What's On My Mind
“It feels like we’re in a zombie apocalypse movie…”
Anxiety crept in.
The grocery stores I typically go to ran out of ginger, garlic, and onions – ingredients I typically use for cooking. Water bottles were also sold out. Yup, the effects of panic buying.
However, I also hear news about how all the grocery stores are able to restock. So, it’s not as bad as I may think of it. The problem is not there is no supply, the problem is with the delivery of supply. When people panic-buy, they interrupt the process of regular shipments.
See, when you’re unaware or missing a fact, you will obviously make an assumption based on the limited knowledge you have.
This applies to that same mistake I wrote last week about that first case of COVID-19 in Winnipeg [read here], as to how the article skipped the fact that the traveler had a connecting flight to Korea (which had a high case of coronavirus).
Here’s what I didn’t realize (until my cousin explained to me): The reason why the Philippines did not have a lot of COVID-19 cases was that they weren’t testing. There aren’t enough test kits to go around.
A podcast I listened to just recently also made a point that the live updates we see from John Hopkins University [see here] doesn’t really represent the true number of cases. The numbers we see do not include infected people who weren’t tested. *if you follow the news, I bet you already know that.
And again, because due to the limited number of test kits, only people with severe symptoms have access to it. Otherwise, you self-quarantine.
I’m glad to see how the people and services I follow are doing something to help everyone during these times of crisis:
Calm – to create some calm during these crazy times. [click here]
A Year Ago This Week
Weekly Update
Personal Projects
I created a new page called “Curated” [see here].
It’s where I plan to dump all the interesting things I found on the internet.
I have a crapload of bookmarks – of things I wanted to read but just haven’t had a chance to. Or who knows? Maybe I’ll never read them anyway. But I still wanna keep them in handy when I’m in need of a specific answer to a problem.
Timing plays a role. You only read about the things you care about at the moment. Reading about leadership, finance or starting a business does not excite me at the moment. I’m more interested in how to stay calm during these days of uncertainty.
Routine
It’s challenging to act “normal” during the outbreak.
I haven’t really read any book other than Ryan Holiday’s “The Daily Stoic” as it provides lessons on how to mentally and emotionally stay strong during these crazy times.
The rest of the time, I read about COVID-19 to learn more about it so I can further protect my family. And I’m not talking about consuming information from social media or the mainstream media channels. I only read the government website and listen to podcasts with doctors who are involved in the battle against COVID-19.
Finance
Are layoffs going to happen soon? What do I do then?
Is my company going to shut down?
I want it to shut down because then, I have more time to work on my side projects while staying safe and protecting my family from the virus.
It sounds like a big win for me. The only drawback is the lack of cash flow to pay the bills. But the government is doing something to address that.
Things are changing rapidly. This virus wasn’t a concern a week ago. The intensity of concern is rising every day. I wonder when is this gonna go back to normal.
Find more of my work here, here and here