ecq has been extended until may 15. can't say i'm surprised by this. with all that's been happening all around, it's best to stay at home. personally it's ideal for moi since i get to enjoy the silence.
in a span of over a month since the ecq took effect, i've only been out of the house five times, all for grocery runs. and each time i go out there's the underlying fear of picking up the virus and infecting those i love. so never mind if i have to put on my "armour" before going out: jeans, shirt, cap, face mask, backpack with all the "weapons" (wallet with cash cards, senior citizen IDs and booklets, rewards cards).
never mind if i have to wait for a couple of hours in line to the cashier. never mind if i have to disinfect my whole being before entering the house. never mind if i have to remove all outer clothing to dump in the wash, then jump in the shower to thoroughly ensure i've scrubbed off every little bit of germs i might have picked up while outside.
never mind if i have to sanitise every single piece of grocery item or produce before i allow any of my folks to even touch them.
paranoid much, some people might say. but very much like what i did when i had hyperthyroidism, i'd do everything to make sure we stay healthy and above all, safe. i'm not about to risk my folks' lives by going out just because i wanted to feel "free" after being "caged" for several weeks.
some people say we're all in the same boat here. i don't think we are. rather, we're all in the same storm, just in different boats. because some people have it easier when it comes to food and other supplies. others, as it glaringly shows on the nightly news, are desperate when and where they'll be able to get their next meal. and these are just on the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
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things that keep me busy for the past forty days aside from working from home and going out for groceries:
1. cooking
2. baking
3. laundry
4. cleaning
5. gardening
so come on. there are so many things to do at home. i've no problem with cooking since i've already been doing that. baking, i'm so happy to learn i can bake in a wok! i've already done two loaves of banana bread since then. i also tried baking bread stovetop, unfortunately i haven't gotten the recipe i tried right. TWICE. want some rocks for breakfast? be my guest. i'm apprehensive at trying a yeast bread but i'll get around to it should i get the guts to do so.
laundry, yeah. good thing we're all wearing house clothes so i don't have to iron anything since the results are dismal whenever i try to iron anything. as for cleaning, i try to do as much as i can because it's the only chore that i have no patience for. give me a mountain of dishes or laundry, no problem. yet the house won't clean itself up so who else would have to do that but moi. i remember thinking that minimalism is the way to go every time i wipe every dusty furniture and
annoyingly tiny piece of figurine/souvenir/picture frame/what-have-you.
my mum would laugh maniacally at that thought and get back at me using my room. it's filled with books, books, and more books and other knickknacks that haven't seen the light of day in years. so yep. forty days of being cooped up at home have passed and i haven't tackled clearing out my room yet. nope. it's not yet time.
hobbies... they're the same through and through. i can't exactly call gardening a hobby since i just water the plants. and planting kamote tops doesn't equal total gardening since i just stuck the stalks in the soil, watered them, and waited for them to grow leaves (they did! and i'm so happy! ensalada, here i come... in maybe another two weeks.). i did try planting the pechay roots. it's too early to tell if they'll grow though. i hope so.
so in short, nothing on my usual routine has really changed during these trying times. it's just the adjustments that needed to be made. which is hard to say the least.
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my playlist since the start of ecq has mostly revolved around six artists: frankie valli and the four seasons, neil sedaka, kat edmonson, jessie j, jess glynne, and rumer. not exactly in that order.
last march it was the sultry rumer and my beloved frankie valli and the four seasons through and through. this april, it's the amazing, the dreamy kat edmonson and the classic neil sedaka, whose mini concerts each day i always look forward to and enjoy. the two jessicas, jessie j and jess glynne, provide the party tunes that energise me whenever i clean or cook.
currently on a kat edmonson fix, especially with her latest album dreamers do. and i love that she has started producing concerts from her apartment as well. i'm so happy that it starts at a sane time (7pm est) which means i'm already awake at 7am in my part of the globe so i could watch her live.
here's my playlist, whole albums first because there are albums where i love all the songs. some songs would get a special mention though if i listen to them more than the others.
kat edmonson
1. dreamers do (go to sleep, in a world of my own, too late to dream, and something's in the house)
2. the big picture (most specially rainy day woman, you said enough, avion, till we start to kiss. i also love the commentary tracks. kat could totally do voice overs if she hasn't tried already.)
3. way down low (most specially lucky which is the very first song of hers that i've listened to, but really, the whole album)
rumer
1. this girl's in love (balance of nature, one less bell to answer, the look of love, the land of make believe, walk on by)
2. into colour (dangerous, reach out, baby come back to bed)
3. seasons of my soul (am i forgiven?, aretha, slow, blackbird)
frankie valli and the four seasons
who loves you (silver star, who loves you, december 1963)
jessie j
this christmas day (it's refreshing to hear jessie j sing in a different pitch. she's great in singing classics.)
jess glynne
always in between (no one, all i am, 123, these days)
for the single songs:
friend ship - gen hoshino
summertime - cinnamons, evening cinema
betty grable - neil sedaka
laughter in the rain - neil sedaka
a bug's life suite - randy newman
i don't expect you to - garness
who will comfort me - melody gardot
