March 17, 2020
First official day of being sheltered-in-place. Ironically, today is supposed to be the day we do a company-wide work-from-home test but we got overran by events.
Tired as I was last night, I had to wake up and act as if I am going to the office. I’m a seasoned remote worker so I don’t need to adjust.
Fortunately, power went back on before midnight last night. So WiFi is back on, my mobile phone fully charged and my perishable food will survive!
I normally start my day with a 15-minute breathing meditation. Pranayama. It calms me down and gets my mind ready for the day. My other cat, Isis, joins me. Followed by stretching and today, a 6-minute Well Challenge workout I follow c/o NYT. Note: available for subscribers only but you can find tons of HIIT-style 6-minute workouts online.
I started doing this now that I’m back on the road traveling for work and don’t have much time to spare. I have several conference calls starting at 9:00 am today so no time for longer exercise.
Coffee and light breakfast of quinoa cereal with walnuts, blueberries, soy milk and my favorite, cashew yogurt. Powered my computer. I’m open for business.
Super busy day with colleagues and partners adjusting to the new work-from-home environment. Then, in not only one but few of the calls, as we were chatting, majority of the women in the calls, mentioned having to juggle a new reality in their lives – home schooling the kids and working from home. The shelter-in-place order meant schools being closed. All of a sudden, the whole family is together. Spouses and kids confined in the home for almost 24 hours for the next 3 weeks!
Full disclosure: my household is DINK (double income no kids) but we have two lovely cats. Sometimes one of them wants to play when I’m working from home and if I don’t indulge since I’m busy, Tara or Isis (our cats) won’t stop making noises. It stresses me out. How much more for a full-time working mom, now finding herself working remotely from home at the same time expected to home school her kids? What a load of pressure!
Yesterday, I had to rush home and buy groceries and cooked and I was exhausted. How about my fellow working women who had to do the same and still have to contend with kids demanding attention and assurances in these uncertain times?
Folks talk about gender equality all the time. Truth be told, even with technological advances, women still bear the burden of maintaining a household and ensuring that it functions relatively smoothly. The glass ceiling hasn’t been really broken even in the home. Lean In is for the 1%.
It dawned on me that in times of crisis, women’s instinct to protect goes on full gear. I don’t know about you but when the shelter-in-place was announced, instinctively, I had a whole list of things in my mind that I needed to do – check on my loved ones, food for the house, supply for the cats, cancel appointments, gas for the car, etc, etc.
Noon time. I haven’t been paying attention to the news primarily because I didn’t want to know what’s happening in the stock market. Time for a stretch. Lunch break. But I have another conference call so I postponed having lunch until past 1 pm.
Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Guess no one is going to the bars to celebrate and get hammered in return! All the bars were ordered closed. Even Disneyland, the happiest place on Earth decided to shut its doors. We really are in a new, unchartered territory.
I’m saddened to hear about more people getting laid off in the service and hospitality industries. It was only a week and a half ago, I was in Las Vegas and in Los Angeles, with flights full and casinos and hotels bustling with people.
Now all I hear and read about are layoffs and closures.
I decided to call it a day at “work” at 5 pm. I’ve been in the house the whole time. Time for a short walk outside to stretch the legs and get some fresh air. Met some neighbors doing the same but we kept the social distance of 6 feet or more and just waved hello.
Th new reality unfolds.
