Have The Quarantine Period of Covid-19 Outbreak Changed Your Routine In A Way?

Hi, halo, hola, hej.

With April 16 marking exactly one month since the Jakarta administration implemented Work-Learn-Pray From Home to curb Covid-19 outbreak in the capital, I wonder if the quarantine period has changed you in a way. 

Although I work from home and rarely go out, I do feel that the quarantine period has wreaked havoc on my usually peaceful days. On normal days (read: pre-Covid-19), I worked on daily reports from 3 am to 12 pm, took a break for lunch/bath/nap until 3 pm, sometimes I went out to nearest convenience store just to see humans (Lol), then worked on weekly and monthly reports between 3 pm and 6 pm. Now, I just work whenever I feel helpless, which is happening most of the time.

The first few weeks had been hard for me, because there were too many news about deaths of medical workers and patients. I had weird dreams in those weeks. Not exactly nightmares, but the kind of dreams that made you think,"Why did I dream that?" upon waking up. And I seldom have dreams when I am asleep. 

The key to all of those issues is, again, acceptance. Some days it comes easy, other days it is a struggle.

Looking into the last four weeks in #SocialDistancing, here are the things that I have been implementing to keep calm and carry on.

1. I have started to wear face mask whenever I go out. I now have four masks, worn on heavy rotation.

2. I use my elbow to push the convenience store's door and avoid touching too many items in the store.

3. After going out, I wash my hands, put my outfit to wash and take a bath. All of the process is such a hassle, I prefer to just stay at home most of the time.

4. I try to limit reading news. And this is very difficult to do because my line of work involves reading news and writing summaries. My take on this issue is to take a few minutes break and do something fun after reading devastating news (most likely nibble on dark chocolate or other snacks).

5. I decided to drop one of my jobs so I have more time to sleep and rest. The process is still ongoing, I hope to hear more updates next week.

6. I re-read books and re-watch movies that have positive vibes. I still have a pile of books from the Big Bad Wolf 2020, and I am keen to finish those books too.

7. I carefully select the people I am interacting with. Some people just like to spread hoax and negative vibes, and I have enough of those in this pandemic era.

Would you care to add yours?

[Movie] The Way

From here

I watched the movie a few days ago out of randomness, and it turned out to be the right movie for the Sunday Easter. So I guess I will write a bit about the movie, especially since there is nothing exciting during this quarantine period.

Thomas Avery (Martin Sheen), an ophthalmologist in California, US, divides his busy life between his practice and golf meetings with his friends until he receives a phonecall from Saint-Jean-de-Pont, France, informing him of the death of Daniel Avery (Emilio Estevez), his only son. Daniel was in France to walk on Camino de Santiago, a pilgrim's route that spans between Saint-Jean-de-Pont, France and Santiago de Compostela in Spain.  

The older Avery immediately comes to France to bring back his son's remains. But as he checks on Daniel's backpack, he remembers how his son wanted to walk the Camino with him. So he asks the officials to cremate his son and starts on the path to Santiago with the ashes on his backpack.

During the walk to Santiago de Compostela, he meets with Joost (Yorick van Wageningen) a Dutchman wanting to lose some weight, Sarah (Deborah Kara Unger) a Canadian fleeing her abusive husband but saying she does the walk to quit smoking and Jack (James Nesbit) an Irish with a writer's block. 

Apart from giving audience beautiful views along the road, The Way is a philosophical movie that tells how people can take many roads in Camino de Santiago to reach the final point. One of the questions posed during the movie is about how the pilgrims should carry out the trip to Santiago de Compostela as they see people riding bicycles. Should the modern day pilgrims walk as people in the past did? Should the modern day pilgrims leave all the conveniences (such as credit card and smartphone) and live from the kindness of the people they meet along the way to Santiago? 

The movie is a bit slow-paced, but I think it's worth to watch during this quarantine period as it will make you questions life and how we live it.

On Educating My Septuagenarian Parents To #StayAtHome

After more than 2 weeks of #SocialDistancing and #PhysicalDistancing, I found that the most difficult thing to do was to keep my septuagenarian parents #StayAtHome. I have been trying to obey the #SocialDistancing policy since March 16, by only going out when I really need to do it. But my parents have just reduced their frequency of going out after the nearby mosque closed its public activities on March 25. Between March 16 and 25, I was having mild anxiety attack everytime they went outside (which could happen five times a day). They still go out, but not everyday.

Here are some heated debates between my parents and I:

On Covid-19 in Indonesia

Me: Please don't go outside everyday, there is an outbreak.

M: I think it's only happening in Wuhan.

Me: It's happening across worldwide, and Indonesia is included. Please just stay at home until it's safe enough to go outside.

On who can get infected by Covid-19

D: I don't think we will get infected. As Muslims, we eat halal food, we do ablution five times a day. 

