Yuletide Is Coming.

We're a stone throw away from Christmas and boy you can already feel the breeze this early. 

I'm done shopping for presents because I hate last minute anything what more cramming! I started shopping for prezzies as early as end of September, sorted them all out and kept them in our storage room so all I have to do days before Christmas is to wrap all my presents.  

I went cheap this year because I don't think it'll be 'just' considering the strife everyone has endured because of the pandemic. All I want is just to simply celebrate the holiday season this year having those who lost everything, jobs, homes, loved ones in mind. We have to be extra sensitive with what we post over social media these days because everyone has been through enough and flaunting all the grand things isn't even an option. 

I shopped all my presents online given this pandemic, just bits and bobs pretty much and all of them arrived successfully thank God. I know shopping online isn't really deemed 100% safe because items via mail can be contaminated by the virus as well so I make sure to disinfect my parcels as soon as i receive them and air dry outdoors just to feel safe then still wash my hands with a germicidal soap. It's pretty tedious really but the sole reason why I shop online more these days is to avoid the crowd. Anyways, going back, there are heaps of great finds online from cosmetics to Christmas decors, you name it, they got it.  

I made sure to save up my earnings and shopped wisely this year because this is not an ordinary year since many have suffered a great deal and our economy isn't doing so good neither. To celebrate this yuletide season, my sibs and I still managed to deck our halls for the holiday season not to mention it's also our way of coping amidst all the lament this year has brought about. We decorated our old tree from ages ago and just shopped for new hanging ornaments for it since we change our holiday theme yearly. We went for Scandi Christmas this year and our color scheme comprises of Rose gold, Silver, Champagne Gold, to add our own touch we tossed in some yellow gold and White (for the winter vibe). For our table setting, we went for Rose gold mostly and just purchased disposable cutleries (which we will not use by the way since they're single use plastics, just for photo op purposes and we will just use our existing silver wares instead lol).

We also decided to keep our budget per present at a really minimal/reasonable in short cheap cost because it's the thought that counts anyway. Sissy and I also bought Rose gold foil letter balloons and curtains to ornate our buffet table. We also decided not to cook for Noche Buena (Xmas) and Media Noche (NYE) and will just order vegan cooked food via GrabFood because we found out that this vegan resto in town now offers vegan food to go which was such a relief since prepping and cooking for holiday dinner can be physically taxing to the point you already lose your appetite from cooking exhaustion lol.

Anyhow, still stay safe. I know things will never return to normal from a hindsight therefore, we have to be the one to adapt to change and try to find our own bliss. There's always hope every time we wake up in the morning so try to look for happiness from small things. If owning a rescue animal will be helpful to your mental health why not? As for me, I always try to find reasons to be grateful because dwelling on the negativities won't be helpful for anyone these days. Learn to make things work by having a positive outlook and suit yourself with what's within your reach. 

As for me, the last quarter of the year will always be my favorite season. It'll always be the most wonderful time of the year. I always have great memories of the yuletide season as a child. My advise? Avoid being a grinch! Stay safe! 

How I prep for the holidays, check out this video 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Welcome September

Hello! Whoever you are reading this, thanks for dropping by. I know you might've just stumbled upon this blog for no reason. Alright, so how do I begin? I haven't had any blog entry for quite sometime now because I was terribly busy with home quarantine projects during the previous months. My sister and I busied ourselves repainting the interior of the house, business stuff mostly for me and just recently prepping our abode for the holiday season to keep ourselves sane these days until our Dad was hospitalized for Hernia operation recently which was why of all times. 

A Hernia operation is a minor operation

which will repair a rip in the abdominal wall by patching a mesh for some to keep all the intestines back to where they were to simply put. It really sounds simple except the world is currently fighting a pandemic which God knows how long this situation would last. Ok, so to again simply put, the medical bills will SURELY sky rocket than normal due to the pandemic measures before an operation is performed and the 'normal' that I'm pertaining to is the already hefty cost of healthcare not just in the country but all over the world.

