Tuesday.

Time to rearrange the furniture in the room so Peter doesn’t accidentally wander across my Zoom screen in a state of undress!

Highlights

• A surprise delivery – cheeeeesy goodness “with love from London” the note said. Well, obviously the cheese itself didn’t come from London, but the love certainly did – thank you Rob, Jenna & Alfie!

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• Maybe the best food day yet (apart from the cold poached eggs in the late breakfast delivery. Seafood chowder for Peter, Rogan Josh for me at lunchtime, with buffalo wings, onion rings and coleslaw for dinner. Fried chicken is definitely our chef’s special talent!

• More chalk drawings on the wall of the ramp – including from a kid (one assumes) loving hotel life (and, no doubt, more attention from their parents than usual!)

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• Regular updates from our lovely house-sitters – Koki is indeed living her best life with Keith and Tallulah, and I’m not sure she’s going to be all that pleased to see us back!

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Lowlights

• Having to keep the curtains closed so that my “zoomies” can actually see me (and not Peter) in the meeting – I hate living in the dark, and hotel room lighting is somehow always suboptimal!

• Realising that OMG I really am going to have to take drastic action when we get out. Lockdown kilos were certainly real, but MIQ kilos are worse thanks to the double whammy of great food and terrible exercise opportunities!

Observations for future inmates

People want to know how you’re doing. Being in MIQ is not an everyday experience, and no matter how mundane and boring you think it is – well actually, it really is mundane and boring – your family, friends and colleagues (at least some of them) will appreciate a daily ramble. Surprising, but true.

And who knows, you may even look back on your ramblings yourself, if only to reassure yourself that this is indeed doable, and a small(ish) price to pay for reconnecting with whanau and the wider world.