Day 3 of lockdown due to COVID-19

We woke up at 5.45am, in time for the special Urbi et Orbi blessing by Pope Francis at 6am. He shared in his message to the faithful, the story of Jesus calming the storm as narrated in the Gospel of Mark. His words ring true in today's circumstances, as people cry out to the Lord: "do you not care if we perish?" Such a powerful message.

Now is not the time of God’s judgment, but of our own: “a time to choose what matters and what passes away, a time to separate what is necessary from what is not.”

This reminded me of Rembrandt's stolen "Storm in the Sea of Galilee" painting. I would like to hunt down a replica of this painting to display in our home to remind us of this event in history, and more importantly to remind us of what is truly important.

The Pope also offered plenary indulgence at this time. This is of significant importance, especially to those currently afflicted with COVID-19.

After the extraordinary blessing, we stayed in the bedroom as it's quite a wet and chilly day today. We were able to catch the holy mass broadcast at Vatican before finally going to the kitchen for breakfast, with my wife and daughter cooking Champorado.

We decided to take it slow today. We stayed home the whole day. It's been raining incessantly anyway so that's a great excuse to hibernate. Which I did, for a couple of hours in the afternoon after I tidied up a bit.

In between naps, we brought out the old XBox and played motion games.

These dancing games and sports titles are so much fun! It's been a while since we last played and today was the perfect opportunity for it. In fact, it's already past 11pm as I write this blog,  but my daughter is still playing Kinect Sports.

Sometime in the afternoon I asked Kuya to help me with mending our bean bag. There's just too little styrofoam balls in it and I decided to add the extra ones we have in the garage. The zipper is broken so I asked Kuya for help with operating the sewing machine.

Lunch break!


We've been watching this Korean series "Who are you: School 2015 via Netflix. We finished the series today. The storyline was interesting, and is just the second Asian series we have completed together. The songs are also quite catchy; I'll try to add those in my playlist, next to my ever reliable 80s soundtrack.

We also watched this adaptation of the movie Annie in Netflix. My daughter likes this version, but I prefer the original.

There's 83 new cases here in New Zealand, making the total 451.

Day 2 of lockdown due to COVID-19

Yesterday was more eventful than today. I started work at around 8.20, and ended past 6. It's understandable though because there's a lot going on, especially due to the nature of my work. But this time I made sure to take even a five-minute stretch break every couple of hours, and half an hour lunch.

A major 'casualty' of this lockdown are the community spaces, such as the Library. We tried to visit and hoard some books but were too late. My consolation is that we have other books here at home that we can read in our free time anyways, so all is not lost.

Someone started this trend of displaying stuffed toys - primarily teddy bears - by the windows of homes. Kids in a lockdown situation may well find it difficult to cope with staying indoors all the time, and even when they're outside, there's a limit to where they can go. So these displays are a cool distraction. My wife and daughter decorated our window with some of our stuffed toys, with each one representing us. Guess which one is me.

Yesterday was such a bright, sunny day that even if I ended work at past 6, there was still enough light outside for us to do a little gardening. I repotted a couple of plants and weeded out our small patch of garden.

Yesterday we also dared to walk a couple of blocks down our main street. This is not a violation actually, because people are allowed to take a stroll for exercise for as long as you stay local. We passed by a couple of cyclists, someone walking their dog, and a family of 4 who waved hello from a distance. Today was a bit gloomy so we stayed inside most of the time.

Tina and Christine are having a nice time with their cooking session, and they even brought me piping hot coffee and this banana toast concoction they love making. Yum. Must take a photo next time.

Today there are 85 new cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand, with a man in his 70s in intensive care. There have now been 368 cases, with 37 recovered and 8 in hospital.

This is a far cry from just the 5 cases we had less than a month ago. That time seems so far away now.

Day 1 of lockdown due to COVID-19

Tonight marks the end of the first day of a 4-week nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19. It still feels so surreal, like we're taking part in some experiment and that this is not our current reality.

In the lead-up to today, people have been panic-buying inspite of the government's assurance that supermarkets and other essential businesses will remain open. We did not go all out ourselves, but just bought some extra items so we don't have to go out too soon to replenish. The irony of it all was that people were so close in proximity to each other that chances of getting infected would have exponentially increased!

Needless to say, stocks of pantry staples quickly became scarce. All sorts of rice have gone, even those for sushi. We were planning to cook pasta on some days, but those flew off the shelf too!

As we prepared to work from home, I was starting to discover that my daughter's desk was not a good fit (not enough leg room, desk space, etc) so I decided to drop by the local office supplies store to get one. This is what I found:

I had to order online instead, as nearby branches have also sold out.

On the day before the lockdown, social distancing started to become the norm. The queues were longer but were now more orderly. Customers were requested to wipe down the trolley handles and to disinfect hands before entering the supermarket.

The queues were extraordinarily long. There was a 150% jump in supermarket sales, and this is comparing with the busy Christmas season.

A virus scare though won't deter plant parents from bagging a bargain. Monsteras were being sold at half price at a Bunnings, so I did a little lunch trip to buy one for a friend. Nada. Hoping not to waste the trip, I dropped by KMart to buy some weights for home exercises. All weights gone! It was seriously ridiculous. And you should have seen the McDonald's drive-thru!

These are uncertain times indeed. I've actually been working from home since the start of this week, so there's a bit of normalcy there. The added bonus is that I can finally play music while working, and have my lunch on a plate instead of a lunchbox. But when you're alone working by your desk, you don't notice the time and it's a bit difficult to squeeze in some stretching or rest breaks.

Day 1 has been uneventful so far. Lots of work... it's actually even busier than when I'm in the office. But starting tomorrow I'll try to set some stretch breaks. That desk I ordered couldn't  come soon enough.

Today, there are 78 new cases here in New Zealand, bringing the total to 283.