Today, patients can no longer just swing   by  hospitals/clinics for a regular check up without the endless triage (temp check etc.), everyone who gets in and out of healthcare facilities is required to log in and out for contact tracing purposes. When my dad was given by his doctor the GO signal to get his hernia fixed asap, he was advised to have a  'swab test' as a pre-operation requirement which was absolutely understandable and thank God the result was NEGATIVE which gave us a huge sense of relief. 

My dad is headstrong person and he wouldn't budge even if we fight it over with him to AVOID going out unless it's necessary/a matter of emergency given the current situation so just imagine how stressful it was for us everytime he comes home from a non-essential trip outside because he doesn't comply with our strict household protocols to NOT wear any personal effects used outdoors inside the house not to mention he's a high risk since he's an elderly. 

Going back, the swab test cost Php4000 with senior discount and only took less than 24hours. As for the result, t'was sent to my elder sister's email which was also totally convenient aside from the patient has an option to let the community know about his/her result otherwise anonymous. I know it costs much more down south and where I'm from, there are only a couple of authorized Covid testing facilities. After the swab test was released, the patient will be required to as much as possible stay indoors to avoid contracting the virus pre-op. The swab test by the way is only valid for ONE WEEK. 

The schedule for the hernia operation was set already set except t'was put off for 3 days as per his Cardiologist's advise since he needs to stop taking one of his maintenance medications to avoid excessive bleeding during the operation. Alright so, after three days, the operation finally happened at our trusted local private hospital which only took 2-3 hours including his time at the recovery room. 

We had the shock of our lives come discharge time because his hospital bills went to a little over Php150k then down to less than Php100k because of his health benefits for a four day confinement. Health constraints is common with elderlies that's why as people get older, they have to be more careful with their health and well-being and not take the risk because the risks are extremely high for their age group given this pandemic. So, for the grandparents out there, please do not be stubborn because the virus spares no one, young or old, healthy or not. With these being said, the cost for healthcare is no joke and the least we can do is to keep ourselves healthy for as much as possible. In my dad's case, he lifted a heavy load of a water container when no one was watching thus explains the hernia which could've been avoided. He may NOT have contracted the virus but a hospital isn't a safe place neither because not every person, patient watchers most especially, are not required to undergo a swab test.

I personally was never allowed by my siblings to visit the hospital because of my autoimmune condition (Hypothyroidism) no matter how I wanted to go to the hospital to visit my dad which I understand as a precautionary measure since we're all facing a pandemic and if you cannot help then do not be part of the insurmountable problems our world is faced nowadays. 

To wrap up this writing, stay safe & healthy everyone and to always look after one another and please please please, avoid getting hospitalized because the medical expenses can be really cosmic these days! A two week confinement at a private hospital may even rack up to half a million pesos and and I'm not even exaggerating.

 

 But, amidst all these, let's find silver lining in things especially now the holiday season is just around the corner. As for me, I have purchased a new set of Christmas balls for the tree and sissy bought quite a few decors for now and an angel topper which is very fitting for this year. We could all care for a guardian angel these days. 

STAY SAFE and drink heaps of Ginger tea with a squeeze of Lemon. I think that helped my dad a lot and the rest of us in our household to flick the virus away. 😉

Oh Snap

I still can't seem to believe how our world has changed in an instant like a switch has been toggled and here we are, nothing's ever the same because of the pandemic. 

Our medical force is heaving all over the world from overwork just to keep everyone alive with little to no sleep gravely sacrificing their own health and relationship with their families through social distancing and excessive gruelling working hours required from them to heal the ailing. If the current situation has turned physically and mentality taxing then be their guest.

