This year has been incredibly hard for so many of us. The effects of Coronavirus (COVID19) have been shocking. It’s devastating that so many lives have been lost all around the world. I could not have imagined that the start of a new decade would bring such distress. There will be a time when we are through it, and normality has returned! 💖
To everyone around the world 🌏, please stay home 🏠, stay clean 🧼, stay kind ❤️ and stay safe 🌷.
My experience through this pandemic has not been hard. I am incredibly lucky for that, and I know for many, it’s a far different reality. As an introvert and someone experiencing mental illness (schizoaffective disorder), I prefer to remain at home and struggle in most social situations. It is strange to realise that a disorder that affects many facets of my life places me in a position to manage self-isolation easily. 😯
I haven’t updated my blog much this year and wanted to reflect on 2020 so far. Strangely, it doesn’t feel like these events were from this year, they feel like a lifetime ago!
🤩 Elton John
In January I attended the Elton John concert in Bathurst and had a great time. It was a performance I will never forget and an opportunity to say goodbye to a music icon on his farewell tour.
⛰️ Capertee Valley
In February, dad and I headed into the Capertee Valley (In NSW, Australia) to capture photographs of the landscape. There had recently been a lot of rain, and everything was incredibly green (if we had visited a month earlier, the drought and deadly fires would have shown a much different place). The scenery was gorgeous! The formations and scale of the mountains against the landscape brought a great appreciation and depth of the natural world.
The photographs were initially for a landscape photography competition on DeviantArt (on our way to Sydney for the Fire Fight Australia concert). Even though I didn’t win, it was still a fantastic opportunity to explore the country and practice my photography.
🔗 You can view more of the photographs on my Flickr account.
🔥🧑🚒 Fire Fight Australia
I had the incredible opportunity of attending the Fire Fight Australia concert on the 16th of January. Proceeds went to supporting bushfire relief efforts, after a devastating season.
Tickets were general admission, and dad and I arrived early. I was lucky enough to be able to get a position in the front row!
There were so many artists that I loved. Many of them were part of the soundtrack of my childhood and to see them live was amazing.
✨ Other Updates
- I am proud to be part of Bearhugs for Australia, a Creatives for Bushfire relief project with all proceeds of designs going towards Australian bushfire relief & recovery.
- I started the class Indigenous Cultures, Histories & Contemporary Realities. I am so pleased that it is a required subject for my degree. Understanding the relationships between peoples and cultures allows you to develop cultural competence and communicate respectfully with people from diverse backgrounds.
- I turned 33!
- I updated my business website Klue. I finally added the work I have completed in the past and look forward to future projects.
- I dyed my hair turquoise. I think pink maybe next (or purple?).
💬 Questions
- How have you been coping during COVID19?
- What ways have you found to pass the time during self-isolation?
- What do you plan to do once the pandemic has eased (and it’s safe to go out)?
8 Responses
I’m glad to hear you’re doing okay. This whole thing has been crazy. For me other then work I keep my butt at home. My hours have been cut, but honestly I’m okay with it. I rather be at home as much as I can. While spending time at home I’ve been cleaning and organizing my room.
Those pictures are beautiful! Sooo green!
Hi Kya!
Glad to hear you’ve been keeping well, I do miss the outside but I generally love staying home too.
Everytime I see your blog, it inspires me to want to make a blog again and share amongst us “90’s bloggers”, but I’ve always been stuck at name finding.
1. How have you been coping during COVID19?
– Generally ok, it was difficult in the first two weeks because I had to work from home too and people were so cautious about you not working at home and “having fun instead”. But after a while, everyone realises that we all have different routines. I haven’t been out of my flat/apartment for a month now. I was a bit emotional too during the first 2 weeks because I wanted to go on a holiday but I realised everyone else was not allowed to do so.
What ways have you found to pass the time during self-isolation?
– Back to my crafting projects! I definitely have more time to work on personal stuff now (infact I always said I had no time). I try to do them alongside work when there’s nothing to do, and I try to get a bit of exercise every alternate day. I watch more movies too.
