A lot has happened since my last post. I’ve completed my degree, moved house and picked up some extra shifts at work. It has been incredibly hectic period as we unpack and settle in, but now the world’s gone all topsy-turvy with crashing stock markets and a rampant virus. What a time to be alive.
It was stressful at times trying to juggle work and study, but now that I’ve finished my studies, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I’ve learned quite a bit about the craft and look forward to applying my knowledge to growing as a writer. I intend to get cracking on a new project soon.
I’ve had a growing sense of unease about the world’s financial stability for a while now and my hunch has since proven to be well founded. Around the middle of February I took steps to protect my superannuation and investments by changing to safer cash options.
It turns out that this was a fantastic move as in the following weeks, share markets crashed globally, and I have been able to preserve most of the value for future reinvestment. I’m not an advocate of timing the market, but sometimes it’s possible to see the writing on the wall and make wise decisions before the disaster strikes.
It’s looking more likely that the novel Corona virus will affect my work as more and more non-essential services are shut down for the duration of the pandemic. This is both good and bad: good because I’ll have more time to be writing, but bad because I’ll probably have no money coming in unless I go on Centrelink or find another job that allows me to work from home.
But for now it appears I’ll have to wait and see. The next few weeks will be a roller coaster for markets and emergency services everywhere. I’ll be doing what I can to self isolate and look for opportunities that won’t increase my virus exposure risk.
Stay safe and wash your hands.