dear you,

Coming to you straight from our homes, here is one way we're all coping with community quarantine in light of global pandemic novel coronavirus disease or Covid-19. We hope that this week has been kind to you and that you're safe and well, whichever part of the world you live.

We thought of putting together a list of things we've finally gotten around to doing, stuff that has kept us sane (so far), and what we're looking forward to when we're allowed back outside. Let us know what's on your list, too and let's check in on each other.

love,
chinggay, macy, and patty

Finish a project I’ve been sitting on for a very long time.

I have been meaning to do a creative project this year and I thought it would be a new book. But a week before the lock down started, I had an inexplicable frenetic energetic buzz running through my veins that I could not explain. Hokey Me thinks it was the Full Moon stirring things up. Even Hokier Me thinks all my tarot cards knew that something big was about to happen. Rational Me used all that weird kundalini juju to somehow, magically, finish a new tarot deck and accompanying guide in six days.

And on the seventh day, I rested. Because the lockdown happened. Blessed be the fruit.

—C.

Restart a lot of things.

Since there are really no other pending rackets aside from regular editing work for SPOTJapan, I’ve been slowly getting back into stuff I usually do not have enough time for. I’m in the middle of reading My Friend Anna, a story about this grifter who pretended to be a German heiress in New York City. She’s currently been sentenced to at least 4 years in prison and there’s a Netflix series being produced by Shonda Rimes starring Julia Garner and Anna Chlumsky. I’ve also started doing NTC again. Did a 10-minute core workout the other day and a 15-minute basic burner this morning. I usually just work from home, but this quarantine is making me feel extra antsy. Moving around on the mat is helping just a little bit. I rebooted my morning writing project at the start of the year and the past week is slowly turning it into a dystopian exercise. Curious to see how it will turn out at the end of this 30-day quarantine.

—M.

Be more consistent about video calls with family and friends.

It’s hard to coordinate amongst a lot of people and though I’ve been fairly good at keeping touch on a one-on-one basis—with everyone else on self-isolation or social distancing, it’s so much easier to get a hold of folks in groups!

My brother’s girlfriend (they’ve been in an LDR for more than 4 years now) told me about their college group’s e-numan (which I find brilliant and hilarious!) Thank goodness for the internet enabling human contact.

—P.

My tarot biz.

An online tarot shop owner from Australia messaged me today to ask how I was doing since it’s a very strange time for everyone. I said that today’s takeaway was how lucky* we were to be tarot readers right now.

Years ago, many would have thought my decision to ditch almost all my work to make money off reading tarot stupid. But now that everything’s shutting down and people are clinging on to anything that inspires hope (like a tarot reading), I am 100% sure that I did the right thing and that I am still doing the right thing.

WHO KNEW?!? The cards? Maybe.

*Lucky seems like the wrong word to use. But whatever.

So this. And as John Mayer says, “The Gentle Hours.”

—C.

Family and friends.

Working from home isn’t new to me, but now that my brothers are also home, it’s interesting to see them at work. Eavesdropping on their con calls (haha), sharing a meal together, and watching the news are just ordinary, everyday occurrences that suddenly don’t seem so ordinary anymore. Thanks to technology, my friends from all over the world hop on a video chat to say hello and check in with each other—something we don’t really make time for otherwise. Hopefully even after this quarantine is over, it’s a habit we’ll continue to keep.

—M.

The efficiency of the Singapore government is pretty insane.

I feel very blessed and grateful to be residing in a country where the government functions and not just on a base level but in an exceptional way. It’s not perfect, but knowing that competent people are on top of things, makes me feel safe and secure despite the craziness going on.

Which then leads me to a tangent of frustration and sadness for the situation back in Manila where things are a bit dire. My dad is a doctor and is 65 years old and is still going to work, giving anesthesia for delivering mothers and intubating patients.

And because worrying leads me nowhere, I also get some sense of hope and take action to help out via organisations like Kaya Natin, which is raising funds to help front liners. It sucks that the government isn’t able to provide the support that it should but here we are anyway.

—P.

The world becoming a better place.

And Cunanan ensaymada, movie theater popcorn (and movies in general), and the freedom to do whatever, whenever, wherever.

—C.

A healthier, kinder world.

This pandemic is really bringing out either the best or worst in people. I truly wish the way we treated each other when shit’s about to go down was the way we treated each other even when there’s no calamity. Be kind to your neighbor. Give what you have more than enough of to those who don’t have any. Be more mindful of the people around you. Like what other people have been saying, don’t just think about yourself. Think about how your actions can affect other people.

—M.

The new normal.

Some are saying it’ll take up to a year for ‘things to go back to normal’ but others are saying that life after this won’t be the same~ again. So I’m looking forward to finding the silver linings in the new routines and norms we develop during and after we get through this. As society evolves and grows from this, I hope we come out kinder and more resilient.

—P.

Required Reading

If you want to help without leaving your home, it's possible. Here's a comprehensive list of ways you can extend assistance to frontliners, families, and essential workers.
Watch short films and support the members of the film community who are affected by the lock down.
Staying home doesn't have to be boring. There are a ton of resources that can keep you busy. Check out this list of books, exercises, guided meditations, and more.
Here's a Crooked Media podcast that discusses the global pandemic. America Dissected: Coronavirus is updated every Tuesdays and Fridays to know more about COVID-19.
Kuya Robert (of Art is Kool and the "Ro" in Papemelroti) has been holding online art classes on his Facebook Page. Kids of all ages (and even full-grown adults) are welcome to join.
Tune into John Mayer's Instagram Live show Current Mood.
Maestro Ryan Cayabyab and more Pinoy artists have been holding live concerts on Facebook. You can donate to the cause through Bayanihan Musikahan.

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