Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined something like the coronavirus can happen in California or even anywhere in the world. The scary part is that we are not prepared for this type of epidemic. It feels like a script from a horror movie. One day your life is normal and the next day you’re being quarantined to prevent further outbreak. Our life will never be the same after this experience.
In fact, my life is already changing.
Buying Behavior
I prioritize my spending on bare essentials only. Who knew that toilet paper has become a rare commodity? Overnight Americans have become germ-a-phoebes buying Purell, Clorox and Wet Wipes out of stock. My number of trips to the grocery stores has changed from once a week to every 2 to 3 weeks.
Cooking
Like everyone else, I have been immersing myself in YouTube videos for recipe ideas. I started to plan more meals and take inventory of what I have in my refrigerator and pantry. I’m pretty proud that I was able to make home cooked meals for three weeks. It takes a lot of patience, creativity and flexibility. You may not necessarily get the brand (sometimes not even the ingredient!) you want so you make the best out of the options available.
Career Aspirations
I’m fortunate enough to work from home for the work that I do but you never know what could happen in this economic climate. At the end of the day, I am a head count in the corporate world. All I can do is prepare myself for anything to happen. I just need to believe that something better and more aligned with my passion will come along. Pivot. Adapt. Adapt. Adapt.
Knowing What’s Important
If your way of life doesn’t change after this experience, then something is seriously wrong. Social distancing has forced me to connect with my family and friends in different ways. Family dinners now become individual FaceTime conversations. Time spent with my nieces and nephew are priceless as they show and tell me about their day and sign off with virtual butterfly kisses. My friends and I talk on the phone anyway so it’s not a big shift for us. As foodies, however, we really just miss eating out and seeing each other. I make an effort to reach out to my friends who live abroad in other countries via WhatsApp video. It’s just really interesting to get their perspective on the situation. They face similar challenges as the US but each country reacts and cope with the coronavirus somewhat differently. More so than ever, I just don’t take the people who matter in my life for granted.
Take care of yourself and each other.