The solution may sound easy yet seemed farfetched from reality due to budget constraints, mass testing. The University of the Philippines has a solution to this, a cheaper way to mass test however, the government would rather patronize outsourced ones from other countries which puts more strain on the country's empty budget. We are wallowing in debt prior to the pandemic so just imagine now how poverty stricken countries will recover from this? Many businesses had declared insolvency, massive lost their jobs and the worst, many lives were lost and people are dying of hunger. When is this strife ever gonna end? 

My appeal to mankind, let's not make the situation more painstaking as it already is by keeping ourselves safe through wearing of face masks and now, a face shield whenever necessary, not to mention being hygienic as it's totally out of the question. We are facing a war which only God knows how long it'd last. 

2020 is a totally unforgetable prelude to a new milleniun as a lot of unimaginable things we wish to just bury in the past emerged not to mention the recent blast in Lebanon. My heart and prayers goes out to the families of those who suffered. 

To wrap up this writing, I just wish everything will be back to normal again but our healthcare experts cannot do it alone nor our government. Please stay home for as much as possible because we have no choice really but to accept the current situation as being adaptive is good for mental health.

I know it's tedious to wash our hands all the time, disinfect everything, stay away from crowds for as much as possible. Don't risk everyone in your household 'just because' you're not a homebody person all your life. Don't be an Ostrich (not that I hate Ostriches in fact I find them amusing because they run fast!) except one of an Ostrich's traits is refusal to face reality, that they would rather bury their head than face the truth. This is not the time to deny what's visible to eye, let's accept and learn to get by with heaps of help from up above.

Tofu never caused a pandemic.

Hi. So, how are you holding up these days? As for me, I think I have done gazillion things since the lockdown started. I may have fret in the beginning but moved on pretty easily putting my personal feelings aside. Why? Because I’m not really a people person and being homebody has given me solace not to mention that ‘not going out’ isn’t really considered a problem for me because I operate my business from the confides of my humble abode aside from the world has bigger problems than mine. 

The home lockdown has helped in my opinion but, did not really fully eradicate the problem as the virus is still stealthily lurking in someone, somewhere. It’s like preventing a jar filled with water to the brim which will still overflows anyway until the water gush out and yes, I meant the virus, it's impossible to contain just prevent the spread. It’s like fighting a war against something or someone wearing an invisible cloak like that of Harry Potters. I’m trying to be humorous but the truth of the matter is, the current situation is gravely serious because a lot of people will resort to violence and unimaginable acts if this whole thing will continue with an impending economic crisis which we already have even prior to this pandemic. 

I quit my office job many years ago not knowing this pandemic would strike in the not so distant future which was tough at first but considering the current situation, i was thankful I did because the strife of the workforce is real. Imagine how will anyone put food on the plate if everyone’s out of job with less to no aid from our government? The situation is really, really at its worst. Everything is just in disarray with infuriating corrupt officials who still manage to steal money from the people during these trying times. And, those who received aid from the government splurge their money away and wail when their funds are depleted then resorts back to the blame game again. Sometimes, this whole thing makes me think how did we even get this far?

Moving on, I’m just glad all non-essential businesses are operational again. The pandemic hampered even online businesses which was a bummer since I have an online business myself and I felt the blow, it was bad, it was really bad but like everyone else we have to stand up and keep fighting because help is not always on the way. I was ecstatic when the IATF included non-essential businesses to operate again and was so squeamish to go back to work (operate my online business again) since I can’t dilly dally baby as there are bills to pay and utility companies just pushed back the due dates and not really waived them because it’s always business as usual. With the business back on the track I was able to shop for materials again i source from textile shops that are essential for my business to operate. I prefer to shop more online these days instead of visiting physical shops because it’s always better safe than sorry, Covid-19 isn’t something to be taken lightly, never. 

During the two months of home quarantine I was able to fully restock my online shop with the very little raw materials (yarns, etc) I have left prior to the lockdown. However, I went haggard from relaxed when my shop went online again due to the influx of orders! I was thankful to God because people seemed excited to shop again and as a result has helped small (online) industries to get back up. 

