The Lockdown Log - Interview With A Phlebotomist In Christchurch

Last updated on 20 June 2020

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Welcome to The Lockdown Log!

In this new series, The Lockdown Log, I’m going to be interviewing some of my friends from New Zealand, to hear a little about what their experience was like during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) Lockdown that our country went through in April (and continues, in some degree until we’re told otherwise). For some of my friends, life has radically changed, for others, it’s only a little different. But whatever has happened in the last few months, whatever their situation has been or will continue to be, they have a story, and one that I believe is worth sharing, if not for now, then for the future.

In this instalment of The Lockdown Log, I chat with my friend Irene, who is a Supervisor at the Blood Test Centre (Phlebotomy) in Christchurch Hospital.

Irene! So nice to have you on the blog today! Thanks so much for joining me! Outside of the time we spent in lockdown, what does a usual week look like for you?

Work, home, sleep, repeat! On weekends I’m usually at home reading or rotting in front of the TV. The rare occasion I’m out of the house, I’m in the malls or in the library.

To be fair, your weekends sound like a dream. Working in the sector you do, did anything change for you when New Zealand was in Levels 4 and 3?

Being an essential worker, nothing changed for me! And I’m glad I could go to work. I think my family would have driven me insane.

Haha! Yes, I think a lot of people struggled with being at home all the time, due to their bubble situations.

Yeah, I’m glad I got the option of going into work. Introverts still need to leave the house from time to time to interact with people that aren’t your cats!

It’s actually been so interesting talking to people who are definitely introverts, and even them saying that they were missing getting out of the house. Or rather, having the option to leave the house if they wanted to. Even though you’re an introvert who enjoys reading and watching shows on the weekend, was there anything you found hard about lockdown?

As an introvert, this lockdown was a dream for me. I didn’t need to come up with any excuses as to why I wasn’t leaving the house. Ha!

Haha! It has been rather nice to be at home, hasn’t it? Is there anything you were grateful for during the lockdown period?

The empty streets and lack of patients in the hospital. It’s tiring dealing with patients 40hrs a week, so it’s nice to have a break from them. And I can finally find a park at the hospital!

The traffic! The parking! The people! I think we all get that! Did you end up doing anything in lockdown that you actually think you’ll continue when we get back to ‘normal’, whatever that looks like?

I’m gonna carry forward my shopping habits. I realised during the lockdown I only shop cause I’m out and about in the malls. If I’m home, I don’t shop – even online! So it’s gonna be interesting to see if I can keep this habit going.

Or. I’ll go wild when the shops open. Only time will tell.

That’s so good! I’ve definitely barely bought anything in the last 2 months, even online. But yes; I wonder how stepping into the malls and stores again will affect my spending …

While we’re slowly moving out of isolation and lockdown here in New Zealand, do you have any tips for surviving isolation?

Having your own TV helps!

It’s definitely been interesting and a bit of a challenge trying to share the same TV space, yeah! But I think we’ve made it work in my house because we have so many streaming options, we can watch what we want somewhere else. What have you been watching lately?

I’ve been re-watching Grey’s Anatomy, Scrubs and Friends, right from the beginning.

Oh, my word. That’s amazing! I was literally thinking the other day I should re-watch Scrubs!

Do you have any stories from lockdown that you’d like to share?

Never thought I would be, but I was one of those people who clambered for McDonald’s when Level 3 came into effect. I drove to Rangiora (40mins outside of Christchurch) for my fix.

No regrets.

Ha! Well someone’s got to keep them in business, right? Okay, and last, but certainly not least, in fact possibly the most asked question about Lockdown … did you do anything drastic to your hair?

Hell no! My weight though…

Yes, I think there might be a few more gym subscriptions starting up … I’m definitely keen to get back into Zumba! There’s been a lot of baking in my house.

Thank you, Irene, for chatting with me today!

Stay tuned for another edition of The Lockdown Log coming soon!

To learn more about New Zealand’s alert level system, check out the COVID-19 website.