Shenanigans of CB long weekend

This is the second long weekend after CB started, the first being Good Friday weeks ago when it all just started. The first few weeks of CB/FHBL was warm and hot and I think I busted my electrical bills as I'm home the whole day and I had to on the aircon on and off to chill myself. Thankfully, it started pouring in the afternoons a week ago and that went on for five days, it was also nice to get out and run/jog even in the late afternoon as the weather was cool. The only not too nice thing was once again the crowd, especially along the PCN. It only stopped raining for a day this Tuesday and then it started again last night, today was another day of heavy downpour from afternoon till now. Really feels like Dec as we are really lazing at home the whole day long...

My first group zoom workout

Anyway, other than the weekly virtual meetup on House Party, my friends started to do group zoom workout, I did not get to join them for the first session yesterday due to online tuition sessions but they met up again today and boy, I underestimated the 12 min planking and 15 min of cardio. My arms feel weak now. I think it's a refreshing change for me instead of jogging or walking outdoors. And anyways, we have been advised to do our exercises at home. I even ordered quite a few new sports outfit and sports equipment (dumb bells) just to get through this period.

Coffee Bean opened with no customers

8pm on the even of a public holiday

Controlled entry into the mall but no queue tonight

After almost three weeks of staying at home, I finally stepped out this evening to get some food and groceries with P for the long weekend. I'm able to get Redmart delivery once a week these days but just not able to get enough heavy cream and stuff for my keto diet and dalgona coffee. Anyway, the heavy cream was still out at NTUC but we did buy lots of other snacks, salad and stuff. Just for the record, I took some photographs of how the mall looked like, a rare sight to be so empty on the eve of a public holiday. It felt more like after midnight than just 8pm. Everyone was wearing masks as it's an offence not to do so during this period. People are advised to go out alone but we still saw quite a few couples like us, doing groceries shopping together.

Shenanigans of CB weekend

M&Ms delivery

Just before dinner, we had a surprise delivery. Earlier today, P went to LP to look for Chocspot where he had been getting me my favourite peanut butter favoured M&Ms. It's rare so we dont easily find those anywhere else. I fell in love with those stuff when we tried it in UK 5 years ago and I'm glad we can find those at those special choc shops. However, the shop was not opened today so I didnt get my chocolate fix afterall. I wanted to go online to look for it, as everything is about shopping online now, but P said he'll take care of it. Ta-dah! We had a package delivery by Grab before our late dinner at 9pm and those chocs arrived.

We went for a late night walk at 1030pm and I'm glad to say the park was really less crowded than those earlier hours, so nobody really minded we didnt exercise alone.

The brandless foot mask worked!

It's gross but after the walk I was about to go and shower when I noticed the soles of my feet peeling. After I used the foot mask two nights ago, my feet felt tight and drying after showering and I had to layer it with moisturizing masks and lotion to feel better. Luckily, as what was written in the review and Qoo10 website, the dead and dry skin starting peeling off today. It's amazing how I'm shedding off those old skin, though a bit worrying how acidic those stuff must be to make this happen. I googled and I think this is quite harmless, though I'll going to order more of these and the complimentary moisturizing masks, I'm going to follow the guidelines and only use this once a month.

A fruitful day

I finally managed to go out for a run at 6am this morning, P had been waking up early at 530am to go to work so that he can come home early. It felt good though I was still trying to get used to exercising with masks. The PCN and Bishan park is still crowded in the early morning, mostly with elderly and some of them are probably regulars at the park. After 7am, the sun was up and more people appeared, so it was time for me to head home. Wish I can do that again! We are advised to do exercises at home and there are many live streaming channels to do body weight exercise and pilates etc, but I would rather go out to get some fresh air while we still can.

As dalgona coffee affected my rest the other day, I made the matcha version today. I could only drink half the cup as the foaming part was also heavy cream and it was too much fats and calories for me. The coffee version is nicer, and easier to make without exhausting my cheap mini electric foam whipper. I might just get decaf instant powder next time.

Matcha version dalgona

Feet masks

Ordered these online

COVID is also good time for online shopping as there's nothing much to do at home, except exercising HBL and some Netflix. I bought new gear for exercising from UA and Nike websites, and I also browsed the web for some foot mask as my feet are dry and cracking. I cant go out for pedicure and manicure these few months so I have to take care of these grooming on my own. 

Extended CB and major changes in school term

Yesterday, PM spoke to us again after two weeks of CB had kicked in. As expected, the CB period is being extended all the way till June. The daily count of COVID cases had hit 4 digits the past few days and the highest count being 1426 as of now, with our total cases exceeding 10k as of today. We were all holding our breath as we do not mind extending the CB period but doing FHBL is becoming unmotivating and taking a toll on our physical and mental health being. Luckily, it was later announced that we are going to have our 'June hols' earlier this year in May instead of June, and hopefully we can start Term 3 in June if everything goes well.

As extracted from the govt official updates after the announcement yesterday...

[Sent by Gov.sg - 22 Apr]

COVID-19: Circuit Breaker Extension until 1 June 2020

Tightened list of essential services to minimise movement & interactions

Closed:
Standalone F&B outlets that only sell beverages, snacks, desserts
Hairdressing & barber services

Additional restrictions:
Optician shops: by appointment only
Pet supplies stores &
Retail laundry services: online sales & delivery only

- Additional safeguards required for workplaces that remain open

Details: go.gov.sg/mti21apr

Mid-yr school holidays brought forward
5 May to 1 June: School holidays
2 June: Start of Term 3

More: go.gov.sg/moe-21apr

I've booked air tix way way earlier this year to Japan, US, Europe, Hawaii etc and this was supposed to be a year of luxury traveling but now we're all grounded. I've already given up hope and am no longer sad or upset about the disappointment but I'm still teeny weeny bit hopeful that we can go somewhere in December. Sigh.