As for me, my simple joys include purchasing cat supplies and more cotton yarns for my business just to veer me away from reality every once in a while. I recently bought a cat litter scooper and packs of wheat grass for thy kitty to munch on when they grow out and become a ‘cat salad.’ I think my green thumb is only at 60% having kept a cacti alive for a couple of years so I was quite apprehensive after I purchased wheat seedlings online but to my delight it grew in 4 days under very minimal supervision yey! I just tossed some on the seeds in a small pot and bury them underneath the potting soil which came with it and voila! I’ve seen sprouts on the 4th day. I felt a sense of accomplishment really.

I know it’s superficial, but we need a sense of superficiality (if ever such word exists) these days, simple joys from simple, inexpensive things to clear our minds and keep our mental state healthy, a diversion. I repurposed my DIY Macramé wall hanging decors which have been literally ‘wall flowers’ for the past few years, cooked more, baked more, tons of movie marathons, crochet more whilst my sibs made tons of Dalgona drinks and focused on house-cleaning, dog-grooming, thought about repainting the house etc. 

My recommendation? Find an inexpensive hobby, watch informative documentaries, grow a pocket garden, DIY things, try a new diet and above all, focus on your physical and mental health by eating more green and leafy vegetables. Remember, Tofu never caused a pandemic. 

Day 32

It’s Day 32 since the nationwide Luzon lockdown and so far the rate of Covid-19 cases in the country are still getting higher each day except lately, our recovery rate is far more better than before. However, to date, the country ranked 9th place out of 20 countries deemed to be unsafe to be stuck in these days because of our still high Covid cases rate. 

I know our numbers are still pretty harrowing since last month but, compared to other countries, I think we’re still alright because, so far, our frontliners are well-taken care of as opposed to other countries (based on what I read) wherein frontliners need to use their face masks until it’s soiled. Here in the Philippines, there’s an outpour of face masks, alcohol, PPE, food supplies for our frontliners donated by concerned groups and individuals.

In my opinion, I think our government, along with private companies and citizens are doing the best that they can to make sure all of our frontliners are getting everything that they need to make the situation less painstaking as it already is. I’m just hoping that local government units will provide the full on assistance that's really due to the people these days and not let corruption rule by implementing equal relief/food packs distribution and adequate financial aid specifically allocated for crisis such as this pandemic. And for the recipients of such aid to not abuse or misuse what's given to them through prohibited gamblings nor drink the money away to their heart's content. That is totally not acceptable. 

However, what’s quite a blur right now is our next step to move forward from this. It’s a very tough decision as to whether or not to extend the lockdown (Enhanced Community Quarantine) or gradually lift it to allow our economy to move bit by bit. Our world is in chaos right now in terms of varying people’s opinions left and right not yearning for a solution  but merely rants and criticisms concerning every nation's leaders’ competence with regards to how well they are currently handling the situation. Sometimes, it makes me think,  is anyone ever listening to the fact that no country is ever ready for a pandemic? Otherwise there wouldn’t be casualties along the way say in the cases of the medical workers who first handled the influx of the first wave of covid-19 patients who weren’t even aware they are already fighting a war against a very contagious virus.

I watched a YouTube-based channel called Asian Boss recently and according to Dr. Kim, an expert on infectious disease, the gap between one pandemic to the other gets shorter and shorter from less than 10 years to now down to 5 years. Point being is, not even scientists can tell when the next enemy will strike unless this pandemic is man-made and if ever this is true, we’re truly living in a crazy world. 

What’s going on nowadays reminds me the book ‘Inferno’ by Dan Brown in which a virus was almost leaked in a venue densely packed by people with an  intent to make the vast population infertile as a cruel measure to combat population explosion. I thought, is Coronavirus really a pandemic or a form of warfare? If you have been reading my blog long before, I mentioned about project HAARP which was allegedly America’s form of warfare and if so, is Covid-19 China’s form of warfare then?

