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Archives for March 2020

Watching supermarket queue while waiting

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Supermarket queue

I’m sitting in a rickety tricycle sidecar, waiting for an officemate, looking out at the growing number of supermarket customers lining up for the store to open for the day. First time I broke home quarantine since March 16. But it’s for a valid reason. I’m picking up my office desktop computer along with a couple of monitors at this spot, to be delivered by a colleague who took the initiative to handle the chore.

(Our team were issued laptops long before the virus outbreak but I was complaining about how excruciatingly slow it is handling the most mundane of tasks. The boss gave the go-signal for our request to have the faster office computers released for home use.)

I was out of there in no time. My co-worker was in no mood for pleasantries. After I picked up all issued-to-me office equipment from his car, he left in a huff. Understandable, considering the neighborhood I am in is surrounded by a considerable number of COVID-19 positive cases. (I also don’t want to hang around the area what with all those people outside.)

As for the line for the supermarket? Hardly moved at all since I got there.

Shanghai Fortress (2019)

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Shanghai Fortress (2019)

I don’t have high expectations for “Shanghai Fortress” (2019) after I’ve read about how it was panned by critics basically for everything, to the point that the director and scriptwriter had to respectively issue public apologies for the film’s box office failure. (Whatever happened to standing up for your work?)

I still remained curious about the film notwithstanding the negative publicity shrouding it so I went to check it out. I’ve always loved Shu Qi for the longest time, and her presence would help me sit through this. But remember, I am a movie viewer, not a film critic. I just want to be entertained. Of course, I would still prefer a well-rounded story and good performances from the actors.

Generally, I enjoyed the film. It’s obviously derivative of a few Hollywood blockbusters — “Independence Day”, “Transformers”, “A Quiet Place”, to mention a few. The love angle between Jiang Yang (played by Lu Han) and Lin Lan (Qi) can be a tad corny in this day and age, and I have to admit some of the lines elicited unwanted laughter on my part (perhaps the scriptwriters intended it that way, I don’t know) because of the sheer predictability.

I find the special effects at par with the best players in the film industry. (It’s a big budget production anyway, I didn’t expect cardboard cutouts.) It’s just difficult to believe that the Shanghai residents portrayed in the movie could still carry on with their day-to-day lives even if the alien invasion had gone on for five years and had already wiped out multiple population centers around the world. Would have expected chaos to be pervasive even if there exists a formidable shield that protects Shanghai from the extraterrestrial invaders.

“Shanghai Fortress” is available on Netflix. Go see if it’s worth your time.

Shu Qi @ Shanghai Fortress (2019)

Goodbye, Starbucks™️ Coffee?

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Cold Foam Iced Espresso

I admit, I miss my Starbucks™️ coffee fix thanks to the coronavirus quarantine. But in the two weeks that I have not consumed any coffee products from the world’s most popular coffeehouse chain — I have no choice since Starbucks Philippines opted to temporarily close down all stores nationwide anyway — I think I can probably learn to shake off the daily habit.

Maybe I’ll just look at it this way: Let’s say I spend PH ₱200 (roughly US $4) on a Starbucks coffee beverage daily. In a week, that adds up to ₱1,000 ($20). In a month’s time, that would total to ₱4,000 ($80)! Yikes! I can hypothetically save ₱48,000 ($960) annually by ditching my daily Starbucks spending! And that amount does not include the occasional weekend trips to the coffee shop.

Damn! That’s a lot of money! And I often chide myself for not having any when I want to buy some stuff. When the quarantine is over and done with, I’ll just stick to my favorite instant coffee granules (freeze dried brewed coffee, baby!) in a bottle and bring it to work. Maybe I’ll just patronize Starbucks (or, for that matter, other pricey coffee shops) on weekends.

Note to self: “Challenge accepted.” But… I have to survive the COVID-19 pandemic first.

Before the COVID-19 quarantine

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Taken late afternoon of March 14, 2020, a couple of days before the Philippine government imposed a Metro Manila lockdown to control the spread of COVID-19. Many people are already on “panic buying” mode.

Love (and everything else) in the time of COVID-19

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Entering the eighth day of the quarantine/lockdown here in Metro Manila. I’m still working though. (And I’m thankful for the present job I’m holding.) On a telecommute arrangement with my employer and I’m truly appreciative of the fact that my Denver-based boss and our Manila top honcho are supportive of the setup. We were supposed to review the situation by the end of the coming week to see if we could resume working at the office. But the government-imposed lockdown is scheduled until April 14. And I don’t think things would get better by then.

Holed up in our apartment, my wife and I are trying our best to protect ourselves (like everyone else) from being infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. No one wants COVID-19, that is for certain. Our food supply is probably good for maybe two weeks, but not much longer. We are hoping the supermarkets within our vicinity will still have stocks in the coming several days. I’m not really expecting the quarantine to end mid-April. I think it’s a realistic assessment considering local infections haven’t really peaked yet. We’re too far from that.

Just hoping the water and electricity situation here in the metropolis will hold up. Including the Internet connection, since it’s essential in my work-from-home setup — and for staying sane in general when you’re not really doing anything productive. It’s grimmer in other places in the world. But things could quickly go further south in a minute, one could never really know. No point being complacent.