Day 366

(Originally posted on my FB page)

Walking as far away from you, 2020.

Oh, wow, 2020. Where do I start? 

We began this year full of hope that it will be one of the better years but it turned out to be the year that people will remember in a long time and not for good reasons. I will never forget you, for you have taken people from us, our jobs, our plans, our life’s little joys. But most of all, you have taken our sense of normalcy; you have given us a global pandemic that halted our lives in ways I could never imagine. It’s a year like no other, and I do wish that as we end the year today, so will everything that made this year seem like a bad game of Jumanji. 

A Depressing December

One of my many favorite Christmas songs is Andy Williams’ “It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. It just brings out that undeniable holiday cheer that turns even this midlifer into a giddy nine-year-old. It’s been made popular in recent years through the Ellen DeGeneres’ segment “12 Days of Giveaways”. 

The Christmas season in the Philippines, which starts as soon as we hit the -ber months, is something I anticipate the whole year. With the Christmas preps, holiday parties and get-togethers, shopping rush, gift-giving, and lots of food, it really makes it the most wonderful time of the year. 

Until 2020. 

Taking heed

As you may have seen in my previous posts, I have been out and about for many weeks now as it is my way of coping with my anxiety. I feel that being cooped up at home for long periods has generally affected my mental well-being. 

The Banality of Everyday Life by Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916)

However, I might have to lessen it because according to the latest OCTA Research, the coronavirus reproduction rate for Metro Manila recently breached the threshold of 1 and is now at 1.06 (compared to 0.99 on December 1), which means COVID-19 is spreading faster. A doctor has already tweeted that the surge or the new wave has started. 

My birthday weekend

I don’t have anything planned out for the first day of my 44th year last Sunday, considering the many restrictions still in place because of the pandemic. For the past couple of years or so, I’d usually go out with my family, friends or treat my nephews somewhere but obviously, that can’t be the case this year. 

Christmas Gift Exchange - Virtual Edition

Another yearly event had to be tweaked because of the pandemic: My friends and I had our annual Christmas wish list revelation via Zoom yesterday evening. 

It’s been our long-time tradition to meet for our Secret Santa event every year since 2011, but planning around it with all these restrictions due to COVID posed a challenge. It’s clear that we’ll have to do away with the eat-out because of the dine-in limitations in place—which was a bummer—when all four of us look forward to these rare times we get to meet up. There’s also that challenge on how to go about with the actual exchange of gifts.