Hey, teachers leave us grown ups alone

DIARY OF A DEMENTED HOME WORKER: Week 14 and my dodgy internet will see me go up in a puff of smoke as I wonder about starting the Christmas shopping in case of that second wave

• IS it just me or does it feel like we’re now moving very fast out of lockdown? It seems like we’ve gone from having no options at all, to literally having almost endless options, just with a whole lot of uncertainty thrown in? There’s probably nothing for it but to take a deep breath and dive straight back in. Oh but if you’re wearing a face mask, for the love of all that is good and holy, will you stop touching it or take it off entirely? It’s as simple as that.

• Of course if you’re in the queue for McDonalds or Penneys it probably seems like things aren’t moving very fast at all. Not one to judge or anything (totally judging) but how hard up would you have to be to queue from the crack of dawn for knickers and fake lashes? Very hard up obviously. Aren’t people gas all the same? (but if anyone is going up this week would they get me a onesie and I’ll sort you out later?)

• I’m also finding McDonald’s €30 spending limit per customer a bit hard to eh, swallow. I know someone who was on the receiving end of a very disgruntled manager who was giving her daggers over his facemask when she somehow got as far as the checkout with an order over €40. I mean it’s easily done. Especially if you throw in a few milkshakes. And sure someone will always eat a few nuggets (with BBQ sauce obviously).

• I haven’t had a Big Mac, but I did have my first take out coffee in over three months this week on the beach in Inchydoney. It was glorious, both the coffee and the experience. We bumped into friends totally by chance walking down the steps to the beach and while I had been feeling a little nostalgic that our little family bubble was about to end, the fact that I felt around 300% better after the chat, convinced me that yup, I’m ready to mingle. Having said that I do think there’s an awful lot of tetchiness about, so tread carefully, and be prepared to let things go.

• Speaking of tetchiness, do you know who really bugged me this week? Dr Eva Orsmon, lecturing us all about being fat on Brendan O’Connor’s radio show on Saturday. Being over weight is obviously not a good thing, especially as it’s linked to our ability to fight Covid infection, but the way she said it had me roaring at the radio that instead of telling us to take control of our calories, she might want to take control of her hotel in Portugal, which is still not open. She alluded to a second TV series – here’s hoping it’s as car crash as the first. (in case you weren’t sure, I’m not a fan).

• I’m not one for teacher bashing (mainly as I’m related to one and she’d kill me), but I really do feel there’s a cohort of them not doing the profession any favours whatsoever right now. Surely it’s all about getting the crowd on your side, and from where I am in the crowd, what I’m seeing is a group of people who have been on full pay since March, now making noises about perhaps not being able to go back in September. I know there are more nuances than that involved, but I really wish that unions and department officials would go behind closed doors to thrash things out privately and stop scaring the bejaysus out of us all. The fact is that if schools don’t reopen fully lots of us will have no option but to pack in our own work because I don’t think any of us can continue what we’ve endured  for the past few months.

• Same goes for any talk of a second wave of infection. Just stop it. I honestly think some people will be disappointed if it doesn’t hit. I actually heard someone say that we will need to get our Christmas shopping done early just in case we are locked in again. And no it wasn’t a local business, but who could blame them if it was?

• I’ve being having some connectivity issues lately and I can honestly say it’s ramped stress levels right up there. I don’t smoke but there were times that if someone had offered me a cigarette I’d have bitten their hand off. That bad. Having said that I’m still devoting a good chunk of my evenings to Netflix and have reached new lows with Selling Sunset. I think I need a hobby, or to pull my knitting out again.