Tag Archives: lockdown

Giddy Again, Part 2

22 Jan

Before I could finish DIY project number ten, I had a sudden itch to acquire more DIY sets. The stash of three unopened sets does not seem enough for me!

So what did I buy from my favorite online site? Well, I bought not one but two sets this time – an Oriental restaurant and a bookstore.

I certainly enjoy working on these types of DIY sets more compared to bedroom studios or house sets because there are fewer fabrics to deal with. Fabrics are not so fun to handle, at least for me.

Both parcels arrived yesterday, and I’m giddy again. So many sets to work on!

My latest purchases!

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A Virtual Celebration

19 Jan

A memory feed popped up on Facebook this morning: M1 turns 18 today, and we celebrated. That was six years ago. Today she turns 24! Dang, time sure flies.

Wasn’t it just yesterday she turned one, and we had friends and family over for a party? Then the next thing I know, we were at her graduation commencement in the Summer of 2019. That was the last time the whole family was together. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree.

With both girls pursuing their education in two different countries, it certainly is hard to have a birthday celebration. Add in the three different time zones that we are all in, a virtual get together is the only way – either a FaceTime or WhatsApp group call for this occasion.

Happy Birthday, M1! Stay safe.

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MCO 2.0, Part 2

18 Jan

It’s coming to a week already that we are under lockdown in the MCO 2.0 phase. I must say this time we are better prepared. There was no panic-buying for grocery on our part because it feels normal, like what we have been going through. The only difference being no golf outing and no need to be in the office.

We have been good staying home this time because there are things to keep us busy. Hubby baked while I worked on my DIY project. There is also much to catch up on as far as house chores are concerned. I even washed all my golf shoes to the point of removing all the laces to bleach them white.

Giving the shoes some sun to dry!

Before this latest MCO, I did not have time to clean my golf shoes. I just rotated them because I was playing so much. Now, with this two-week break, the shoes are getting a makeover. Other than this effort, I am, of course, working on DIY project number ten. It’s coming along swell. I reckon I can complete it before the end of the week! Yay.

Almost done with project #10!

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MCO 2.0

15 Jan

We were all expecting it, another lockdown. True enough, on Monday, the announcement came that MCO (Movement Control Order) 2.0 will be enforced from January 13 to 16, 2021. However, not the whole nation will be under MCO, only states with a high number of positive Covid cases. And where I live, we are affected, and thus, we have to follow the MCO rules. States that are faring better will be under either the CMCO or RMCO phases.

This lockdown is inevitable as the public healthcare sector cannot cope already with the surge of positive cases in four-digits for several days now. During this MCO phase, SOPs are more strict going out and being out in public areas. If possible, don’t go out.

So for the next two weeks, golf outings are out of the question. Maybe this is for the best. I can rest and focus on DIY project number ten that has stalled.

Design work in the office picked up a little during the last two weeks. As such, I couldn’t devote too much of my time to my whimsical project because I was tired-out when I got home. But now, with this forced break and no golf, I can focus on it. Perhaps I can complete DIY project number ten before the two weeks are up? We shall see.

Coming along swell!

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My New Game

12 Jan

Soon after deleting Cat Condo II from my iPhone XR, I was experiencing a slight withdrawal symptom! It felt odd that when I woke up, I did not have to check on my cats. And this feeling continued throughout the day when there was no alert on my Apple Watch Series 5 to collect my rewards or check what my cat brought back from its adventure. Am I missing the game to the point that I felt incomplete?

So I decided to fix this by downloading a new game to take my mind of Cat Condo II. My new game to play now is Water Sort Puzzle, besides Homescapes. It’s not mundane or time-wasting like Cat Condo II. Although Water Sort Puzzle looks simple, it requires a lot more logical thoughts to advance.

The idea is to sort colored water in test tubes until all the same colored water is collected. There is no time limit for each round, no race to reach the end, nor a need to collect rewards. You play at your own pace. There are also no reminders to check-in, and I play the game whenever I feel like it. I just completed Level 100.

Before and after screenshot of Water Sort Puzzle

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DIY Project #10

11 Jan

With the dawn of the new year, DIY project number ten kicked in. It’s been 11 days already that I have been working on it, albeit slowly. After the big disappointment of project number nine, this was a welcome change. I am taking my time on this project because I want to customize certain things.

Project #10

I learned from my Facebook DIY group about customizing miniatures. These die-hard fans changed colors, materials, and props in all the projects that they did. Spurred by their creativity, I experimented on project number eight. But it was only a color change on the wall, nothing too elaborate or drastic. That was as far as I went, and no other changes or additions in terms of materials and props.

So this time, I want to push further to see how much I can customize. We shall see as I progress along for DIY project number ten!