Me: Then please explain to me, why Malaysia, our neighboring country that is also a Muslim majority country, has high number of Covid-19 cases and is currently holding a lockdown?

D: (went quiet)

On wearing DIY face mask
Me: I bought you face masks to wear if you need to go outside.
M: I watched in a video that the doctors said that if you feel healthy, you don't need to wear a mask.
Me: The mask he means is the surgical mask, which should only be used by doctors. We still need to wear mask, but not surgical mask.
(They still did not wear the DIY face mask for a few days. However, one day M started to wear it after watching a YouTube video about the importance of wearing face mask. Upon seeing that, I felt like seeing a version of my teenage self when I never listened to my parents and only trusted my friends. So I guess that was what it's like to be a parent and your words meant nothing compared to some YouTube videos)

On the worst case scenario of getting infected by Covid-19
M: The government has prepared many facilities to treat the people.
Me: I think it's better to stay uninfected, because the government still don't have the method to test the people. Also, when a person is tested positive, they will be isolated for days, the family cannot see them. If the worst case scenario happened, the patient dies, they would be buried by the officers. The family would not be able to guide the patient for talqin or do jenazah prayer. The patient would die alone.
M: (went quiet)

On cleaning up after going outside
Me: Where have you been?
M: Just going out for food, we came, purchased and left quickly
Me: Okay. Have you washed your hands?
M: I have taken a bath. Now I'm boiling some water for your father's bath
Me: Very good.

When they finally realize what it means to be in the risk group
M: I just saw a video that people with diabetes and other underlying health conditions are in the risk group
Me: That's what I have been trying to tell you. You are probably not in the risk group, but D is. He has diabetes, he also has asthma and pneumothorax.
M: Ok, I will try to deter him from going outside
(Somewhere inside, I sing a song and blow a confetti)

The hard part of giving them the information is to make them believe me. Just like most parents in Asian culture, they are used to become the people in power, the decision-makers, or the ones to decide if their children go to hell or heaven. It's really hard to stay calm whenever they talk back and argue, but then they remind me why I am such a stubborn kid: I get it from them!

Day #15 Of Social Distancing In The Time Of Covid-19

Hello, dearest! I hope everyone is doing okay in this trying time. Alhamdulillah I am doing good, just been very busy lately with all the chaos that is Covid-19.  Here's a quick recap of this month.

In the first week of March, the government finally announced the first two cases of Covid-19 in the country. The patients were admitted to isolation rooms, and the government said that it was tracking the people who had been in contact with the first two cases. The government appointed Achmad Yurianto as spokesperson for Covid-19.

Several new cases were announced in the second week of March, but still there were no drastic prevention measures from the government. While many people started to feel unease, many others remain oblivious to the threat. The government so far instructed people to wash their hands and avoid crowds, also #SocialDistancing term was introduced. However, on this week, the first death of Covid-19 was also announced: Patient #25, a British national who was on vacation in Bali. Another shocking news this week: a Telkom staff, who was said to be negative on Covid-19 earlier, was announced as Covid-19 positive this week. Said staff had died and had previously been admitted to several hospitals, including a hospital in Bekasi, before taken to his hometown in Cianjur, West Java. The government said that the Covid-19 test could not be done all at once. The whole nation was like...what the hell???

In the third week of March, the Jakarta administration applied Work From Home and Study From Home, starting from March 16. The administration also asked people to pray from home. While all schools were closed at once, not all companies obeyed the instruction and the mass prayers were still conducted. As a freelancer, I have been working from home. So the new policy does not have any significant impact to my daily schedule. My neighborhood was still doing its regular activities. I even saw the mothers having volleyball match this week. Meanwhile, the number of cases and deaths started to rise. I read news of dead doctors at least once a day during this week, and it really broke my heart. One of the ministers was tested positive on Covid-19.

The cases began to show up in other cities outside Jabodetabek. As patients flooded the hospitals, the medical workers were asking for more personal protection equipment (PPE). The central government prepared three emergency hospitals in Jakarta and claimed that it would hold rapid test across the country. People also started donation to help the medical workers, those affected with the WFH policy (such as GoJek drivers, people who make a living day to day, and the poor).

Things began to get serious in the fourth week of March. At least, in my neighborhood. The mosque near my home announced on Hindu's Day of Silence (March 25) that it would stop all activities: daily mass prayers, Jumat mass prayers and the al Quran study sessions. News on regions conducting local lockdown started to pop out. I think the first region I heard doing lockdown was Tegal, Central Java. The roads in my neighborhood started to become empty. With more news about the outbreak, people has finally gotten a grasp on the enormity of the problem. 

Today is Day #15 of Social Distancing in the time of Covid-19. The number of people tested positive was 1,414, and the number of deaths was 122. The administration announced it would extend WFH and SFH policy. Let's hope that everything will turn out okay. For Indonesia. For the world.

