In the little corner of my living room, working from home (or at least trying to.)

Lockdown, outbreak, new cases, quarantine, circuit breaker, pandemic, new normal — these are the new terms we had heard almost every day this past 6 months. Six months. SIX MONTHS. Six, freaking, months into the year. Where did all the time go?

I have not taken this "disease" very seriously, not until PH government have imposed a total lockdown, and all my plans of spending my birthday at the beach and seeing my family shattered. I was still under the belief that this is the "best time" to travel, right when almost all Chinese tourists are gone. There would be lesser crowd, I said. And in the span of weeks, almost all countries went into lockdown. Even Singapore. I have never thought that I would live in a such a day where we have to wear masks every day, and going outside is prohibited.

Days before the SG government went into a Circuit Breaker mode, I was in total nuts against my work because they have not allowed us, the contractors, to work from home yet. WFH instructions were only given to those permanent staff. And in this kind of trying times, this says a lot about how the employer treats their employees. Then one day, everyone was not allowed to go to the office any more.

In a snap, our every day routine changed. No more dressing up for work, I even work all day in my pajamas sometimes. No more putting on makeup. No more wearing heels. No more morning read while commuting to work (I miss that). No more lunch outs. No more after work drinks. No more meet up with friends. (I cannot even remember the last time I saw my friends.) No more travels and vacations to look forward. For three months, we were all stuck at home, trying to be as productive as needed. I can't believe it has been three months already. This is, by far, the longest time I've been away from home. Months long, and counting. I miss my family, terribly. I miss the kids.

I'm lucky, though, as I was not alone. It must have been so terrible for those people who got stuck alone somewhere. I feel guilty, sometimes. Almost everyone's life stopped. Some are suffering to make ends meet, lost their jobs; millions got the disease, hundred thousand people died; whilst here I am, found someone, in this kind of trying times. Days at home were less mundane. I don't know how I would have survived this pandemic, I might have gone insane in the first week.

This pandemic is certainly one of the greatest challenges that human kind faced. It has pushed us to the edge. But what have we learnt so far? Why does the world not seem to be kinder than yesterday? Why are there still injustices everywhere? The skies are bluer than before. Pollution is less. When can we realize that Earth does not need us, human beings?

We have now entered in the new normal. But when will the new normal become the normal?

I have forgotten how the sand feels on my feet, nor the taste of the ocean.

Nowadays, I look forward to grocery runs, and Longboard sessions.