Throwback Thursday: A Look-back at The First Quarter of the Pandemic

We were in Singapore when the lockdown started to happen. We were trying to extend Miggy's stay, but since things were getting fuzzy our application was denied. He managed to get home just a few days before the lockdown started in the Philippines. The strict movement kept us apart for almost 2 years. We've always done things together and those 2 years were very hard. I jumped out of the van to hug him when we finally arrived. 

Work from home era

I started blogging daily in 2020. It was supposed to be a one month challenge. I extended it because of the unusual circumstance. I looked back at my posts that marked how things were during the 2+ years when movement was restricted and our lives changed completely.

1. 
   February 13, 2020 - Re-aligning Plans
2. February 16, 2020 - Did You Panic Buy
3. February 17, 2020 - Mad Monday and Thinking About Immunity
4. February 29, 2020 - Living in the Time of the Coronavirus
5. March 11, 2020 - How to Enable Distance Learning for Your School
6. March 12, 2020 - How to be a Homebody
7. March 13, 2020 - The Situation in Our Homes: Manila and Singapore
8. March 16, 2020 - We Will Bear this Cross Together
9. March 18, 2020 - Your Survival Guide to Working at Home
10. March 19, 2020 - Online Grocery and Online Medicine Delivery Service
11. March 23, 2020 - The Last Stretch of March
12. March 24, 2020 - I Did the Dalgona Challenge
13. March 28, 2020 - What is Mother Nature Trying to Tell Us?
14. March 29, 2020 - Keeping Safe: Staying and Working from Home in Singapore
15. March 31, 2020 - Goodbye March, Hello April

Just before movement was restricted, I was still able to attend a friend's wedding. It's the last celebration I attended before the lockdowns started (called circuit breaker in Singapore). Mask wearing was soon required and we were advised to work from home. I didn't know that last day at the office would be the last time I'd get to go inside it. 

I was grateful though to work from home because I was having breathing issues and working in a huge office was challenging. Sweetie and I had to work out a dynamic on how to work at home together. I was pretty noisy all day with so many meetings, so he used Miggy's bedroom. We were also bent to move to a new place and spent the month of March looking for a new place. 

Thought I'd look back at what transpired 3 years ago. Things seem to be going back to "normal", but while people are adjusting back to pre-pandemic norm, I'm still at the fork of the road, thinking about what my next steps would be. 

Have you gone back to pre-pandemic norm or are you following the new normal?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Mr. Stormtrooper's Story

Mr. Stormtrooper celebrated his fourth birthday at home yesterday. We were reminded of it when his arrival video popped on FB. I told Sweetie we should celebrate his birthday! We were not able to celebrate yesterday because both of us were feeling unwell (#signsofoldage). So I thought we could do it today. 

I lined up Mr. Stormtrooper's buddies for a family photo. He used to stay in Miggy's room in our former flat. We put him there to watch over Miggy. Since we moved we put him in the living room so he could watch TV with his buddies. I think he's happier in the living room now since he gets acknowledged by those who VC with us. 

Couch view.

So, how did Mr. Stormtrooper end up with us? Well Sweetie's friend, Hannah, called him up one day and said she had something for us (since we like Star Wars). The store at her place was just going to dispose of Mr. Stormtrooper so she asked if she could have it. They gladly gave it to her. He was due to be disposed that day when she asked Sweetie to pick him up. 

Sweetie would have taken the MRT going home, but Mr. Stormtrooper was required to have his own card! So Sweetie ended up walking through the train station with Mr. Stormtrooper in tow. You can just imagine the many stares he got. Sweetie got a cab and Mr. Stormtrooper had to stay on the front seat. The seat had to be fully reclined for him to fit. Sweetie said the taxi driver kept looking at Mr. Stormtrooper throughout the ride. They also got a lot of weird stares from pedestrians. Haha. 

I've re-uploaded his coming home video here. It was a happy day haha. And yes, we are bringing him home with us. Just need to figure out how we can bring him in one piece (maybe he'll fit the Jolly gigantic box?).

Day 12 Minimalism Challenge, Spend time with loved ones. Well I do this all day now everyday. Yesterday I spent an hour on the phone with my Mom. It was pretty hard for me since I start losing my voice just a few minutes through our conversation. Well I usually have her do the talking anyway and just ask questions in between hehe. That was the big thing for me yesterday since I had to lie down the rest of the day. My prayer every night is for God to heal me so I could spend more time with my family. 

CB///*Yr2/123 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/146 #NewG323 #Home81 #StayHome #BeKind 

Mom's Lockdown Formula

I had a nice chat with my Mom earlier. She shared updates on what she's been doing and not doing. I'm relieved she's just staying home. I had a panic attack when I heard she went out last January to visit the church. She only told me she did a few months after. Good thing Kuya also confiscated her driver's license because it's prevented her from going out. 

My Mom has adjusted well to the new normal. Senior citizens have generally not been allowed out since last year. She used to complain in the beginning that she wanted to at least go to church. Good thing she understands the risks of going out and have just stayed home. She only got to go out because one of her friends took her out for a spin. 

Here's my Mom's happy to be home formula:

1. Telebabad with her amigas - yup, it's been quite hard to reach her by phone! Well, she also gets regular calls from us and her grandchildren. 

2. Gardening - it's a known rule, if you want to call Mom, don't call her during her gardening hours haha. 

3. Sewing and quilting - I sent Mom a huge box of quilting materials to keep her busy. She loves hand quilting stuff and I asked her to make me some throw pillow covers for Christmas hrhrhr. 

4. Praying - growing up I always saw my Mom with her prayer book. She'd be sitting quietly on the bed praying. She does this all day and I'm sure she's busy doing that now. 

5. Watch the news - I'm sure my Mom misses Dad. They used to discuss the news a lot. I get bits and pieces of it whenever I call her. 

I think the key to my Mom's happy lockdown vibe is the fact she has a lot of hobbies. She always tells me there's a lot to do at home. She's excited to grow more pechay using Kuya's hydrophonics set-up. Maybe I'll try that too when we go home. 

Day 11 Minimalism challenge, meditate your day. I spend some time meditating everyday. It helps me calm down and center myself. There are days though where my mind just doesn't stop whirring. What helped me learn how to meditate was the Headspace app. I just went through the 10-day trial of the app and the I've been using the technique for years now. I think I'll revisit it for a refresher course :)

CB///*Yr2/122 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/145 #NewG324 #Home82 #StayHome #BeKind