Big Bad Wolf 2020, A Book Fair Before All Things Going Covid-19

Today the Jakarta administration started the #SocialDistancing policy, which includes work from home, study from home and pray from home, to curb down the Covid-19 outbreak. But before things started to look grim in the weeks to come, allow me to bring you some photos and stories from my latest trip to Big Bad Wolf 2020 (BBW 2020), a book fair held in ICE BSD. I went to BBW 2020 on March 14, two days before the Social Distancing policy was implemented.

Cisauk train station has modern architecture style

I went there with Mbak Elly, a journo friend, last weekend. We met in Cisauk train station, walked to Modern Market to have breakfast and lunch, and hopped on a shuttle bus from the bus terminal. The train station, the market and the bus terminal are located within a walk's distance.

Nasi Langgi at Pasar Modern Cisauk

Overlooking the atrium with live music performance

Rows of food vendors

I think I will come back again to this market

We discussed the Covid-19 and the best strategies to search the books without getting in contact with other people as we walked to the BBW. Although several friends said that it was reckless of me to go to BBW in this Covid-19, I believed the crowds in BBW were different than, let's say, rock music concert or religious group meeting. Bookpeople are usually logical, read many information, and not walking in big groups. Well, maybe just me. I could be wrong, though.

Although the lines were rather long to enter ICE, once we were inside, the BBW ground was quite empty compared to last year's BBW 

We arrived at ICE BSD and found very long lines of people. We got our temperature checked before entering the building, then we were asked to use hand sanitizer. BBW has always been crowded, and although we still saw many people, there were not as many crowds as I had seen in the past BBW. The people checked the books individually, not in groups, giving a proper distance to other people. Many people wore masks.

The piles of books

This one brought memories of journo days :)

Too many choices

A gentle reminder during the time of Covid-19

This year, I found dining area inside the BBW, which was great because it meant we did not have to leave the area to get food and drink. Two years ago, I had to leave the expo area to get food and then faced another long line to get inside. The prayer area was still located outside of the expo area, though.

We spent around 7-8 hours in the BBW. Mbak Elly got several adult coloring books and Tudor period novels that she was searching. I got my fair share of books too. This year's BBW had more classic novels than the previous as I saw novels by the Brontes, Jane Eyre, and Louisa May Alcott. I even found Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in The Time of Cholera. I thought, how apt was this, and bought the novel.

So here they were, the pile of books to get me through Covid-19, lockdown, and lonely nights in my 40s. Many people may be hoarding foods, hand sanitizer, or multivitamins for Covid-19. This girl feels complete with any books worth reading and a cup of tea.

Travel Wish List (For The 40s)

I went back into the archives of this blogs and found this post. Of all the countries in the list, only China, Japan and Korea were visited and I was quite bummed to see that. However, traveling is not cheap, and I was struggling to balance work and life in my 30s, so I'm happy enough with the results. 

Just for fun, let's make the list again. Here they are in continental and alphabetical order:

Africa

Let's blame it on Disney, but apart from Tanzania (that I have yet to cross out from my previous list), I want to visit Madagascar. Other African countries that I also want to visit are Morocco in the north and South Africa.

Asia

As a Southeast Asian, I want to complete my ASEAN tour. I still have the Philippines, Laos and Myanmar in the list. I have friends in the Philippines and Myanmar, and I really hope I can make it one day.

Apart from Southeast Asia region, I also want to visit Central Asia, aka the -stan countries, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. There is another -stan country, Pakistan, but I think it falls under the South Asia category. Oh, I still want to visit India, too.

And of course, I want to visit the Gulf region, particularly Mekkah and Madinah for haj. May God grant me this travel wish list in the next few years.

Australia and the Pacific

Australia is not just a continent, it's one country, a very large one. I don't know where to start, but I really want to see Melbourne, which everyone calls as an artsy city.

Instead of Australia, I actually want to visit New Zealand, the country where Middle Earth is located, Lord of The Rings once reigned and Jacinda Ardern rules. 

Europe

It's hard to pick just one country in the Blue Continent. France still ranks first, though, but being a tropical animal, I think I will enjoy the southern Europe countries (Greece, Italy and Spain) more as they have warmer climate.

The Americas

I've been to Peru in South America, so for the next travel in this continent, I want to see the northern regions. If it's the US, I want to visit New York. If it's Canada, I want to visit Justin Trudeau (wait, what?), LOL.

Somewhere in between

The fun side of geography is there will always be parts of the world where a country is located in between the continents. Some of such countries are Turkey and Russia (between Asia and Europe), and Egypt (between Asia and Africa).

All of those are currently just wishful thinkings, but we will never know what the future holds. Let's work hard, save some money and search for cheap tickets, shall we?

Yang Patah Tumbuh, Yang Hilang Berganti

A lovely song from Banda Neira, because today is an extra day :)