Slowly but surely coming along!

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Problematic DIY Project #9

8 Jan

DIY project number nine was a big disappointment and not worth gushing about it. The instructions were incomplete and vague at times, and the text prints were so small, with no color contrast for readability when placed over a picture. It was a struggle to figure out what to do. I went through the motion to get it done and completed the project on the last day of the eventful 2020 year.

Project #9. Tiny red text over brown pictures is horrid.
Quite a challenge to align and glue at 90 degrees

I customized certain things and did not bother fixing up the lights because I felt so let down after the high of completing project number eight. Looking back, I’m glad I finished it quickly and took a few days off doing miniatures before starting on project number ten.

Model is different on box and instructions!
The completed project #9

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Goodbye Cat Condo II

5 Jan

Over the weekend, I deleted the Cat Condo II app from my iPhone XR. After playing it for so long, I finally managed to collect all 32 species of cats available. In the process, I amassed a fortune, just like the original Cat Condo game.

All the cats in Cat Condo II
Every species on the board plus some extras and space are still available!

I was contemplating deleting the app from my phone a few weeks ago. After all, it’s a mundane time-wasting game, and I did delete the original Cat Condo game when I managed to collect all the species available.

So with the game gone, I don’t have anything mundane to turn to because of late, I’ve been playing Homescapes on the phone, and this game is just too time-consuming. I have given up playing Homescapes on the iPad Mini because the device cannot support the app anymore. Sigh. I need to find a new mundane game soon.

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A Packed Schedule

4 Jan

The year-end golf schedule was a crazy one. It was packed! I had games on the 26th, 27th, 29th, and 31st of December 2020. And as if that was not enough, I ushered the New Year in with games on January 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

Only rain thwarted the game on January 3rd, and instead, we had a lazy day at home on that wet and chilly Sunday morning. It was too troublesome to go out, let alone move. The temperature was perfect for doing nothing. Hubby did bake, though – a sinful cake that was enjoyed thoroughly with a small scoop of coconut ice cream.

I had to go easy on the ice cream or else suffer cramps because of my Endometriosis problem

Initially, I was not supposed to play on January 2nd because I wanted a break, having lined up so many games already. I even declined an invitation to a game on December 30th. But an unexpected problem cropped up that day.

A friend had pulled out at the eleventh hour after inadvertently being exposed to a Covid-19 positive person. He had to self-isolate, and I replaced him.

Well, this year, the golf games may not be so packed as the holidays are over. And I do have to be in the office. So the weekly Thursday game is out, keeping only to Tuesday and the weekends for me.

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The Year That Wasn’t

1 Jan

Goodbye Year 2020! What a year it turned out to be. I felt that it was a year that wasn’t – in other words, we were, firstly, short-changed for nine months in our lives and secondly, didn’t turn out so great as many envisioned it would be.

Before reaching this nice number, people, myself included, thought it would be a spectacular year. But alas, how wrong we all were. The Covid-19 pandemic created so much havoc in the world. And everything is never the same again.

Gone are the closeness and freedom that we took for granted with our movement with friends, society in general, and places we visit; in place, it is now constant caution, fear to a certain degree, and restriction.

For me, I felt my 2020 was just three months only, the first quarter of the year. After we went into lockdown in March, the next nine months, day-in, day-out felt like deja-vu. A new routine was born, and old habits had to give way because we had to learn to adjust to the new normal. Thank goodness we didn’t go crazy with cabin fever, and instead, discovered ourselves in many other aspects.

I learned to appreciate my friends, the home, and family more. Although work at the office took a beating to practically zero design work in March and April, it did not dampen our spirits. M2 came back from Ireland and had an extended six-month summer break. M1 stayed put, and we talked every morning to keep her company.

The new normal made both of us manage our time better to be more productive in other things. Hubby learned to bake, an unthinkable endeavor in all the years that I have known him, and I brushed up my cooking skills to widen the variety in our meals because eating out was not an option.

I also picked up a new hobby to keep myself busy after my Meranti wood supply for carving depleted by May. From June onwards, I started working on DIY miniature sets, and have completed nine DIY sets thus far in a spate of six months.

Another good thing that came out of this situation was my golf game, which improved tremendously. With downtime in the office, I was playing more golf than ever. After the lockdown eased, and golf was allowed because it is an outdoor activity, I was golfing up to four times a week! So maybe the year wasn’t that bad after all on the personal front despite being in deja-vu mode.

As 2020 is behind us now, it does not mean the pandemic is over. Far from it, in fact. We should remain vigilant, put on our masks whenever we are in public areas, and keep a one-meter distance apart to be safe.

A toast to a better year ahead – may 2021 bring better fortune and goodness for everyone. Happy New Year, and stay safe wherever you are!

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