Posts tagged COVID19

Isolation Diaries: PK8303 and Eid-ul-Fitr | Lockdown Day 64

Family & Personal People & More

Dear 2020,

Have you had enough already?

Amid a pandemic and global crisis, my nation is now bearing a national tragedy. And that too right before Eid-ul-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. We lost many precious lives and for some out there, it was a loss of a lifetime. Eid this year was different to begin with, many of our traditions were to be held at home, online and in quarantine.

In my household, it has not been the same for many years now. After I lost my father to Multiple Myeloma in 2012 and my brother, Anas to a bike accident in 2014, Eid is more about prayers and missing them even more. So for my family, it wasn’t of a big change anyway. We washed, put on clean clothing, offered prayers, and made Pa and Anas’ favorite repast. And honestly, we prefer the simplicity and the essentialism of Eid.

I’ve been reading, some nasty comments on social media, criticizing people who dressed up for Eid. As long as you stayed indoors and were not responsible for an unnecessary congregation, who cares! To each with its own, we are already at the mercy of an outbreak, and we must do everything in our hands (literally) to keep our overall well-being at best. If you stayed in your pajamas all day long and binged Ertuğrul, that’s okay and if you wore a pair of 6-inch stilettos and posed for that perfect sun-kissed selfie up on the roof-top, that’s perfectly fine as well. Be kind. It is very easy to pour out negativity hiding behind a handle/username and it is impossible to comprehend an individual’s personal life from the outside.

In fact, my baby brother and I spent the day, splashing around the inflatable pool all afternoon and that was okay too. Although I think that made us miss Anas a whole lot more. Not to mention, the Biryani spread, reminded us of Pa’s annual Eid Day Party for our extended family. So, yes, it wasn’t perfect but it was everything to be grateful for.

Its been 64 days of lockdown, Mom is itching to go outside for things that do not involve life-saving drugs and pantry items. Areeb cannot focus on his curriculum anymore and I am scared to think the world might have switched to remote for good. Do you think our work-life will never be centralized again? shudders

 

Isolation Diaries: A Millennial Dealing with Quarantine and a Reading Slump | Lockdown Day 25

Books & Reading

I have not only joined an online course, tried my hand at cooking, organised my bookshelves but also gave my baby brother a very questionable haircut; I am a Millennial dealing with isolation during a Pandemic.

#WorkFromHome has not entirely been traumatising even when the business has seen better days. Mom’s health hasn’t been all too well lately but she is holding up like a champion, not to mention my brother has managed to track down many family heirlooms in the last few weeks. As a family, we’ve managed to squeeze our expenses, rid myself of a few mistakes but uncertainty continues to loom as new cases surface with each morning.

In the midst of trying to plank the curve, I’ve been hit with what I am terming as a ‘Reading Slump’ but it could be entirely something different. I’ve been keeping my mood swings, eating habits and exercising patterns in check but have sadly failed when it comes to reading. For someone who looks forward to finding some precious time over the weekend to read, the idea of a lockdown sounded aspiring. Every year I try to read as much as possible; setting up a GoodReads goal; squeezing in a few pages every chance I get; during work commute, during lunch hour, before hitting the hay etc. Reading is not a mere hobby but rather a form of self-expression for me. I’ve was once caught secretly reading at a cousin’s wedding whilst she said “I Do” – so you get the gist right?

I also made use of the first week of lockdown with much success and read around a dozen books but for the past few weeks, I haven’t been able to read, I look onto my shelves, admire my TBR pile, add titles to my wishlist on Amazon but I cannot seem to find myself get lost inside a book. Often I find myself reaching the bottom of the page only to realize I haven’t the foggiest of what I’ve just read.

Given what is happening outside the comfort of my home, is this feeling completely normal? Is the isolation getting to me? I was under the impression that as long as I keep making ends-meet, I will be sane and will not let these uncharted times effect me but was I wrong to think I’ll be immune to a global, mind shift?

The TBR on my nightstand is collecting dust (hypothetically – I dust voraciously) while I scroll through Twitter for the umpteenth time. And I don’t know how to overcome this situation. I guess, we are all struggling to focus right now and surviving a global pandemic is certainly not a cake walk.

If you are reading this, here is a little prayer for you, I know its difficult and what you are struggling  with right now – too shall pass. I hope things will get better for you and your loved ones. Here’s to a better time ahead!

Isolation Diaries: 2 Weeks of Uncertainty, Books & Extremism | Lockdown Day 15

Business, Tech & Workplace People & More

Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to announce that we’ve made it through 2 whole weeks of lockdown without murder, mayhem and only a few breakdowns.

