It’s only when you end up in a city that has been spared the Coronavirus, a sanctuary without masks, that you appreciate how this Covid-19 pandemic is affecting us. How many places in the world are there where a modern city has locked itself away from the world and emerged unscathed? The Northern Territory, with 33 cases and zero deaths, is an oasis. Outside its borders, the globe remains gripped.
The two of us emerged on Friday from two weeks of quarantine stasis that felt stifling but proved quite manageable. Of course in theory I should have been able to work a treat during that fortnight but my hourly statistics reveal that wasn’t the case. I averaged 6 hours of work a day. Not bad, I might think? Ah, but I was stuck in a room (or on a verandah) for twelve hours daily. What’s more, only half of those six hours were spent on proper drafting. A poor showing, really.
Here’s the good news. On my second full day in Darwin, in a world seemingly far from anxiety (I know that’s an illusion but our illusions count), I’m working flat out, pumping out words, and enjoying myself. An entire chapter’s strands are now crystal clear and I hope to complete the draft by the end of this coming week.