In the 10-odd months since COVID-19 began restricting our lives , I - and almost everyone I know - have been happy to abide by the ever-changing rules the government has imposed to stop the spread of the virus.
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And it really hasn't been that hard; in fact I've been grateful to only have to make a slew of relatively small changes knowing that it's all for a good reason.
I have worked from home since March - mostly reporting on COVID-19 and listening in daily to the NSW Premier's 11am media updates to inform Illawarra residents of the latest government advice.
I wear a mask at the supermarket, I wash my hands a lot more often than I used to and sanitise on entry to shops and restaurants. I've had my COVID tests, avoided seeing my grandma if I even have the slightest tickle in my throat, and all year big social occasions have gone by the wayside, replaced by responsibly spaced or outdoor catch ups in smaller groups.
I know the meaning of the four square metre rule and the two square metre rule - phrases I'd never heard before this year - and I know how significant the "24 hours to 8pm" is every day.
And truly, given the relative freedoms we have here in Wollongong - both freedom of movement, and freedom from a highly contagious and potentially dangerous disease - I wouldn't live anywhere else in the world.
Save for those few weeks when the cursed Ruby Princess was parked at Port Kembla, we've been more or less untouched by actual cases of COVID-19.
In total, the whole Illawarra-Shoalhaven region from Helensburgh to Ulladulla has had 145 cases - mostly acquired overseas and found in returning travellers.
In Wollongong, we've had no community cases for months and months, NSW Health maps show there are no active cases here, and the closest the latest outbreak in the Northern Beaches has come is Cronulla. No local venues have been exposed. There's not even traces of the virus in our sewage.
Considering all this, it's particularly galling that my family won't be able to have our family Christmas gathering this year.
It's supposed to be at my mum's house - out on the deck - in Kanahooka, where we would normally have about 20 adults and a handful of young kids round for dinner. As mum said, it's really nothing in the scheme of things, it's just one day and we can have another family catch up soon, hopefully, when these restrictions have ended.
Sure - but seriously, trying to work out which adults might be able to come, and how to split the family (not to mention the food!) so we can gather within the rules just seems farcical.
If only we had a family member who lived on the other side of Lake Illawarra, which would allow all 20-odd of us to trek there from our homes in Wollongong and legally gather.
If only it wasn't forecast to rain and we could move the celebrations to the neighbouring public park, where we would legally be able to have 100 people - even though we're still in Wollongong.
If only we'd booked a restaurant this year - although God knows if they'd still be able to fit us in given the restrictions for Wollongong venues have also changed.
If only we could all afford to pack up and head to my cousin's house in Melbourne - where bafflingly Wollongong isn't considered a hot spot.
There's not many people I know who haven't in some ways been caught up in the confusion of the past few days, as the badly communicated new restrictions have been rolled out by the NSW government.
I know people who hotfooted it home to Victoria for fear they would be locked in 14 days of hotel quarantine if they didn't make it back by Monday night, only to find out Wollongong was considered ok by the Victorians.
I know people wondering if they should cancel their first holiday this year, because it's in Queensland and the Queensland government - unlike the Victorian one - does consider Wollongong a hot spot and will continue to do so until January 8.
I know Sydneysiders, who live a lot closer to this outbreak than I do, who are legally allowed to host a 50 person soiree at their holiday house in the Shoalhaven on Christmas if they really want to (although this was touch and go for a day or two, when the Premier and Health Minister "mistakenly" said the whole Illawarra-Shoalhaven region was a hot spot).
I know someone who will be able to head to Manly - in the Northern Beaches - on Christmas Day, where his 10-person family will gather, and then the next day he could drive back and host a 50-person gathering at his house in Shellharbour.
Asked why Wollongong has been included in the latest restrictions - even though up until now it hasn't been in Greater Sydney for the purposes of the pandemic (or much else, like government funding!) - all the government can say is that it's "health advice". Oh, and there's also been some vague explanation about large crowds and noisy venues increasing aerosol spread.
And I guess, so far this mysterious "health advice" has served us well, so it's something we'll just have to swallow. Which is fine, this is 2020 after all.
But I can't help thinking this is just another way poor old Wollongong has been a bit screwed by a government which doesn't seem to know much about us at all.