I mean seriously, a lot of theories are surfacing recently which all links to the spawn of Coronavirus and one of which was this Chinese scientist couple who were allegedly compelled by a very powerful leader from a wealthy country to spread the virus and the second one was this superstition about the 100 year gap for every pandemic and so on and so forth. Can someone enlighten me please because if everyone will listen to these theories of all sorts then we’ll all end up in a mental asylum for crying out loud. Truth of the matter is, I don’t know who to believe anymore and all I can say is that believing in God keeps me sane these days and whenever I need a break from the digital world to veer away from the noise, I resort to crocheting, baking, writing and everything else. 

So, how are you coping these days? Well, develop a new hobby like gardening or whatever. To wrap up my ramblings, stay safe, stay informed, pray and let's hope for the best. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel and, there's always a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow which I literally saw a few days ago. 

Pandemic

It’s been 3 weeks or so since the mandatory enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was implemented to prevent covid-19 from further spreading and so far, I can say it has helped a lot otherwise the mortality rate in our country would’ve been doubled if not tripled considering the small population of our local health workers, not so well-equipped hospitals and not enough test kits to handle this pandemic. If this is a war against zombies, we would’ve lost the battle right off the bat. I don’t think any country per se is prepared for a battle against any pandemic especially if the virus spreads like wildfire. You never know when and how nor who has it until the death toll is alarming enough. In the case of covid-19, it stays in the air through droplets from those who have already contracted the virus by sneezing or coughing. It can also be spread by touching contaminated surfaces/things etcetera. 

The thing is, some carriers do not know they have it until they test positive since there are individuals who are ‘asymptomatic’ (showing no symptoms) and it could’ve been easier if the symptoms are obvious. I also read that, the asymptomatic ones are much more difficult to treat because when the body shows the symptoms as in the case of the symptomatic ones, it means that the human body is building antibodies to fight the infection according to experts aside from knowing what’s wrong with the patient makes it easier for our healthcare experts to gauge how severe it is. Thus explains why some of the ‘possible’ covid-19 carriers are released from heath facilities and will just be contacted back after their test result returned positive which is way more dangerous since there’s a bigger possibility for them to spread the virus from the time they were sent home until the test result is in and shows that the patient is positive for covid-19. In South Korea, it only takes within 24 hours for them to know whether the person is covid positive or not which means they will NOT let go of the person until the result is in which I am hoping will be the case here in the Philippines as well to better manage the situation. I'm also glad that more test kits will be available soon.

As of the moment, I think the biggest dilemma boils down to survival. How are we going to survive/ fend for our families/survive home confinement without an income? No work, no pay, no wage no funds to buy goods and avail pretty much anything. Business owners/companies are now compelled to waive rental fees and utility bills for the obvious reason but not all employers have the audacity to give their employees aid/assistance in times like these if they also ceased operating as a result of the lockdown. Everything moves in an economy obviously, may it be big corporations or small-medium business as both requires manpower and without one means loss of revenue. As for the aftermath, not enough money to keep the business going means no funds to pull employee wages from to simply put. Companies will also have no choice but to downsize which would gravely impact small workers while keeping the high ranking ones at bay. 

So, what’s my point? The government should be more vigilant in extensing assistance to the vast majority before starving individuals resort to violence for having no income to sustain their families as the saying goes ‘desperate measures call for desperate times.’ I am ecstatic for the quick response of some local government units, for being swift in food packs distribution and cash assistance. I understand most of them are doing the best that they can to address the crisis although I can’t help but feel disappointed with most of them because we’re already in the third week of the ECQ yet some districts, cities/towns have not received any aid from their local government units yet which makes me think, how come aspiring politicians during the previous elections were able to scour every district’s nook and cranny before yet is taking too long (almost a month) to provide assistance to their localities during these trying times when their help is needed the most? Where have all the local funds gone? 

