Wazzup Pilipinas!
Downplayed does not even come close.
I spent the first few months in denial, I thought it will not last and will be over soon. I had some savings to keep me comfortable, so no worries.
I said it will be a much needed break after years of being busy. The few months on quarantine would be meant to spend time on my previous hobby of gardening. Back then before Covid-19 it was ornamental, then became herbal, now while covid is still around - veggies and fruits - see the trend towards the more essential?
Comfortable yet still complaining against the government because of the plight of others. Do they deserve to experience this?
But then there goes the reliefs of mostly few pieces of canned sardines, packs of instant noodles, and few kilos of rice, then the ayudas or SAPs which because my wife works for the government (one of the agencies) we were not qualified to receive regardless how small her salary is.
No matter, I said. We are still lucky to have enough food on the table. Grocery and market shopping on a weekly basis, drug store visits for maintenance medicines, bank withdrawals, etc. Life continued.
The Kübler-Ross model, or the five stages of grief, postulates that those experiencing grief go through a series of five emotions: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Which stage am I now?
I learned indeed a lot more than expected from container gardening - organic fertilizers and pesticides, hydroponics, etc., and even got noticed by one of the shows of a TV network and invited me to guest. But now that they've been shut down.......
Many questioned the priority of the government that they would think of other tasks aside from what is most urgent. I guess they are just waiting for the vaccine and do not intend to do anything else to spend the trillion of funds they now have after loans.
Covid-19 cases increasing.
Many lost their jobs and businesses. Online shopping and deliveries quadrupled. We are still capable of spending for pampering.
Covid-19 cases increasing.
No intention for mass testing. Election season is fast approaching. Are they saving the funds for their campaigns?
News of their unjust methods proliferating. Closure of a critical media outfit? Or was it closed down because of content that adds to the dumbing down of the masses? After all, that gay comedian is sickening, the big brother wannabe is obviously scripted, and the reality shows are capitalizing on the emotional baggages of contestants.
Just as how an online media provokes people with their click-bait headlines and content, do we really need media outfits who will do everything to sell their news like whores?
People may rise up to protest against incompetence. Anti-terror bill is passed.
Should we be at the anger phase right now?
A friend invited me to follow the example of others in seeking alternative sources of income, but you were still too stubborn to believe this pandemic will be staying longer.
Then it will take another friend to shake you back to reality as if saying indirectly that....This pandemic is not ending soon. You have to adjust and evolve. A lot of businesses have closed down, lots of people lost their jobs, face-to-face events are not coming back soon so that means no event coverage and less opportunities to collab with brands... other than those who switched to online selling and delivery, including online events via livestreaming.
So my eagerness coupled with my inclination towards technology having a background in IT from previous work experiences, learning livestreaming was limited only to what the free versions couldn't offer. I can't just invest on something that may soon have several other competitive likeness due to possible increase in demand- zoom, be.Live, streamyard, etc., were previously just alternatives but now they are necessities if you want to stay home and avoid getting infected.
And then there's the SONA, which further added salt to our wounds.
To be continued....and FYI, this could be a forever changing diary each time I remember to add something significant within the story.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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