and also, Minimizing Cabin Fever during a Covid-19 Lockdown / Community Quarantine
The onset of the Community Quarantine has led me to conclude that, in the doomsday scenario of a zombie apocalypse, I wouldn’t have the medical, technical, or mercenary qualifications to find the cure or kill the zombies. I’d be the type to sit it out and wait for everything to be over. So in case the end-of-times was nigh, other than securing the basic necessities – food, water, electricity, internet connection – here’s my suggested list of Tita To-Dos.
- Stock up on your medicine kit.
Make sure you’re covered for hypertension, migraine, allergies, body aches, muscle pain, vertigo, bowel irritation (and its alter-ego, constipation), anemia, etc. Whenever I’m blessed to be feeling 100% okay, my basics would still be Katinko ointment (just for comfort), Katinko oil (for faster relief), White Flower (for fastest, if somewhat painful, relief), organic healing balm (when I’m feeling sosyal), nasa spray for my allergies, oy-sian inhaler (that most of my Asia-traveling friends think I need as pasalubong), and Ponstan SF (for all sorts of aches and pains). And of course, salonpas and band-aids, just because it pays to be ready for some heavy lifting and minor injuries while doing housework, or running away from zombies.
- Prepare for quality bonding time with your fur-babies.
Talking to the singletons who do not have children or live on their own, I was laughing about this with fellow “fur”-ents because we all agreed that instead of 70% alcohol and toilet paper, we hoomans were more concerned about getting pet food and treats for our dogs or cats. We’d endure the long grocery lines to keep our bebedogs well-fed and happy, but we’d think twice and would probably just go home if we only had to get food and grocery items for ourselves. This is probably the happiest our pets have ever been because we’re spending so much time with them. (My Belle’s been following me around. I think she might be worried that I’m sick because I’m home the whole day.)
- Let’s Get Physical!
You can skip the gym for now, as if you needed this excuse. But now’s the time we can practice our beginner’s yoga or pilates at home, and there’s sure to be some zumba online. We can also start on the cheapest diet there is – cutting down on our meal portions! This has the additional benefit of shortening our grocery time – ergo, we decrease our exposure to public spaces. If we ration things right, we can make our pantry supplies last longer, and we may even end up looking our best weight by the time this lockdown / community quarantine is over.
- Get your creative juices flowing.
The past couple of days I’ve been doodling giraffes, mid-neck up. In a few more days, I’d probably move on to sketching, and by next week I should be painting again… or so I hope. I’m also catching up on my reading (hello there, stack of books from the last Big Bad Wolf sale!) and if I have the ingredients and proper kitchenware, I might even watch some Youtube videos of Cucina ni Nadia to try my hand at some easy-to-cook dishes. Gardening, scrapbook-making, knitting, journal-keeping – whatever it is, try something new to jumpstart the right hemisphere of your brain. Since we’re not commuting to and from work, we now have extra hours everyday to let our inner artists shine.
- Clean, sort, tidy up, dispose.
There is something therapeutic about finally decluttering that pile of documents on your worktable and having actual desk space for actual work, or getting your bathroom to smell of bleach and gleam white again, or re-potting the overgrown plants on your terrace. You might also want to do a closet clean-up, and when it’s okay to be out in public again, donate whatever you’re not using to people who will have real use for your “aspirational-size” clothing purchases.
My last (somewhat cheesy) reminder: keep in touch and catch up, online. Put your online time to good use. You don’t need to make actual visits or arrange meet-ups to stay connected, but in between binge-watching movies (just finished The Dark Crystal, now on Ep.3 of CLOY), just send “how are you” emails or text messages to family and friends. You never know who might need to know that they’re being thought of, right this minute. Many people are feeling vulnerable right now, so a positive note should (hopefully!) add some positive vibes into an otherwise uncertain time.
Keep safe and healthy, everyone!
Love from Tita Net
