Our quarantine started last 15 March so we are on the third week. It should end on 12 April. Last Saturday, 28 March, I was speaking over the phone to my elder brother who is in the province and the thought of possible quarantine extension came about during our conversation. Why? Our confirmed cases when the quarantine started was only 300+. As of this writing, we now have 2311 confirmed cases according to our Department of Health tracking website .
In spite of the quarantine, it was the more that I was not able post in a week. I finally came lurking around and found many posts in response to the initiatives of 
My landlady sent me this photo of what our government officials have distributed to every household. It is a schedule of what time of the day someone can leave the house to buy necessities.
5:00am to 8:00am - allowable slot to get out
8:00am to 10:00am - travel ban; stay at home
10:00am to 2:00pm - allowable slot to get out
2:00pm to 5:00pm - travel ban; stay at home
5:00pm to 8:00pm - allowable slot to get out
8:00pm to 5:00am - curfew hours; no one is allowed to go out regardless of age
They put a security outpost near our residence. We already have the village gate but apparently, here is an additional installment for stricter measure. While there are different slots that we are allowed to go out, not everyone can do so. Only one person per household is allowed. I thought it may not be observed much. However when I went for evening walk the other day, I stopped by the outpost and watched a car turn around. I asked the security guards (Yes, with an s. There were two of them).
"Oh, why are you not letting them pass through?"
"One of them does not have an ID, ma'am. Both of them should."
I understand it can be very inconvenient and frustrating if I am held up like that but I was actually glad that security measures are being observed.
When the enhanced quarantine was announced by our president, our business continuity plan in the office was activated. Everyone was asked about how their internet connection at home is doing and if they have reliable computer to work on. For those who did not have one, they were allowed to bring home their office PC. This means that all of us will be working from home. Thanks to information technology that makes all these possible! My boss was saying we are very lucky because most of our tools are hosted in the cloud so we can work even from outside the office. Without the possibility of working from home, I wonder how I will survive supporting the clients that I handle. "We are not lucky. We are blessed," I thought.
For those who may not yet know, I work in the IT industry. It is an outsourcing business wherein we provide IT services to our clients.
Every day, we clock in and out remotely. I did not know what to expect with such setup but I did not realize that I will be busier than ever specially during the first week of the quarantine.
Just when we thought we are good with the BCP setup, the tools, specially our VoIP phone system, that were tested before the BCP was activated went crazy. Our clients felt the issues so complains came through. While our technical and operations team were going crazy with the troubleshooting, I (along with our CEO, thanks to him!) was on hot spot trying to have good answers to our clients. I felt like I was working for 12 hours or longer every day on that first week. There was even a time when I put a pot of water on the stove and got the pot burned! Yes. I was just boiling water and had it burned because I got into an impromptu call with our CEO. The call took longer than expected that I forgot what I put on. I almost cried while scrubbing the pot.
The craziness calmed down on the second week. I was able to breathe somehow and had my meals on time. One thing that I realized is that working from home does not really give me more free time with the lack of traveling to and from the office. When I was reporting to the office, I used to just drop by one of the restaurants along the way for my meals. This time, I have to cook for myself. And I can not survive quick meals like oatmeals all the time. When I joined my landlady to have groceries, I took the opportunity to have few leafy vegetables aside from canned goods that I stocked up.
When I was reporting to the office, I used to just drop my laundry at the laundry shop and pick them up on my way back home. Now, I have to do it myself. It is not so scary somehow. I just need to shift my mindset.
The quarantine has finacially impacted my family to a certain degree but I can not complain. I am still at work and that really matters.
I was checking back home in the province to see how they are doing and my elder brother was saying that most of our tenants did not pay rent for the month of March. Only three out of twelve paid. My brother said they usually bring their payment voluntarily. This time, they just kept quiet. My brother was having the impression that they are using the quarantine as the reason not to pay so I asked him to make rounds to the tenants. This will give him the feeler or even direct feedback as to why they are not paying. Though, I can not demand or push too much if the quarantine is really their reason. I fully understand that most of them are on daily wage earning.
We are short of seventy five percent income from the rent. My mind went running on how that will hit my family and realized that the biggest expenses is the salary of my mother's caregiver. They won't have enough for that. I called the caregiver after speaking to my brother. I asked how I can send her salary as I was thinking of online transfer. However, she said she can wait until I go home after the quarantine. I had to ask and make sure that she is okay with it because I do not want any issue with our labor code. She confirmed that it is okay, she's stuck at home anyway. That is as if she said she won't need money during this time. Well, for as long as we are providing the basic necessities then yes, I guess she will be fine.
It is funny that because of the quarantine, I did not forget to change my toothbrush on time. I have read somewhere that toothbrushes should be changed every three months but I tend to forget. This time is an exemption. Thanks to April fools' day, I guess.
I tried to find other stuff to get occupied with aside from still being busy at work plus my household chores. The long pending framing of calendar posters that I hoarded for years came to mind. I am recycling card boards as frames. I started this months ago but as usual, I have my busy excuses. With the quarantine, I can make progress with them even if little by little. I framed one poster months ago. It took me so long back then because it was my first time doing it and I have to admit that I do not have the creative mind to be able to immediately imagine how I should do it. The first attempt gave me an idea of how I should do it better next time. I felt it is more difficult to do but will create a better quality output so I am having more patience with these next crafts. I look forward to writing about the next poster that I will be completing and hanging on my wall.
Aside from the framing craft, I started a hypnosis bootcamp. It is about law of attraction and positive thinking. I am not saying I am a negative thinker but I just got curious about how hypnosis would enhance the mind. I learned about such thing through an ad that popped up on my Facebook page.
I never got into hypnotism until this time. It also never occurred to me too until this time. For some reasons, I got so curious when I saw the add and thought maybe I should try. It is just listening to hypnotic recordings so I can do it alone without the fear that whoever hypnotizes me will do me harm.
The bootcamp is for one week, one session per week and about 30 to 40 minutes per session. The first session made me doze off. I repeated it two more times on different times of the day because I thought maybe I can stay awake in the morning or during noon time. However, it still got me dozed off on different parts of the recordings these times.
The second session also got me dozed off but I did not repeat anymore. I thought maybe I will just go through the sessions first and repeat the whole program later on.
I finished the third session without dozing off. However, it did not make me still. I was so active that I thought I was not hypnotized at all. I am wondering and observing myself as to what has changed. I do not see much. Am I so headstrong that my mindset is not shifting? Or am I failing to see the change? Or is it too early to see the change because I have four more sessions to listen to? One can not be more curious than I am. As the hypnosis has been emphasizing, manifest and the universe will bring it to you. So bring it on!
The quarantine can sound daunting but not really. We just need to find ways to be productive and keep moving while in restricted area. It is quarantine, not a prison so cheer up! Enjoy it while it lasts. Make the most of it because when this is over, I am sure something will be missed somehow.
Keep the faith and stay strong! This too shall pass and life will go on...
