Over the last month, our family has spent a lot of quality time with each other as we generally followed through the government mandated Expanded Community Quarantine (ECQ).

1. I worked…

The first two weeks, I closed the 2019 ledgers which are long overdue. I never got the chance to do this before since I’ve been so busy with work. So now’s my chance to finish. Yehey!

2. I cooked….

I discovered that expenses drastically drop when you’re stuck at home. The grocery I bought was enough to feed our family. Thanks to google, I discovered delicious recipes you’d otherwise won’t try because of the hustle and bustle of life. Here’s the kani salad and gyudon I cooked yesterday:

3. I cleaned…

I learned to do some spring cleaning and to get rid of some trash. Here are some of the things I had to clean up — My daughter’s toys.

Yes, that’s a lot of plastic as she’s terribly spoiled by her grandmother. We plan to donate most of it to an orphanage.

I’ll continue to clean over the next few days. It’s long overdue anyway.

4. I made new friends…

So many people added me as a friend on Facebook during this ECQ. Maybe there’s something about being confined at home thay make people friendlier.

I’m not complaining. There’s a few people I would never have met otherwise. One is the owner of a popular hair salon. It’s amazing to see just a different viewpoint on how to handle cash flow and employees during the ECQ. As if our common problem bonds us together.

To those who freely exchanged their ideas and from whom I learned from, thank you for PM’ing me. I’m glad you exist and the world is so much better that you’re there.

To those who PM’d me to sell something, thanks din. I’m not really looking for a passive income opportunity but hey, I know you need to make a living so shoot everywhere tayo.

5. I binge watched several amazing shows…

Here’s the Netflix shows I enjoyed during the ECQ:

And the following Amazon shows — highly recommended!

6. I’m writing a book…

It’s gonna be juicy and it will piss my mom off. My husband loves the idea of it, and it will help so many people with their relationships.

I’m already in page 50 and I still need to proofread and edit it. It’s not easy pala!

I rambled and wrote, and read back and tried to edit. Anyone who’s finished a book is a winner, and it’s true that you need a lot of faith to go on. Even up until now, I don’t know if anyone will read it and I’m scared if people will lambast it. But hey, you’ll never know till you try.

7. I became a fan of several people online…

I realized how many people were so clouded by their dislike for the administration that they would downplay every small thing and make mountains out of molehills of every small thing. ABS-CBN made boo boo after boo boo, and kept on headlining misleading news to create confusion and discontent among Netizens.

But I am glad to see some silver linings. Take for example Leni Robredo, whose OVP was actively donating medical supplies to hospitals especially during the first few weeks of the ECQ.

Her free shuttle bus, dorm for frontliners and donation helped a lot of people. For that, I give her credit.

I also became a big fan of The Thinking Pinoy. His analysis made a lot of sense, and he wasn’t completely for or against the government.:

After hearing both the Dilawan and DDS sides, The Thinking Pinoy is a breath of fresh air. He is not blindly part of any party, but rather sides with the correct side, regardless on whether it’s right or left.

What people do not understand is that you can’t always be Dilawan or a diehard Duterte supporter. Either side is not always correct. Government or running a country is never black or white, and everyone’s just doing the best they can with the given resources.

If you want to criticize the government, do so with facts and objectivity. Make sure that your news is verified and unclouded with an unfair bias. You have to give credit when credit is due, and I think Thinking Pinoy does it intelligently, coherently and logically most of the time. So thank you for being there to balance the scales.

8. I became my true unkept self.

Yes, I let myself go this ECQ.

I didn’t really wear makeup or dressed up or went out.

I didn’t wash my hair as often.

I slept late.

I woke up late.

And I did what I wanted to do to pass the time.

I will never be this consistently lazy again.

It’s glorious.

9. I feel blessed and grateful and thank God every day.

I feel very protected and blessed during the ECQ. The Lord has been good to us. Within my company, nobody has Coronavirus yet and their immediate family is safe.

My staff said that she just looks out her window and sees this:

The air is fresh. Her time with her mother precious. Her daughter is safe with her.

I realize that this is a moment we can never take back. God has given us a month or so to stay at home, relax, recharge and focus on what’s really important in our life—our selves, our health and our family. And all it took was one little virus to force us to go back to the essentials.

Ever since before, I’ve never really had this moment of rest. I would flit from one activity to the next and even though I was on vacation, my mind was still on the stores and my people. As my father-in-law said, “We will only rest if SM sleeps.”

FYI — SM Supermalls only close two days a year.

So I tell my people to enjoy and make the most of this time. Because once the ECQ lifts, we have to go back to work and fight for our lives. So while we are in this state of rest, to enjoy it, because we will never have this possibly again.

10. And I said a little prayer for those who lost a loved one.

I know that this time of ECQ is awful for those who have lost a loved one to COVID-19, or was placed in ICU for a few weeks. Nagkasakit ka na and gotten the scare of your life. After you got well, you still have to contend with the ludicrous hospital bill.

A 5% death rate for COVID-19 is no comfort to someone who lost a father, brother or friend to the virus. There’s no words that can communicate the sadness of losing a loved one so suddenly. I just hope that they passed peacefully, and that it’s a time when the Master has called them home.