We are in the sixth week of the Stage 4 restrictions in Melbourne due to COVID-19. These restrictions were supposed to end today but have been extended for two weeks till 28 Sept 2020.

Although we are allowed to shop and exercise within 5km from our home, I have not exceeded 100 meters in the past few weeks. We are the ‘kiasi’ type (means afraid of death) and just stay at home as much as possible. Working from home is our new norm and our lifestyle has changed as a result.

 

Celebrations in Lockdown

Since we cannot go out, we celebrated some important events at home by ordering food delivery from restaurants.

 

Shopping in Lockdown

I was no stranger to online shopping but the pandemic has brought me to a whole new level. The online transactions have surged in Victoria over the last few months and causing delays in delivering parcels, yet I still often shop online.

Before the pandemic, we never bought any groceries online but now we buy it online almost every week (including fresh fruit and vegetable). It is very quick and convenient. Once the groceries arrive we wipe the non-food items with disinfection wipes to reduce the risk of catching the virus.

Another thing that I bought a lot during the pandemic is contact lenses. I was very against the idea of buying contact lens online, but now I like it.

However, I had a very bad first buying experience… I bought the wrong contact lens for AU$159! This is because I did not know there are positive and negative signs to the power. The positive power is for far-sightedness while the negative power is for short-sightedness. The default on the website is positive which I cannot understand as I thought the short-sighted are more likely to buy contact lenses.

We also order food delivery very often such as UberEats, because we are lazy to cook and like its contactless delivery. But we are trying to cook at home as much as possible.

 

Fitness in lockdown

Since I discovered that I gained 7kg during the pandemic, I developed a new daily routine – follow Chloe Ting’s workout video (hence bought so many contact lenses). The workout is only 13 minutes but it exhausts me every day!

I lost about 2-3 kg after 6 weeks of workout and eating less. Though the process is much slower than I hope for and I still have a long way to go in order to restore my pre-lockdown body weight, I feel healthier and I just have to keep going.

By the way, I cannot believe that I spent AU $69 on a mat! (the pink one in the photo below) And it is not even the colour that I want but all other colours are sold out. Despite this, I think it is one of the best things that I have bought as it is safer and more effective to work out on a good mat.

This is our new normal – I am not sure when or if we will ever go back to the life pre-COVID, but life still goes on regardless. Luckily, a coffee a day is our little bit of comfort. 🙂

There are a few challenges such as Ben is very uncomfortable without being able to get a haircut since July. We also miss travel a lot… But even if the restrictions are lifted, will we be brave enough to travel?