Two national emergencies: One day
Even though Covid-19 has been around for a year, every time your phone omits an ominous screech, it’s still a complete feeling of “oh fuck”. Aucklanders have had it worse than anyone, with several lockdowns interfering with the start of the university year. O-Week was postponed, and postponed again. Freshers were confined to their halls, unable to pash and spew on the streets like God intended.
At first, the lockdown was loathed and feared. Now it’s almost treated with the shrug of the shoulders, and a groan of annoyance, like cleaning up after a Friday night. No one wants to do it, but it’s got to be done. After four lockdowns, the tsunami warning was almost a welcome relief for some. A minor annoyance for others. For a few, it was a double whammy of unexpected surprises, which at this point - most of us are too fucking tired to care about.
Jemma managed to escape from Auckland around midnight. It gave a new meaning to the midnight run, but instead of stocking up at Pak’n’Save, it’s trying to escape Auckland before lockdown. And if you’re lucky, escape the traffic too. Before the lockdown alert happened Jemma had some optimism that another lockdown wouldn’t happen but said, "I almost did expect it to happen at the same time". It was the speed of it that was the most surprising, according to her, "we were here literally for a week, and then we were going into lockdown for a week. The same time we’ve been here." When the tsunami warning struck the North Island with the ear-piercing sirens and deafening phone alerts, one of her first thoughts was "it was kind of exciting in a way". A distraction from chronic “procrastination and online classes”. But the most exciting part of the tsunami ended up being the video of a wave belly-flopping sadly on Facebook. For Jemma, she "just sat in the car for like two hours," with her mum. “It was kind of funny. There was an ad for the tsunami warning and the next ad was the Covid-19 warning,” and the sudden realisation of the situation. The exclaiming thought of “Omg. What is going on?” It becomes hard to believe we’re living in reality when it’s catastrophe after catastrophe.
The few others who decided to stay on campus had varying reactions to the news. With the lockdown beginning at 6am many made the most of their last night of freedom. At the time of the news, Selo was watching a movie in the CBD. His first thought was "shut the fuck up, I’m watching a movie". After realising it wasn’t a call when the theatre started ringing with alerts, the blame game started. It’s easy to blame the Government when something goes wrong, they have the biggest target on their back, and it’s the easiest shot to take. This night was just one of the many nights cut short. The bus ride back full of disappointment. Others were disappointed by the sudden postponement of O-Week, yet again, which left one student feeling like “I wasn’t really having a proper first year experience, you know? It sucks that these things just keep getting cancelled. I feel like I’m struggling to make friends as a result.”
When the lockdown news came, Sean said he “was sad because I didn’t have work, and I was supposed to go drinking in town". With no funds and no place to go, lockdown passed mostly via "Netflix, eating, sleeping and Tik Tok". It was the mood for most of the week. That or drinking in one’s bubble to make the time go faster. Provided one had the numbers and supply. At the end of the lockdown, the malls were packed, and “everyone was legit excited to be outside”. There was also a traffic jam starting at the Albany Westfield Mall. So, the final question for him was whether or not he’d managed to go out drinking. His reply? “No… it’s only a Wednesday, but Saturday is coming.” It was only a matter of time before Auckland returned to normalcy or was screwed over by another wave of something or the other. I guess that’s what the alerts are for, eh?
Overall, if it’s been a shitty few weeks for you, hang in there. Better times are coming. O-Week might be cancelled permanently, but at least there’s always...well, I don’t know. Exams? Lol.