Items

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  2020-05-18

  Working at a bottle shop during COVID19

  Throughout the pandemic I worked in a bottle shop owned by Coles in South Melbourne. Sales increased dramatically during the pandemic for two reasons. Firstly, people were worried about Dan Andrews closing bottle shops during lockdown. Secondly, because bars and venues were closing, people had to source their own alcohol. During the interim period when people were discussing what the stage 3 and 4 lockdown would look like customers would come into the shop and ask if we were considered an ‘essential service’. I would respond with “I assume we’re considered essential,” “how would you survive without booze?” and “you’d know more than we do.” During this period of time it seemed like everyone knew a friend or an acquaintance of a friend who was in politics and sharing information about COVID lockdown meetings and what the next stage would involve. The uncertainty of not knowing if I’d be working next week was stressful and caused anxiety and it also caused me to panic buy wine (most of which was not touched). Nonetheless, we stayed open throughout all lockdowns and acquired new customers. During lockdown our sales increased on cocktail ingredients such as triple sec and campari because people started making cocktails at home. During the pandemic customers seemed to have more time to chat and browse and wanted to try new products. but this could also be because they liked the excuse to stay out of home for longer. As well, Coles gave employees who worked from March to May 2020 a one-off thank you bonus for working during the hardest weeks of the pandemic. Working during a pandemic had highs and lows, I was grateful that I didn’t live with my family, so I couldn’t bring home to virus, but it was hard juggling extra hours at work around online uni and other aspects of life. HIST30060
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  2020-04-26

  We'll Meet Again

  During this tumultuous and stressful time of quarantining and attempting to manage COVID-19, there are a few things that have become apparent. First, as a society that has ceased to consider plagues as an imminent threat until recently, we have all taken human interaction for granted. The intimacy created by being in someone’s presence and experiencing their touch, smell, and energy is something we experienced every day before the quarantine began. Now, as people are locked away in their homes, we are all realizing that despite the technology at our fingertips, we cannot replicate those feelings. Video chatting, using social media platforms, calling, and texting are not substitutes for experiencing human connections face-to-face. Many couples and friends are unable to quarantine together, and because of that, they are missing out on the intimacy they used to have. We, as human beings, naturally crave human affection and love, and it can be quite difficult to communicate that when you must be so far apart. In addition, we have taken for granted the ability to go outside with virtually no fear of contracting a virus that could take away the lives of people around us, as well as ourselves. The ability to go outside and go to a park, admire nature, and walk around without a care in the world is gone. Art has always been an extremely significant aspect of life - it depicts history, emotions, imaginary places… Now, more than ever, art is an escape from the stressful reality that we face. It is also a means of bringing attention to the severity of the situation at hand. This piece represents the desire for intimacy of all forms that we experience when we are apart from the people that we love. It represents our connection with nature that has been taken away from us during quarantine. Eventually, this will all be over - in a few months, a year, or maybe even several years. But whenever it is, my friends, loved ones, and the beautiful aspects of nature that I miss so much - we’ll meet again.
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  2020-04-10

  Time Lapse

  time to appreciate nature, and its vastness
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  2020-04-06

  Monday night musings

  Thoughts of someone living in the COVID era