry, just doing this for this new archive of the Coronavirus project. The moment I'm at home with two of my kids one of them's just gone for a bike ride, and one's just grabbing a snack.
Alexander 00:52
We're in a type of lockdown here so I should be at my new job. But I'm not I'm here at home. We've got a day off today, I work at the State Library. Started just recently finished a position at RMIT University at the AFI Research Collection. Yeah, so it's been a pretty crazy time here. Aside from the general media chatter and the need to keep our distance which we are trying to practice as I've been locked down on my own life, new job and trying to move my father's things out of a nursing home flat. And that's been quite difficult. And now this whole process is adding another layer to it.
Alexander 01:51
But yeah, I guess think back how this Virus is kind of affecting me and my family. So I'm going to be working from home state library is closed. My wife is a teacher, and she's actually at work. But in Melbourne, they've closed all the schools. So thankfully she gets to work without the fear of catching the virus from little kids. I think this has been a big thing about this whole social distancing talk, which has been going on that there are some jobs that you just can't keep a social distance. And particular school teachers really, really [inaudible] pretty bad having little kids in their close vicinity. If any of them have got the virus it means pretty much everyone very good chance a lot of people in that room will catch a virus and little kids they're not the cleanest of tykes they ah slobber over one another. And yeah, so as anyone who has been around a primary school long enough knows that a lot of primary schools are really good breeding ground for a lot of illnesses and viruses, colds and coughs and so on. So just to think what a Coronavirus could do there is pretty scary.
Alexander 03:19
So we're very lucky in Victoria, I think that the schools are closed. Yeah, so anyway, my wife's at work. So my kids are at home and their love their video games, unfortunately. But so they're spending a bit of time doing that. They've got no homework to do so which is nice. So I think we're just going to have to ride it out over the next few weeks. But yeah, I mean, aside from that other things have been affected. I was, I'm musician, and I was going to play a gig. But that got canceled on Saturday, which I was really annoyed about because I've actually been practicing quite a bit. And so that's sort of fallen through. So that's a shame and yeah, and I guess in the other day to day things, it's the feeling of not being able to catch up with people.
Alexander 04:21
The going went to the cafe to get get a cuppa this morning, our little cafe down the road battle cafe and everyone's standing outside waiting for their coffees. So and obviously the whole thing the big thing has been publicizes the shops over the last few weeks lack of toilet paper, which is kind of silly, but you know, it's a bit of a scary thing for people and that scared. I mean, we had enough stuff. We're all right. We've got two freezers in our house. So we're lucky. It meant that we weren't ever going to be short of food and we had a lot of toilet paper but there are some friends of ours that didn't. My wife actually gave some toilet paper s-- some her colleagues because they just couldn't buy any. So it's pretty crazy. But gee I wonder what this really means? That's my dog pepper. So I'm getting a walker every day, which is good. I try to walk every day but that's a good reason to get out of the house. I just wonder if we're all gonna go mad really? Yeah, sometimes we've got short tempers, so that whole thing is hope we're all going to be cool and get through it all but yeah, I'm I'm
Alexander 05:49
just really hoping we'll be okay. I guess it's trying to find time to do the little things I like doing for myself. While still doing the things like trying to do things like keep the house tidy. Best I can support my wife with that and still work properly when work is going to happen. And yeah, just keep on pushing through. No Aussi rules, no AFL I mean, that sad no foot n-- football or soccer. So I love sport we miss it here. My son is you know, loves his football was quite good at it. But he's getting back onto the skateboard. As is my daughter too. So yeah, anyway, I'm hoping that hopefully hopefully, you know we'll find some sort of cure soon and things can return back to something that used that way things were a few weeks ago but it's a bit of a scary time and just hope we can just hang in there is I'm a I'm a bit of a history buff and I'd read about these big events that would happen and so think Wow, well imagine if I was you know, there during World War II or things like that now feels like this is kind of well it's not quite World War II it certainly or a depression? Not yet. It's certainly a big event. And try and get a head around how quickly it's hit us is very strange. But yeah, anyway, um, I don't know what else to say. Apart from I hope everyone stays well and big love to to all of you. So yep. 24th of March 2020 1130. I started round about this little piece. So yeah, I'm just doing it into my computer. So um, anyway, best of luck, everyone, and hopefully I'll post again. Okay, bye bye.