It’s been over 2 weeks for ‘work from home’ and I am starting to lose it – seriously. I miss my office, my team, my desk and the fact I’ve zero tickets to resolve and zero moves on my Kanban board is driving me crazy.

Last Friday, I had my first, official nervous breakdown and I can no longer feel the ‘positive vibes’. People say, all this will end soon and we will go back to our normal lives. Does nobody realize that things will never be the same again. Hasn’t history taught us nothing? Take both the World Wars for instance, did we not witness a global shift? Or the Bubonic Plague and even the Spanish Flu, such pandemics lead only to far-ranging consequences that we cannot even begin to comprehend.

The COVID-19 outbreak has transformed our lives, disrupted markets, exposed political and economical incompetence. This could also very well mean the end of globalization and clearly a shift in the international power structure; from West to East. We are headed for a future with vulnerability and stiffer purse-strings.

Corporations, companies and even small businesses will rethink their decisions, partners and strategies. We will see lower profits but perhaps with much more stable and domestic backup plans plus reserves.

One thing is for sure, nothing will ever be the same again and in the midst of all this uncertainty, we need to find a way to “adjust” to the new normal. What actually bothers me is that I cannot even start to work to such habituating. This time space between isolation and working towards the adjustment is killing me.

In other news, I packed away over 700 books for sale and donation over the weekend, kept only my favorites (I think 379) and resolved to switch to e-Reading. I guess Quarantine does things to you!  Don’t get me wrong, this was not an impulsive move, my theory is, I will save more and hoard less when I opt for eBooks. According to my family, my decision will vanish once the Pandemic ends.

Moreover, I did catch-up with Manifest, I am not good at following TV shows especially after FRIENDS or Arrow but I just want to know what happened to Montego Air Flight 828!!! Is that too much to ask??? I’ve also tried a couple of recipes, managed to workout 11 days out of 15, and somehow kept my skincare game up. Am I doing isolation right? Haven’t baked or made Dalgona coffee or enrolled in any online course yet though.

I work from 09:00 AM to 06:00 PM, Monday to Friday, adhere to a routine, constantly look for opportunities, workout in the morning, consume healthy-esque meals and worry about sagging. But nothing works; precariousness eats me from the inside.

And just like everyone else in the Bookstagram or BookTube community, I too was thrilled to have all this time to read and I managed to complete a dozen books in about 10 days but for some reason since April walked in, I don’t feel the inclination. And I guess, I’ve nothing more to say.

Here’s hoping you are doing your best to stay indoors and attempting sanity. And its perfectly all right if you don’t walk out of this pandemic with a brand new set of skills. You are doing fine. We are fine. For This Too Shall Pass...

 

 

 

Isolation Diaries: 3 Things I Will NOT be Doing Amid COVID-19 Pandemic | Lockdown Day 8

Family & Personal Movies & Entertainment People & More

Yes, its dark and daunting, yes we’ve all the time in the world and yes its all about mental well-being but here are 3 things that I refuse to indulge in, no matter what!

Join TikTok

No. Nopes. Nada. Never! I will not be joining the infamous, video-sharing social networking service unless ByteDance decides to donate billions worth of canned food or fund mass production of COVID-19 vaccine.

Binge Watch Netflix

I no longer harbour the patience and perseverance required to watch a complete TV show. Those 15 minute compilations of ‘Top Olicity Moments’ over atYouTube are enough to quench my thirst of angst!

Redecorate

I will not give in to a home renovation project – irrespective of what my mother thinks! Do not have the head-space or the money to do so. I will leave furnishings and ornaments to the expert influencers over at Instagram.

Let me impose the gravity of the situation on to you (my reader), we are NOT STUCK inside, we are choosing to save lives. And we can do just about anything to keep ourselves occupied, entertained and in good spirits. But that does not mean that you will see me in a lip-sync video anytime soon!

P.S.

Work from Home Day: 12
Lockdown Day: 08
Books Read during Isolation: 9
Books Read in March: 12
Recipes Tested: 04
Floors Mopped Day Count: 08
Exercise Day Count: 07
Old Movies: 04
New Movies: 02
Breakdowns: 04

 

 

 

 

Isolation Diaries: Lockdown Day 03 & My Daily Routine

Family & Personal People & More

“I am not going to talk about it…”

That seems to be the starting point for each and every content creator nowadays and ultimately ends up donating at least 3 minutes to it. But I chose to address it! And why wouldn’t I?

