I had written a draft of this blog entry as it is, but felt it appropriate to just say, before anything else, that I am acutely aware of the tremendous privilege I have and by no means do I mean anything I say as a “flex” to anyone suffering during this pandemic. It’s been an odd thing to navigate, how to express one’s self at a time when anything some people can say or do can be considered as an insensitive display of privilege. Sometimes I just self-censor myself and not say or post anything at all, because the mere fact that many of us are online to discuss this, after all, is a privilege by itself. Where do we draw the line? Maybe I’ll write another blog entry on that some other time.
Anyway, much of the past two weeks, as with the fifteen weeks prior, was spent staying at home with my family, sometimes running errands for and with them, and arranging for my prospective departure for Paris in a few weeks’ time. I’m taking advantage of the time at home and have not gone out despite the relative freedom of the modified community quarantine, not just because it is the responsible and safe thing to do nowadays, but also because once I depart, it might be a while before I am able to return–not only because under normal circumstances it would be costly to fly back, but the pandemic has put in place so many complications as regards flying in and out of certain jurisdictions. I am just fortunate to have an existing resident student visa that I can return to Europe at this time despite its external borders being closed to citizens from most countries including the Philippines.
We celebrated my dad’s birthday one weekend ago in a rented rest house in Bulacan. I bought him a rocking chair because I noticed for the past months he’s been spending whole days watching Filipino drama while sitting on a monoblock in front of the TV. I failed at trying to assemble it myself, so he ended up troubleshooting his own gift and we eventually spent one whole afternoon putting it all together.
Speaking of troubleshooting, I’ve been tweaking my website the past weeks too. Haven’t really announced that I restarted this project long forgotten. I just thought it will be a good idea to have a blog as I move forward with my plans in life.
I’ve also been taking advantage of my remaining days as a member of the sports club near the house (I just sold my share in the club to raise some cash while I’m out of work) by swimming some laps almost everyday. Although the gym remains closed, the club now allow scheduled swims for members, in accordance with government guidelines. I missed swimming! It’s been more than a year since I was able to swim again.
I miss writing blog entries like this. Nothing too profound. Just chronicling what had happened and what I felt or thought about things. Till the next.