Now ye're talking - to an Irishman in mandatory quarantine in Australia

Can't go outside but have balcony.

I have weights (water weights,)a stepper and YouTube aerobic video,that's it.

I can see myself getting fatter by the hour.

We have different routines as she's working from home to irish hours so she starts work at 5pm and works til 1am.I get up as absolutely late in the day as possible so there's less time ro kill.

Yes you can order in just eat and all the other equivalents.The food is so bad in some places that people have no choice but to order in.Thats a big cost a couple of times a day for 2 weeks added on to all the other costs.

We're on day 6 and today will be the first day we order in food.

There's loads of places to order in alcohol but there is a daily limit six beers or one bottle of wine per person per day.Its a generous enough limit but its another reminder that you have zero control over anything.

I've been ordering booze and stockpiling it for party days about every 3rd day.We also brought 2 bottles of whisky and a bottle of port with us.They didn't check suit cases so really you could have them stocked like a bar if you wanted!

Smoking is strictly prohibited, if you're caught its a massive fine.I see in some fb groups people giving tips on how to do this going to great lengths to cover vents and doors and smoking down the toilet whilst flushing it.I smoke when I drink at home but not risking anything in here.

4 weeks,so trip is 6 weeks in total.

The original plan was to go to her sisters wedding in November on a 3 week trip.I figured their quarantine would be gone by then,it wasn't and here we are.

She only has 2 weeks annual leave as she started a new job so has ro work these 2 weeks in quarantine and the last 2 weeks of the holiday.I had enough leave built up to go for 6 weeks.

I might give that a watch later,sparse enough schedule today!

Aside from the draconian quarantine situation here everything else is normal and has been since the start ( I'm talking about South Australia where I am rather than Melbourne or Sydney)

There's currently one active case of covid in a city with the same population as Dublin,you have to wear masks but that's it.I think they had a snap 3 day lockdown last year which was treated more as a novelty than anything else.

When I get out of here it'll be nice to be back in normal society, I'll be shaking hands and hugging all the in-laws as I did last time I was here in 2018.

I'm not saying they did everything right but through their geographical location and willingness to treat a small number of people like prisoners to avoid having Covid in their state/country its hard to argue with the effectiveness of it.

Of course it's impossible to compare to the Irish response or most other places as there were different sets of circumstances and its apples and oranges.

Haha! I'm not sure that blonde lady at the end was being genuine when she said she wants to live next door to Daniel!

It won't accept hotel WiFi I think. Its a bit of an issue as we have limited comforts at the moment and the TV is obviously an important one.We have options though, we have two laptops with us and a hdmi cable,however my Mrs who is working 6pm til 2am ( prime tv watching hours needs both of them) Currently I'm mirroring my screen off my Samsung phone to Samsung telly which is doing the job but not great picture and dropping from time to time.

I asked reception and they said there is no reason why the chrome cast shouldn't work as others have managed it.

Ps For my sins I'm currently watching last nights Prime Time! (Must be for a bit of familiarity in a weird time I guess)

Yes,totally unacceptable in my opinion.The thought of it caused me massive anxiety (which I'd never experienced before) I had to seek medical help get on meds,stopped eating,lost weight and had to take time off work over it.

We are so so lucky (and I mean top 5% lucky) that not only did we get a balcony, but we got a suite in a 5 star hotel that's more like an apartment and would be about €300 a night.

I contacted Boards about 6 months ago with a view to doing an AMA but as the time got closer it became evident that it mightnt be a good idea,it was only after being allocated this place that I felt there'd be no problem.

Other people paying the same amount and just pot luck are in sealed rooms, many with kids and having to order in food because what provided isn't edible,I'm in private fb groups with them, it's fairly scandalous.

We get daily calls from the police ( not sure why) and mental health nurses,both the nurses on the phone and the ones who come to the door to do pcr tests commented on our suite and said its the least people should be entitled to.I didn't bring this up, they said it to me.