You heard it here first!

 I have been officially notified by David that I am NOT impatient! yay! Cause for celebration all round!

For more years than I care to remember (well, probably about 5 or so, in reality) David has told me I am impatient - usually when I have had to wait for someone who says they are ready but then has a last pee, cleans their teeth, brushes their hair, checks all doors and windows, and needs a last minute snack and another pee (guess who - aha, it's the ubiquitous ACP), or when I have had to ask again and then wait for something to be done that was committed to and then not delivered on when agreed (guess by whom - yes, you're right, it's the ACP again).

However, all of that characterising me as impatient has come to an end, so I have been told. And how did that mind change come about?

Well, ACP has been once again working on the medical insurance claim. He's been preparing a letter to their adjudicator for the last two or three weeks. So that it doesn't end up being his life's work, he has been getting up super early to work on it. By super early, I mean any time from about 4am onwards. I know: extreme, isn't it?

OK, SCENE 1: 

6.20AM, IT IS STILL DARK. WIFE WAS IN BED,  HAS CLEARLY JUST WOKEN UP AND IS STILL SLEEPY. 

ACP APPEARS AT THE BEDROOM DOOR AND ASKS IF WIFE WOULD LIKE A CUP OF TEA BECAUSE THE BREVILLE TEA MAKER IS SET TO HAVE THE TEA BREWED BY 6.30.

WIFE REPLIES IN A SLEEPY AFFIRMATIVE.

HUSBAND LEAVES AND GOES BACK TO HIS OFFICE. WIFE CONTINUES TO DOZE.

SCENE 2: 

TIME IS NOW APPROXIMATELY 7AM 

WIFE STIRS AS SHE HEARS A VOICE - IT IS THE ACP TALKING/EXCLAIMING TO ITSELF IN THE HALLWAY. 

SOUNDS OF CHINA CLINKING , FRIDGE DOOR OPENING AND CLOSING.

30 SECONDS LATER, HUSBAND APPEARS IN THE BEDROOM WITH A MUG OF TEA AND DECLAIMS:

CUE HUSBAND "Never let me say again that you are impatient, Marilyn! It is not true! Thirty six minutes ago I said I'd get you a cup of tea and I am only just bringing it to you now. And you didn't complain or call out or criticise! So you are not impatient and I have been misrepresenting you for all this time. I am sorry, darling."

WIFE FAINTS FROM SHOCK. FORTUNATELY SHE IS STILL LYING DOWN AND CAN BE REVIVED WITH A CUP OF TEA WHICH HAS MIRACULOUSLY BUT BELATEDLY BEEN PROVIDED BY HER CONTRITE HUSBAND.

See? I have it from the horse's mouth! The patience of a saint is what I have. Get it? Got it? Good!

And tonight at 11.59pm all of the country apart from the Auckland area goes down from Alert Level 3 (Auckland is still in AL4) to Alert Level 2, Delta version. That means we can cross regional boundaries, but not go through Auckland unless we have a compelling reason to do so, a set destination and documentation that supports that. 

Indoor venues can only have 50 people max in them (last time it was 100), all people have to be seated, each table of patrons can only be served by one server, all servers must wear masks, there can be no bar service - the same rules (apart from masks) applied last time too. 

Same rules apply for outdoor venues, but the people limit is 100.

Gyms can open but people need to be able to be 2 metres apart (last time it was 1 metre)

We must wear masks at indoor places apart from bars and restaurants/cafes.

Weddings, funerals, tangihanga can still only have 50 people - the thinking is that these are events where people want to be physically close and hug/kiss/hongi, so limiting the number of people who will be in close contact reduces the risk of such an event being a super spreader. (Way back last year when Covid-19 first came to NZ, a wedding where one guest had come from Italy, I think, resulted in a significant number of cases, and because people had travelled from around NZ to the wedding, infected people became their own little spreader events when they returned home.)

We will be heading away in the motorhome either tomorrow or Thursday for our brief cycle collecting sojourn in the Hawke's Bay. We will be scanning in and wearing masks wherever we go, as is also required under AL2 Delta version, aka Delta Level 2.

I read this morning that some idiotic people who are not scanning in, are signing in (and plan to continue to do so) using false names and phone numbers. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!