Day 10 - Covid 19 Mandatory Quarantine

 

I was accused of something I didn't do. Publicly, on the Oriental Crystal Hotel Quarantine WhatsApp group chat. Someone has ordered a cake, as a treat to the people who have been taking care of us at the Oriental Crystal Hotel. On that cake it was written 'Thank You OCH' (Oriental Crystal Hotel). Then one of the staff from the other agency (which shall remain anonymous) posted on the group (and I'm summarizing it here) "How come 'Thank you' only to OCH? What about the other agency staff working here like the KKM, APM, RELA, PDRM and JKM?" They only said that jokingly of course, because they said they all shared the cake and they were touched by the kind gesture. After some playful banter with them, in the end, I had to admit that I was not the anonymous donor of the cake, and that the anonymous donor is still 'out there'... or still 'in here' at the hotel as the case may be.. quarantine la katakan! 

Then it started to rain outside and I got distracted. It rained, with thunder and lightning and everything. The sky is dense with gray clouds as it poured out its content, washing everything down here. Wow... only in Asia can it rain like this. Absolutely everything just feels fresher after a rain like this, and if you're outside, you can smell the scent of wet earth rising from the ground. It's like running your washing machine on full-blown 'high stain' cycle, compared to rains in the UK, which is more like the 'super-economy rinse' cycle - very brief and doesn't even get the earth under the grass wet. I've missed Asian rainstorms. :)

One of the PUS confided that she's finding it difficult and she felt 'like a prisoner' and that it's hard for her to do her work (she teaches online) and keep her young child entertained and make sure he/she does her online studies. I sympathize with her, I can't imagine how hard that is. I've never had kids myself, but I've seen how much a handful kids can be. I suppose she also feels the pressure more for her child than she does for herself. What awesome creatures parents are!

In hindsight, I'm sure this lady can prepare a comprehensive list of what things to take with you into quarantine if you are with children. I can only make will guesses - iPad, handheld games, books, colouring crayons, sweets, snacks, 

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