Day 6 LockDown

1 April 2020

1 353 cases
Recovered: 31
Deceased: 5

Today is April 1st, traditionally at our offices an opportunity to find a close enough to reality and believable, yet way out there narrative that turns out to be a huge joke.

But today I do not feel funny at all. I considered staying offline today, because some April Fools jokes trigger me at the best of times. After three miscarriages the fake pregnancy announcements are everything but funny. And today, with our company’s future and the future of our team that works for us so very uncertain, I wasn’t looking forward to some of the jokes people consider funny.

For instance, there is a joke floating around about a government grant payout for every person over 18. How is potential income funny in a time when so many breadwinners are unable to put even the necessities on the table?

None of our agency clients have any “funnies” scheduled for today. Best is to be sensitive right now, and we already learnt with our Earth Hour posts that people have no tolerance at the moment for anything that upsets the delicate equilibrium that has become our existence.

I find the profiteering hard to understand during these times. It is one thing to live in a free market economy, when goods and services are readily available, and there is choice on the consumer’s side regarding purchases. But there are shortages and real needs, and yet essential products at some stores are price-hiked to unbelievable profit margins.

For me, keeping busy helps staying sane. I have not spent so much time in a kitchen since I owned a restaurant many years ago. Our fridge is packed to capacity with baked goods, with cooked meals, with snacks. I am doing my best to control screen time for the twins, by doing craft activities during the day and also just leaving them to get bored and find stuff for themselves to do. I am crocheting and reading, I am painting and building puzzles. I don’t do well with so much leisure time – I have always been a bit of a workaholic. It feels as if I am slacking, as if I should be doing more to work on our business.

On a different note, apparently the fuel price dropped today (timing immaculate as per usual) with an unprecedented R1.70 per litre. I found myself musing if I should go fill up my car, and then thought again…