On the other hand, I would like to salute and extend my deepest thanks and gratitude to all our Frontliners--doctors, nurses, scientists, maintenance people, cleaners, security guards, supermarket employees, police & military force, people from the food delivery service/industry, garbage collectors, volunteers, NGOs and the media people for braving the roads, streets and hospitals considering it is a dangerous battlefield out there and the enemies are unseen. 

Today is one of those times for everyone to keep an open mind and totally eradicate the hate and discrimination towards our healthcare workers and covid-19 patients. Remember, nobody wants to contract the virus nor purposely spread them NOT unless the person is already aware he/she is a possible Covid carrier PUI/PUM (people under investigation/monitoring) yet still wandered about posing harm to the rest of the people they come in contact with then that’s a totally different story not to mention those individuals who purposely lie to the doctors and nurses assisting them regarding their actual health condition and travel history. Please bear in mind, being truthful will help save tens, if not hundreds, thousands of lives. Covid-19 is a pandemic and it has already claimed over 88,000 lives all over the world. It pains me to watch the news and hear the stories of covid-19 survivors with family members who suffered the same yet lost the battle. Coronavirus is deadly and harrowing therefore shouldn’t be taken lightly. If you feel like you can’t be of any help, that’s not true because staying home will help tremendously in preventing the virus from further spreading and so as social distancing and maintaining proper hygiene.

I personally admit this whole situation is taking sometime for me to get used to. My anxiety level is heightened whenever I’m back home from the supermarket to stock up on essential goods/food supplies and I know I’m not alone as this pandemic has made almost everyone paranoid they may have contracted the virus whenever they feel soreness in their throats, runny nose, a cough etcetera. My simple trip to the supermarket before has now turned into a tedious process. I now need to leave whatever footwear I used outside, spritz Isopropyl alcohol to my entire clothes, wash my hands thoroughly if not take a bath a.s.a.p or wash the clothes I wore that day to avoid contaminating the house or be the carrier of the virus. I mean, that’s just really selfish to not be careful these days especially if you have immunocompromised family members, senior citizens, pregnant or children at home. I just find it very stressful if you have a stubborn family member at home who does not comply with these anti-covid measures. Say for instance my Dad, a senior citizen and a diabetic, who seems to be having a problem (heard of Cabin Syndrome?) with this whole home quarantine measures that’s being strictly implemented by the government. He constantly insists on going out and come up with all excuses just to be out of the house despite my siblings and I’s strong resolve to keep him safe at home. All senior citizens are susceptible to the virus what more someone who’s diabetic. Both my Dad and I have auto-immune conditions (Diabetes and myself, a Hypothyroid) therefore our immune systems would be highly compromised once exposed to the virus and I would never take the chance nor any of the family members.

If one becomes a PUI/PUM in our country nowadays you can either call the covid hotline for them to isolate the issue first, whether or not you will be considered a PUI/PUM.* If the person obviously exhibits covid symptoms, your local unit/Barangay/district will be contacted and an ambulance will be dispatched with health workers aboard, all geared in PPEs (the full body suit they use in hospitals) along with a military personnel (I learned) from a family friend who personally saw one of their neighbors was picked up by an ambulance from their abode. So, just imagine how alarming and scary it is but that’s the protocol. If you prefer to take a family member to a hospital because you thought he/she might have covid, you cannot go directly to the ER (emergency room) because you have to go through their 'triage' process first and there are tent set-up outside all hospitals nowadays based on what I have observed. If you really care about your family, then avoid going outside unless it's really necessary or it's an emergency because the word 'emergency' sounds different nowadays as everybody relates your emergency pretty much to covid. Don't jeopardize everyone in your household because as far as I know, the moment one family member is tested positive for covid then everyone in your household will be on 'home quarantine' for a couple of weeks and somebody else will have to run errands for the rest of your family and you wouldn't want that neither. 

