But I think that's a misunderstanding on my part.
Cos to me it's boring but readers don't know that. To me, what I do is normal and boring to me, so I thought no need to write anything, but how would my readers in SG know that....
My wife has been working from home since 17 March.
We actually were planning in Feb to take a trip home in March. But after SG declared Dorsconn Orange, we decided to postpone our home trip.
What's pretty cool is that when US started to lock down, the SG embassy contacted us to update us on the situation and give us warnings and ask if we are deciding to return to SG. We did register ourselves with the embassy when we reached US though, we did that when we were in Paris as well.
We decided that it would just be better to stay put in the US, cos even if we go back to SG, we would be quarantined for 14 days so there's no real point in flying back to SG just to be holed up in a hotel room.
And some people may think staying in a hotel is fun, but seriously, after all the biz trips, I've really grown tired of being stuck in a hotel room.
Furthermore, my current apartment is around the same size as my home in SG around 800 sqft so it's pretty comfortable.
For us, life is pretty much normal. Nothing much happening.
We wake up, and just stay at home. My wife works, I do whatever I want, play games, watch Youtube, movies, prep meals, whatever...
Early in the situation, when SG declared Dorsconn Orange, I had some expectation that the situation might get worse, so I stocked up 2 months of food in my fridge, rice and canned food and bottled water.
Even if the situation didn't get worse, I would still consume the food eventually, so it's not just stocking up for no use. The food wouldn't be wasted in any case.
Furthermore, it's pretty normal for people in Houston to stock up food and water cos of hurricanes. Cos when the rain comes, it's common for the roads to flood. So transport to purchase food might be difficult.
I wrote about that here.
It was a good thing we stocked up early. Cos when the trouble really started to hit, many people went to the supermarket to stock up whereas I was already ready. I didn't want to be packed in a supermarket where there are so many people during a pandemic.
My apartment has amenities. Swimming pool, coffee machine, pool table, lounge, bbq areas, etc... All these were shut down. We pay US$35 per month as an amenity charge. But the apartment management has waived this fee during this period. We usually only use the coffee machine regularly so it's a pity that it's been shut down. Luckily, I brought over some instant coffee from SG. The instant coffee was free in SG purchased using free vouchers. Bought them for use in Paris but ended up having to use them in the US.
2 weeks after the first wave of people who rushed to stock up at supermarkets, the crowds died down.
Even though I had enough food stocked up, I went to stock up more food at the supermarket. I now have enough for around 4 months.
I've never really had to queue up at the supermarkets. I go in the morning. There's little people. Don't need to queue to get in, and don't need to queue to pay.
For me, stocking up whenever I can is important. I go every 2-3 weeks. Cos never know when or how long this issue is going to continue for. Don't want to have a situation where I'm down to 1 month of food when I realize that the issue has gotten worse and yet more people are out and about. Which looks like what's going to happen soon
I'm going to be more cautious for the next month or so. I'll prob not go out or buy groceries during this month or so. Cos Texas is opening up, but yet the cases are still high. So more people will be going supermarket and everywhere else. So for me, I think stocking up has been a good idea, cos I don't want to be going out during this period. Maybe see how the situation turns out before deciding how to proceed.
The problem is, I'm in the US. Even though I have insurance coverage and all that. I still don't know how they will treat a foreigner in such a situation. So I don't want to end up having to go to hospital or anything if I can avoid it.
I also try not to go out unnecessarily. There's racism. There's not a lot, but I've read about it. I haven't faced any myself. But I rather avoid it then to be sorry. It's just going to be unpleasant. Especially during this period. Cos there are also a lot of people who have lost their jobs looking for someone to blame. And who better to blame than the Asian guy at the supermarket? I'm easy pickings for someone looking for trouble.
So for me, I think it's not worth the trouble for the time being until this whole thing blows over.
Even though the cases are on the rise in Texas, many people are still respectful of the stay at home guidelines. So people really don't go out much. Except that even though only a small percentage of people ignore the stay at home recommendations, it's enough for the virus to keep spreading so it's just unfortunate.
Due to less people going out, less people driving, the car insurance companies are giving rebates for insurance premiums. I've gotten a 20% rebate for my auto insurance policy.
Auto insurance isn't cheap. So a 20% is quite significant for me. I pay US$233 per month for auto insurance. Different companies give different rebates. Some more some less.
It's only been 2 months since my wife started working at home.
Initially we were thinking it's better to be in the US than return to SG.
Cos the spread in SG is easier due to the population per land ratio. Also during the mass outbreak in SG, we were thinking "Woah heng ar didn't go back."
But now, US is reopening and things are expected to get worse. So I am pretty concerned.
Life is still pretty much normal for us, just being cooped up in the apartment. It is boring.
I try to cook different things everyday. I bought frozen pizza from Walmart. It's pretty good US$6 for stuffed crust pizza. Better than any frozen pizza available in SG. It helps to break the monotony of my cooking.
My wife works more than normal during this period. Cos there's nothing to do. So just stay on the laptop and continue working. Otherwise, it's watching Korean dramas and other shows. Nothing much to do cos we're stuck at home.
Actually, we CAN go out. It's not like there aren't places to go and wander for a bit, like parks, other open areas, etc... But as I said... well racism, and don't want to be out unnecessarily and get infected.
Maybe I'm being paranoid, or more careful than is really necessary.
But for me, my 2 main concerns are, 1, potential racism, and 2, IF any of us gets the virus, most likely both of us will be infected at the same time, and we don't know how the healthcare system will treat us as foreigners.
The feeling of insecurity is quite unnerving.
The apartment complex has already started unlocking measures.
They have reopened a bunch of the amenities. But I'm probably not going to hang around those areas.
Even as I type this, there are reports of new hot spots in the US.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/newly-reopened-south-florida-seen-as-emerging-coronavirus-hotspot-223903143.html
So I do have concerns going forward.
In the end I'll just mainly continue to camp at home until things get better for as long as I can.
It's probbaly safe outside, I'm just a more paranoid person than most others.
I think many Americans are used to the insecurity, of getting robbed or black people getting racism. And it's probably just me as a Singaporean who's too used to the security at home so I'm more concerned than the average American.
But besides that. Life is pretty much normal. Just stay at home, do my normal things. Don't go out except to buy food when really needed.
I do miss eating out a bit, like I'd like some fried chicken or something.
Oh... and I don't order food as well, cos never know how or who prepares the food so no point having additional risks from the person preparing the food and the person delivering the food.
Am I kiasi? Yes probably. Maybe I'd be less concerned if I were in SG.
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