We all had big plans for 2020. None of it involved us being locked in our homes fearing an invisible virus.
I am locked down in Bangalore with my fiance. Both of us have office work and we have to work from home for 5 -6 days a week (Good way to not go crazy).
Staying atop the news!
First thing I do when I wake up is read the news. News alerts flash scarily on my mobile- climbing deaths across the world, Celebrities like Boris Johnson, prince Charles getting the virus, Olympics cancelled, lockdown atrocities. They strengthen my resolve to stay at home more.
My day starts with waking up to make coffee, breakfast and preparations for lunch and starting the work from home at 9:30 AM. We have lunch at 2 PM. Continue working and have coffee at 5 PM. Work a little more. Have lunch at 8 PM, watch Netflix and go to sleep.
I stare outside my balcony for signs of human life in the evening during my coffee. I see a few people walking, all masked. Those in scooters are carrying big bags of groceries. I think twice before stepping out for groceries- more risk of catching the disease touching the grocery items, talking to other people. So I stock up for a week when I go out.
Grocery shops are a mess!
People raided stores for milk packets and essentials. Only a few are open and they are congested. You wont get all you are looking for because people are panic buying. We are scared of ordering from outside because we dont know how it was cooked or who cooked it. I placed some online grocery orders a week back, haven’t heard back from them. The supply chain is tight and slowly failing.
I miss Amazon deliveries- The feeling of ordering something when I want to and the order arriving in a day or so. Now everything other than medical and groceries are non essentials and I cant order stuff.
Out of Sanitisers!
My fiance being a health freak stocked up a few sanitisers before the outbreak began. Suddenly all the medical shops and stores are out of sanitisers after the virus spread began. Shops are even out of Dettol soaps! We are still trying our luck where ever we go. We are hopeful we will find our sanitiser!
Travel plans down the drain!
I didn’t have any international plans this year but had planned on visiting different parts of India. All the plans went down the drain. I wonder what the travel bloggers who are earning a living out of it are doing at these times!
Connected online
I call my mom and friends to talk to them in the evening to stay connected. After ages (7 years) I had a call with my college mates (Thank you corona). We connected from different parts of the world and told each other about out quarantine times.
Hobbies
Planned of painting but required some turpentine oil and paint so gave up on it. I have taken up cooking as my new hobby. I tried out karnataka recipes, those from Vegrecipes and Hebbar kitchen. It keeps me sane during lockdown times.
Upsides
Sometimes it feels cosy, being at home all day, not having the need to step outside to go to work in all that traffic and pollution. Spending less feels good (My wallet says). Spending time with family feels good (Condolences to those who are staying alone). Special salute to those who are working out from home!! Seriously I tried!
Luxuries!
I miss going out to eat in restaurants, miss meeting my friends without fear of getting infected by them or anything I touch. I miss going to theaters. I missed this year’s Holi, thanks to the Virus. I miss running out of streets freely. I miss going to meetups. The activities we took for granted have become luxuries!
It is a sad world where we need to fear our own kind for our safety.
Times are scary. Lets do our best by not infecting others and staying at home. !!
Happy and Safe lockdown to you.
Do share your experiences!
Exploring Life.. 