Another thing is, let’s not ostracize anyone who’s covid-19 positive because like what I said, nobody wants to be one. I’ve been seeing a lot of these hostilities lately which makes me lose my faith in humanity sometimes. If this would go on then more and more people would rather conceal their real situation rather than seek help fearing they would be put in a difficult situation which may even endanger many lives. 

*PUI when he or she is exhibiting the coronavirus symptoms, has traveled in the past 14 days to areas with issued travel restriction, and has a history of exposure to COVID-19. PUM, on the other hand, is not showing any coronavirus symptoms but has a travel history to areas with issued travel restriction or a history of exposure to the novel virus. (Derived from GMAnews)

Enough Is Enough.

The outbreak of COVID19 (a.k.a NCOV, a.k.a. Novel Coronavirus 2019) sent everyone in panic mode enough to storm out drug stores and any place that sells N95 masks (which are still mostly sold out to date), isopropyl alcohol and hand sanitizers thinking it will protect the vast majority from the virus which is somewhat airborne anyway and will afflict anyone with poor immune system once in contact with an infected person. 

The virus said to have come from a province in China called Wuhan wherein exotic meat trade is quite rampant which deems to be true after I saw a video snippet (on Facebook) of animals getting slaughtered somewhere in a market in Wuhan, that, they even slaughter kittens for God’s sake which made my heart sank. A kitten? Seriously? When the virus was still stating to spread, according to the news, it came allegedly from a infected ‘Bat’ then to a Pangolin to a human. At first, I never had an inkling that people still eat Bats nowadays because as far as my knowledge goes, Bats can also be rabid so why the fudge eat them for crying out loud!? I know some people still have this insatiable taste for exotic animals for food thus explains why COVID19 happened in the first place. 

When I was young, I remember my Mom constantly told us to stop eating meat because whatever disease animals have will most likely transmitted to humans if we will continue to consume animal meat which eventually was true in the long run and it has always been say in the case of SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2003. SARS-CoV which allegedly thought to be an animal virus which might’ve came from bats as well and was spread to other animals (civet cats) which also first infected humans in Guangdong province, southern China back in 2002. The question is how come it’s always in China? I guess the answer is quite obvious, they never stop consuming/eating exotic animals and considering how densely populated China is, spreading the virus is quite inevitable. Rumor has it that China even tried to cover up and threatened medical professionals who will expose that the COVID19 exists thus explains why the virus had spread worldwide. If only the officials in China was quick in disseminating the information about the virus instead of covering it up then the outbreak would’ve not gone full blown as prevention is always better than cure. 

The Chinese lunar year celebration also made the matter worse because the citizens of China weren’t aware they already contracted the virus so they went ahead with their long vacation, most of them flew out of their country to celebrate the long holiday. I mean, there weren’t any lock down in China yet until reports of the infection began hitting the news and the death tolls kept rising. As of the moment I’m writing this, the outbreak gravely hit the airline industry big time thus explains the massive lay off because of the travel bans. No travel equals loss of revenue for airline companies and loss of income means danger of insolvency. So just imagine the small news turned into a worldwide health emergency just because of China’s fear to accept the fact that the problem is there and wanted people who knew about the whole situation to keep mum about it. So sad, really sad. 

So what’s my point really? I know a lot of people will squirm if I will say ‘when will we ever learn?’ that eating animals isn’t good for humans overall health because I bet 70-80% of people are still meat eaters but it’s true. Animal meat is the main source of coronary heart diseases in humans just to state a major fact. Going vegan is the best decision I have done in my life that I will never regret because aside from the impeccable health benefits, it does not condone violence towards the helpless, voiceless animals not to mention the benefits to our planet. Why can’t humans and animals co-exist peacefully without posing harm to the other? Just because they couldn’t speak for themselves we will take advantage of them? Aren’t the screams and wails enough for them to send their message across? Why are we making this world mirror ‘holocaust’ for them? 