It changed the very shape of this planet, how can you NOT address it? But first as you all know I am a Type-A control freak so let us begin today with a quick, smart lesson:

First of all people – it’s not a “Coronavirus” pandemic!

Coronaviruses

are a family of viruses that range from the common cold to MERS coronavirus, which causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and SARS coronavirus causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

What the world is fighting today is caused by a “Novel Coronavirus”, which brings me to my second point; the virus is called “SARS-COV-2” that causes the newly discovered, infectious disease we know as Coronavirus Disease 2019 or more commonly called as COVID-19.

Now that we are clear about the names, let’s “address” the situation at-hand or as my brother puts it: Its Pandemonium I tell you Sis, Pandemonium!

I am sitting here in my PJs on a Wednesday morning trying to explain to people what is COVID-19 and on the inside, I am screaming knowing very well that I might not be getting my next paycheck. These are uncharted times, nobody expected World War Z to actually happen, did they? Whether you talk about local businesses like Liberty Books or giant corporations like McDonald’s, doors are sealed-shut everywhere you turn. And of course it was need of the hour, the only way we can fight this pandemic is to stop the spread as much as humanly possible. #StayHomeSaveLives isn’t just another trending hashtag on Twitter, it’s our reality.

The path ahead is dark, dubious and daunting, practicing social distancing and keeping the bills on the side is the best we can do. It isn’t a solitary fight, it is a global combat and whether we like to admit it or not, we are in it – together.

We often find ourselves complaining over how quickly a weekend turns to a Monday morning and here I am freaking out on Lockdown Day 03 only. Just goes to show, we as humans cannot be contained and cannot be satisfied.

If you are reading my thoughts from the comfort of your home, trying to look on the positive side, I might not be helping you. Think about it, many of us have already lost our jobs while the rest are pondering on how to scale back operations, announce pay cuts or even lay off resources. A 120 nm virus changed the way the world works and will have changed buying habits of 7.8 billion inhabitants once this is all over.

Instead of mumbling into nothing, should I focus on how the air seems to be a little less polluted? How these dire circumstances have brought us closer together? Or should I be worried when my baby brother declared earlier today, “Sis, I am bored, I just want to blow-up the world and get it over with…”

You (yes, I mean you) are probably lying in bed, reading my anxiety-induced-piece and wondering why you ever clicked the given link but do you know what you just did my friend? You helped #PlankTheCurve / #FlattenTheCurve and we all are playing our part but is that enough? The pandemic will end but our lives will never be the same again. Right now this very moment, we’ve people trapped with an abusive partner or families with zero financial cushioning praying the virus would be far off better. And it horrifies me to my very core to think about the world soon after. We will all have to adapt to a new way of living and working, some of us will lose more than others and will result in intensely vulnerable conditions.

These and so many other questions leave me wondering through the night so what do we do about that. We try to stay calm (or in my case pretend in front of Mom that all is good), try to maintain a daily routine and prepare for a draconian future because for an indefinite period of time, this will be OUR NEW NORMAL.

In order to better grasp the circumstances, I’ve stuck to my daily routine and have made use of all the time we have been blessed with. Majority of us are either working-from-home or self-isolating or even under a lockdown and with uncertainty comes uninvited mental deterioration; implementing a daily routine is proven to help with our overall mental health and productivity. Daily routines can look particularly different from person to person, the end objective is however the same; here’s what my day looks like, feel free to share with someone who might be in search for some motivation.

My Typical Lockdown Day

Wake-up: 06:00 AM

Get Fresh & Make the Bed: 06:15 AM

Chug a Glass of Water: 06:20 AM

Open the Laptop & Put it on Charge: 06:30 AM

Yoga: 06:35 AM

Breakfast: 07:00 AM

Office Work + Personal Blog: 07:10 AM to 12:00 NOON

Chores: 12:00 Noon to 02:00 PM

Lunch Break: 02:00 PM to 03:00 PM

Check Emails & Wrap-up Work: 03:00 PM to 05:00 PM

Me Time (Mostly Spent Reading): 05:00 PM to 07:00 PM

Dinner: 07:30 PM to 08:30 PM

Telly Time with the Family: 07:00 PM to 09:00 PM.

Reading in Bed (And Attempt to Not Scroll through Twitter): 09:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Get Ready & Hit the Hay: 10:30 PM

Ahhh! Feels good to get it all out, doesn’t it?

Time to mop the floors; catch you later!