So.. we've been in quarantine for two months now.. How y'all doin?
I read news about crowded pastry shops and traffic in Tomas Morato over the weekend despite the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) here in Metro Manila. Apparently, since it was Mother's Day last Sunday, people thought it'd be okay to go out and line up for cakes and forget the whole social distancing thing. Don't get me wrong, I understand that moms are important and definitely worth celebrating, but there are so many ways to do so than with just cake. For example, you can make her breakfast in bed, you can give her a massage, you can write her a poem, or maybe spend the entire day watching something together. Moms are really simple in the sense that all they want is to see the family happy and for everyone to get along - at least that's what my mom would always say whenever we'd ask her what she wanted for her birthday or Mother's Day. But of course, that never stopped us from getting her something special.
Since I'm all the way in the province, I decided to get my two moms (maternal and in-law) egg tarts from Lord Stow's Bakery. I ordered them via Instagram on May 2 (eight days before Mother's Day) and booked a rider using MNL Riders the following day (after trying to book via Lalamove a couple of times). Lalamove and Grab have proven difficult the last couple of weeks - that could've been one of the reasons why everyone went out last Sunday, since they couldn't get anyone to deliver anything to their homes. Maybe. Good thing I thought ahead.
Photo from my momma
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Anyway, in this post, I thought I'd share how the whole ECQ has been for an introvert like me. To be honest, it hasn't been hard. For the first two weeks of the quarantine, I went on a self-imposed isolation being that I had visited my parents' house and found out days later that my dad was exposed to someone who had the virus. I didn't want to get my in-laws, particularly, Tim's grandmother, to get infected in case I was a carrier, so I had to play it safe and stay in our house the entire time. Tim went in and out since he still had to work, but I was pretty much locked in our space for an entire two weeks. And it was okay. I honestly didn't mind it. In fact, that's when I started working out (and now I'm on week 8, so huge progress!).
I'm someone who likes being in her own space. I don't mind being alone since I feel like I have more control of what I do in my day; I can lay out things to be done and schedule it in a way that I don't pressure myself too much yet still finish everything that's on my list. I'm fine spending hours lying in bed, watching random YouTube videos, scrolling through Instagram or Facebook, or chatting away. Video calls, on the other hand, are a totally different story. I've gone on numerous video calls with Tim's five-year old niece, but whenever friends try to schedule something, I avoid it like the plague. Don't get me wrong, I don't say yes then flake on the day, I just avoid the topic altogether. But yeah, every single time these groups have gone on calls, I'm never there. Message me all you want, it's fine, but video calls are just not something I'm into. It sounds bad, I know, but I do make sure to explain to them afterwards, and lucky for me, they understand. Real friends will understand. :)
I think, right now, it's really important to focus on one's mental health. The huge thing is to not compare yourself to others. Your friends may be doing a lot of cooking right now, some could be working on losing weight or doing all sorts of online classes - what they do shouldn't affect you because we all handle crises differently. You have to focus on yourself, and do what feels right for you.
Since moving to the province, Tim and I have been around more people due to work. We practice social distancing and wearing of masks, but basically from Mondays to Sundays, we're all together in one space and we eat together as well. I wanted to make sure that I still had time for myself, so I've set a small window (from 4pm to 7pm) where I lie down, meditate, exercise, then finally shower. I really treasure this time alone since being around people can be too much sometimes. Once I get all of the things I want to do out of the way, I'm really able to focus on my time with Tim (we usually just watch Netflix after dinner and talk about my latest online finds lol).
Oh and we've been cooking a lot more too, which is great. I just hate that there's limited ingredients available here, but it's really not a big deal compared to what's going on in the world right now. But yeah, for an introvert like me, quarantine is not a problem. In fact, I'm kinda thriving. I do miss walking around and being under the sun sometimes (and of course, the occasional ramen), but still blessed to be alive and to be able to afford more than the essentials at this time. Hope everyone's keeping safe!
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Anyway, in this post, I thought I'd share how the whole ECQ has been for an introvert like me. To be honest, it hasn't been hard. For the first two weeks of the quarantine, I went on a self-imposed isolation being that I had visited my parents' house and found out days later that my dad was exposed to someone who had the virus. I didn't want to get my in-laws, particularly, Tim's grandmother, to get infected in case I was a carrier, so I had to play it safe and stay in our house the entire time. Tim went in and out since he still had to work, but I was pretty much locked in our space for an entire two weeks. And it was okay. I honestly didn't mind it. In fact, that's when I started working out (and now I'm on week 8, so huge progress!).
I'm someone who likes being in her own space. I don't mind being alone since I feel like I have more control of what I do in my day; I can lay out things to be done and schedule it in a way that I don't pressure myself too much yet still finish everything that's on my list. I'm fine spending hours lying in bed, watching random YouTube videos, scrolling through Instagram or Facebook, or chatting away. Video calls, on the other hand, are a totally different story. I've gone on numerous video calls with Tim's five-year old niece, but whenever friends try to schedule something, I avoid it like the plague. Don't get me wrong, I don't say yes then flake on the day, I just avoid the topic altogether. But yeah, every single time these groups have gone on calls, I'm never there. Message me all you want, it's fine, but video calls are just not something I'm into. It sounds bad, I know, but I do make sure to explain to them afterwards, and lucky for me, they understand. Real friends will understand. :)
I think, right now, it's really important to focus on one's mental health. The huge thing is to not compare yourself to others. Your friends may be doing a lot of cooking right now, some could be working on losing weight or doing all sorts of online classes - what they do shouldn't affect you because we all handle crises differently. You have to focus on yourself, and do what feels right for you.
Tomato Cream Pasta
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Don't forget to follow me on Instagram and like my Facebook page for more stories like this!