First attempt at keto dalgona coffee and it was a success

Everyone (or many people) in SG was crazy about bubble tea last night as the govt is closing down all or most of those shops after midnight yesteray. There's a worldwide craze for boba right now but I've stopped drinking those except for the occasional craving due to keto. Dalgona coffee had been a trend on IG for months already and it started in Korea during this COVID period (as people were bored). While everyone rushed for their last bubble tea, I managed to make the keto version of dalgona coffee at home. Luckily I drank it in the morning as three teaspoons of coffee powder is too much caffeine for my system. 

Phantom of the opera

Free live shows are also popular this period as everyone is stuck at home. I managed to watch Phantom of the Opera on Youtube over the weekend and it was really really good. So good that I need to blog about it. Right now. 

Getting the magic numbers and updates daily

We've been getting updates from MOH and gov.sg auto messaging system since CNY period in late January. Usually the magic number is out around 8pm-9pm but there were some nights lately when it was really late. Many many weeks ago, we even had three days of zero cases. To put on record, today data came quite early at 3pm and it was the highest record thus far. Months ago, we freaked out when the numbers went 60, 70, 80... after CB started it started onto three digits and things escalated really fast from then. I'm glad we are on half lockdown now and everyone is masked up if they have to go out for the essentials.

[Sent by Gov.sg]

COVID-19: 18 Apr update

New cases: 942
- Imported: 0
- Cases in community: 22 (14 S’poreans/PRs, 6 work passes, 1 Dependant’s Pass, 1 Long-Term Visit Pass)
- Work Permit holders (residing outside dormitories): 27
- Work Permit holders (residing in dormitories): 893

Of new cases, 79% are linked to known clusters, the rest are pending contact tracing

Total cases: 5992
- Hospitalised: 2563 (23 in ICU)
- In community facilities: 2678
- Fatalities: 11
- Total discharged: 740 (Discharged today: 38)

When everything goes live, and life goes on...

After the start of the CB on 7th April and FHBL on 8th April, the measures just got stricter over the weekend. People flocked to the parks over the long weekend as exercise is permitted and the PCNs and parks got so crowded that they closed off some smaller and narrower areas. I went out for  a run on Good Friday evening and it was a mistake to do so at 7pm as there was no way I could practise social distancing or keep some distance away from the huff and puff of runners. I've never seen so many sports and health enthusiasts at the PCNs before but I could understand why everyone wanted to get some fresh air. I went out with P for another run/walk at a later timing the next day and things got better, I've decided to keep to after 9pm and before 7am if I want to exercise or run.

Anyway, everyone has to put on mask once they step out of the house in SG now, except for exercising. I had never imagined that this day will be upon us but it did. We are not in strict or full lockdown but we cant meet up with anyone who does not live in the same household as us, that applies to family members. So, I'm only seeing P and I've not stepped out of the house for a few days already, after my jog on Tuesday evening. 

I am meeting friends over apps like House Party and the likes of Skype or Zoom for my family members. 

Weekly gathering with the girls, really nice way to destress

Testing out and preparing for my live lessons

Zoom lessons with my class

It was a steep learning curve for us educators to bring our teaching services online and do remote lessons and teaching. After the announcement of FHBL, I've tried out several platforms like Zoom, Google Meet and Webex as my students have to continue learning, or at least keep themselves occupied at home. I cant step out of my house for tuition so I'm meeting the girls over online platforms too. It was a lot of anxiety and stressful getting the hang of it, but after doing it a few times, I'm more comfortable. To be honest, I have resented the thought of doing live lessons but seeing how the kids enjoyed it as they yearn interactions with friends, I supposed it forced me to keep learning new tricks and trying out new things weekly.

COVID 19 AND HBL DAYS

We are in Week 4 of Term 2, but I'm losing count of it as things had escalated fast since school reopened. We received many many news over the March hols and tightened up on many measures, there were a lot of talks about school closure even way before that but it looked like SG was dragging her feet to lockdown/school closure and it had not happened, even when our closest neighbour went into lockdown in the midst of our March hols. I could see that school closure is the last resort and we were trying real hard not to get there. We were prepared for the March hols to get extended but again it didnt happen. However, the numbers kept rising and we were really treading on thin ice as many colleagues and students went on SHN and LOA the first two weeks of school (those are alien terms before this COVID episode but we have gotten used to those terms once the hols started). *SHN- stay home notice LOA- leave of absence

At the end of Week 1, there were a lot of anticipation as we await some major announcement on Friday evening. We thought that school closure is finally upon us but it was just the start of one HBL (home based learning) day per week from Week 2 onwards.

End of Week 2, I had just finished lessons on Friday when there were lots of rumours and even 'leaked news' again. This time, I didnt believe it that much as there were way too many false alarm since February. However, PM made a sudden press release at 4pm that day and lo and behold! For the first time in the history of Singapore, we are moving into a semi-lockdown state call the circuit breaker and school closure finally happened! To be honest, I really want school to close and lessons to stop as it was really tiring covering for one another in school. But I was still kind of shocked after the press release. To put things into prespective, we only closed for two weeks during SARs and stopped lessons for one day when the haze was really bad in 2015. But this time round, it's at least three weeks or almost a month of no lessons.

And on hindsight, things got much busier after we started full HBL on 8th April. It's tiring and back breaking to spend the past 4 days staring at my phone and laptops the whole day long, the living room turned into my temporary work station. I wanted to blog to mark this period of time as the whole world (except China now) is in lockdown mode and nobody knows when this will end. But I was way too busy the past few days.