After completing the Sumba project, I thought I could have calm days ahead. However, another write-up project has waited just around the corner. This time, it's about the earthquakes that hit Lombok Island in 2018. I did not have to fly over to Lombok Island as the team promised to provide me with the necessary data. However, the data compiling process was not as smooth as I had expected and there were some interviews that I should conduct via Microsoft Teams, so the project was a bit delayed behind schedule.
The main issues that I needed to write were about emergency relief and disaster risk reduction. I am excited to work on the project because it is a relevant issue for Indonesia, which sits on the Ring of Fire and is vulnerable to various kinds of natural disaster.
Tangent: it's a bit funny that I have been getting works on long-form articles because a few months ago, I sort of complained to a friend, wishing that I could write long-form articles.
Due to this Lombok earthquake project, I downloaded Microsoft Teams on my cellphone, as my trusty old laptop (which will turn 11 years old this June/July) could not download the app. I simply hope that my cellphone (which will turn four years old this May) will be able to keep up working with Skype, Webex, Zoom, and Google Meet that have been downloaded previously.
Another issue that happened this week was my work partner experienced hernia nucleus pulposus (HNP) due to sitting for hours on the floor without any cushion during this Work-From-Home period. She was hospitalized for a few days, and then she was scheduled for MRI or CT scan (?).
On HNP, I have a few friends with the conditions, so I have been trying to connect my work partner to my friends. All of my friends with HNP recommended swimming or walking on the swimming pool as part of the physiotherapy. I relayed the information to her, but at the moment, she insisted on going to an acupuncturist.
I had to take over her duties because she was still in pain if she sit for too long. So this week, I had to adjust and worked around my schedules to ensure all works were completed on (or before) deadlines. My boss asked whether I needed a back up, but I think it would be a hassle to train an intern just for several months. I think the works are still manageable, as long as I stay on course.
Anyway, this incident that happened to my work partner has raised my awareness on the hidden risk of working from home. As working from home is far more comfortable than working from office, sometimes most of us could sit for hours, and this is not good for our backbone health. Now, I try to have a five-minute break after one-hour of work to stand up, stretch my body and have a glass of water.
I guess I will have my schedules busy in months ahead, until she gets better and resumes her works. In the meantime, let's keep working and carry on stretching in between works and breaks, people.
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