March 28, 2020

Saturday was a blur. Actually more like EXHAUSTING! Our cleaning ladies, H & A, are supposed to be here to help keep the house in order but because we didn’t want to take a chance and also for their own and their family’s sake, we asked them not to come. Realizing that helping us every couple of weeks is their sole means of livelihood, we sent them their usual fee and added an advance in case they need some extra to help tie them over until this wretched virus goes away.

I mentioned in my earlier blog that if you are reading this and you have the means, please extend a helping hand – whether to the folks that help clean your homes or your elderly neighbors who may need some assistance running errands. If not, think about donating your time or any monetary amount to the food banks around your community. There’s too many people who’ve lost their means of livelihood. For those of us who are still blessed to have work, extend a lifeline.

Anyway, it’s been a while since I really picked up a vacuum cleaner. I travel quite a bit for work so outsourcing the housekeeping chore is a sensible thing to do. I realized how spoiled I’ve become when I didn’t even know how to manipulate the machine anymore! I got the hang of it after a while. Changing sheets, cleaning the toilets, mopping the floor of the entire house. I was whooped! I’m a master of multi-tasking though, so while I was doing all these, I was also doing laundry. Hurray for my kind!

I motivated myself by pretending that it’s an exercise and I’m burning extra calories. Lesson – I wrote H&A a THANK YOU note, telling them how grateful we are for what they have been doing for us. We do thank them every time but this one is more of an acknowledgment of the major contribution they have been providing as trusted members of our home. Now I truly know how physically demanding the task is!

Obviously, I didn’t have the energy to make dinner so we had to order in via our trusted, Caviar. We’re also minimizing contact so we asked the delivery person to just leave the package in front of the door. Contactless delivery is recommended by health experts. Note – because CoVid19 virus can live in cardboard surfaces for at least 24 hours and in plastic for up to 72 hours, when you get something from outside delivered to you, best to take that food out of the package as soon as possible and place the packaging in your garage and/or your recycling bins and wash your hands with soap and water before handling the food or delivered items.

Dinner was Indian but it wasn’t that great. Our favorite Indian resto doesn’t do deliveries (too bad!) so we had to settle for second best but it wasn’t even average.

Highlight for Saturday was my video chat early evening with my gal pals somewhere in Southeast Asia. Like most of the area, they’re all in quarantine. It was fun talking to them and “seeing” them. We regularly communicate via message app but it’s great to be able to talk live and in real time. Thanks to great technological strides in communication, we could see and hear each other clearly. Time flew and before we all knew it we were talking for 1.5 hours. I highly recommend for you to reach out to family and friends in these unusual times. We’re all confined mostly indoors and not all of us are able to cope and adjust easily especially if that person is living alone. Sheltering in place is very isolating. Touching base whether via text messaging, phone call, social media or teleconference just to check on each other is a wonderful thing. Reach out and virtually keep in touch!

March 29, 2020

Woke up a bit more rested. It’s Sunday so it’s pancake day. I try to have some traditional routine at home. Since we’re mobile a lot pre-CoVid, and weekends are pretty much the only times we could sit and have breakfast together, Sundays are pancake brunch days and reading the Sunday paper. Yes – we still subscribe to the news in print but it’s only for Sundays. I like the quiet time after brunch of just reading the paper. I also love the San Francisco Chronicle’s Pink Section, to get info on what’s going on around the Bay and its Cartoon section.

Today is no different. CoVid19 or not. Plus, I enjoy cooking when I have the time. It’s therapeutic for me.

Then another task – ironing! I have postponed doing so since first weekend of being sheltered in place but I can’t postpone it any longer. I can’t outsource the task for now so before it becomes a mountain I can’t climb, might as well conquer it now! Fortunately, since we’re not dressing up for work, the pile wasn’t that high.

I typically just have a couple of meals on weekends. Heavy late brunch and dinner. I had some free time, finally, so I decided to go for a walk around our neighborhood. Funny how quickly everyone has adapted to the new norm. As I was walking down the curbside, another person was walking towards me and both of us simultaneously stopped well before the 6-feet social distance requirement is breached. He apologized while I moved to the side of the street. I laughed and told him nothing to apologize for, we averted the faux pas. Most of the few walkers I met along the way were all careful to maintain the distance. I’m glad that people are following the guidelines. I dropped by the local grocer to buy bread and even the staff are wearing masks and gloves. Cool beans!

On my way back home, I glanced upon a sign on a driveway of one of our neighbors. She’s a nurse and asking for N95 masks. We already know how the US government had bungled preparations for this pandemic and the dire need for supplies particularly N95 masks. I must confess – we have a box of N95 masks at home that I bought right after the California wild fire season. I figured we might need masks again when summer comes so might as well plan for it. I have vulnerable members of my family and wanted to make sure we have the supply. Having given them each a mask, we have 4 left. I’ve been thinking about donating what we have but I didn’t know how.

Serendipitously, one of the headlines in the paper today is that California had 21 million N95 masks that they’ve stockpiled but all are expired. Geez.

After I read her roadside post, I felt I needed to help no matter how small. I went home and conferred with the hubby if he’s ok to give up our 4 remaining masks and he agreed. I feel strongly that we should try to help protect these frontliners against CoVid19. These are the healthcare providers who are risking their lives and their families’ health, too, in order to help others live and/or recover against this deadly virus. If we can get one nurse or doctor healthy to try and save more, I’m willing to give up my mask for the common good. They can save more lives than I can. As I said, we all have to try and do something to help. It’s our future and we’re racing against an invisible clock. Every step and gesture counts.

What are you doing to help? Maybe sharing the video below to a few of your friends and family is a good first step? Go for it!