What do you plan to do once the pandemic has eased (and it’s safe to go out)?
– I need to go on a holiday with “bae” as we were meant to go in May but it was cancelled. I’m also going to go and treat myself to some sushi.
Happy to hear that you’ve been reflecting on the more positive aspects of this year. Your photography is amazing btw.
My family and myself have been coping fairly well during this whole pandemic. The hardest part was having to be out of our home because of a sudden mold infestation. We are currently in the process of putting our home back together from it. It was hard to leave our home with our special needs son to stay in a home that wasn’t secure enough to lessen our anxiety. He is four years old and autistic. We has a tendency to elope and is nonverbal…so needless to say, we were constantly on our toes trying to make sure he didn’t manage to make his way out of the home we had to stay in. The isolation from public gatherings and whatnot has otherwise been fairly easy for us.
Glad to hear that you are coping fairly well with everything and concentrating on the positives. It’s been a rough year for everyone but sometimes you just have to concentrate on the positives and what you can control <3
1. How have you been coping during COVID19?
Not so well, it's been rough with everything going on and we've had a few recent tragedies in our community that has affected everyone so it's tough-going for sure.
2. What ways have you found to pass the time during self-isolation?
Mostly watching TV shows, playing Sims 4 and doing some pre-university catching up and studying things I didn't pay much attention to in high school or things I didn't do good at like calculus. Mostly math-related.
3. What do you plan to do once the pandemic has eased (and it’s safe to go out)?
Go hiking, get a mountain bike and go biking and geocaching and camping. Outdoors as much as possible.
Hello! Blog hopping! 😀
Your pictures on Capertee Valley are beautiful! I hope I could visit that lovely place someday! <3
How have you been coping during COVID19?
-so far so good. I'm working from home and life with family is pretty normal but not for all here in our country~ some are totally suffering which is sad 🙁
What ways have you found to pass the time during self-isolation?
-I can play games a lot and sleep a lot~ 😀 Heehee~
What do you plan to do once the pandemic has eased (and it’s safe to go out)?
-Visit cafes!!! <3
Honestly, it is the same for me. COVID hasn’t really affected my daily live as much as it has for others. It sucks to not be able to visit my sister or have her visit me in a long time because of it… and working for a hospital made it interesting but I still have a job I have to go to almost every day and, like you, I always stayed home more to begin with so…. no change there.
Those photos look lovely! I love how green it is! I would have loved to see something that pretty in person. I always feel like I need to get out more… of course not right now but you know…
I have finally been trying to watch more Korean Dramas again. Just finished one called Hotel Del Luna which seems like a spooky one since it is about a ghost hotel but honestly the stories of the ghosts just made me feel for them. Sniff. It was a good watch. Now I’m watching one that is far more silly, called W.
I hope you continue to be safe ♥
I’m so glad you’re doing well, and are able to find things you enjoy! I love seeing your creative posts and art!! 🙂
I’ve been pretty lucky as well during this pandemic. My main concern is for my husband who is an essential worker, and my two-year-old daughter who I would be at home with anyway. My son started at a great new school, as we moved right before the pandemic really spread. So he’s doing at home learning and is doing really well!
I’m so happy to have been rediscovering old hobbies again now that I am back at home! My new one though is the guitar!
I moved to a more country town, so I am looking forward to future date nights back in the city! 😀
I used to be one of the people you hosted way back when you had bubble.nu. I decided to see if you were still hosting and started browsing this site.
It’s wonderful to see that you are still here and thriving.
I’m also 32 years old, a graphic designer, and I also have schizoaffective disorder. I agree it’s easier to deal with isolation. I tend to naturally want to isolate myself and I’m extremely introverted so I get tired of socializing.
I’m grateful that this pandemic has happened during a time where we have technology because I can make graphics, watch my favorite fantasy shows, etc.
Hope you’re well <3 I will bookmark your site and visit again.