Isn’t ‘speciesism’ similar to  ‘Genocide’ in humans? I have seen tons of holocaust movies and I can’t help but see the parallelism. During Germany’s dark ages under Hitler’s regime, he commanded to have all Jews executed because of the grudges he hold towards their race for the reason his family suffered after losing their business from Jews. In today’s world, pigs, cows, chicken, fish gets killed for their meat whilst sparing cats, dogs and other animals which does not belong in the poultry, hog industry/category. And I bet these animals born to get slaughtered aren’t even enough that even wild animals are illegally snatched from their habitats to have a ‘taste’ of them for those with adventurous palettes. Animal meat is cheap and easily accessible/sold in fast food chains because retribution time comes when humans gets diagnosed with terminal illnesses resulting to ‘cosmic’ hospital bills. Enough is enough.

It also makes me extremely sad that, instead of renouncing meat from every human’s diet, ‘rabbits’ are being eyed as possible substitute for pork meat due to the increasing number of pigs afflicted by the recent ‘African Swine Flu (ASF)’ here in the country. I mean, why not soy protein instead of another animal to resolve the crisis? Aside from soy protein/faux meat is cruelty-free, it’s not carcinogenic. Why do we always have to resort to killing another delicate animal such as rabbit just to satisfy our taste buds? Let's bear in mind, your happiness is their torture. 

A lot of people nowadays are going ‘vegetarian’ by going dairy-free or by not eating pork yet eat chicken, by not eating pork & chicken but eat fish. Why not go vegan instead and ditch the dairy and totally stop consuming these innocent animals instead and go for plant-based foods aside from they’re guilt-free to consume, our stomach will just digest them and our body will excrete them anyway? Let’s co-exist peaceful with every living being in our planet, big or small. Plants don’t feel pain and scream in pain. How would you feel when death’s door is right in front of you what more see the rest of your kind die a painful death right your very eyes? Watch any documentary shot in ‘slaughterhouses’ and tell me if seeing these poor animals will not jar your conscience and sanity. 

2020 It Is.

Hello 2020. It’s better late than never I know to welcome the year of the metal rat. 

2019 has been a rough year for the family after losing three of our precious furry friends and nearly lost one more before the year came to a close. We lost a couple of our senior dogs during the first quarter of last year and one more three days before Christmas, our gentle giant German Shepherd, Jagger who was only 4 years old from heart worm, a deadly illness which afflicts 1 out of 200 dogs per year based on statistics. 

A couple of weeks prior to that we almost lost our 7 year old cat from infections brought about by his wounds after having a catastrophic fight with a stray cat and yes was let out despite my strong resolve to never let the cat out since he’s very susceptible to illnesses even if he’s neutered compared to outside cats but to no avail my sister let him out after he begged incessantly. He’s overweight which is common to neutered cats and was also a great disadvantage compared to outside cats since he moves slower. We were devastated after his wounds started pussing just 3 days after he came home all wounded. Thank God we rushed him to the newest veterinary clinic in town on time where he was treated, stitched and was prescribed medications. I will not mention the name of the vet clinic but t’was really brand new, a full service animal hospital compared to the others we used to bring our pets to. However, they obviously charge way more compared to the small vet clinics around not to mention they offer a lot of unnecessary tests to your pets which makes the bills way more higher than it should. I thought, they weren’t as considerate compared to the other vet clinics we often visit wherein they will ask for the pet owner’s permission first before they offer any unnecessary tests to avoid the vet bills to sky rocket. So anyway, my cat was treated well except he had a bad case of sneezing and side effects from the injectible antibiotic administered to him and yet again thank God the vitamin C helped to rid off the side effects and he’s definitely well now except my sister and I made a pact to not send him to that vet clinic again and never ever let him out regardless of how pathetic and cute he looks when he begs!

R.I.P Jagger 2016-2019, ILY.

Then, weeks later, I was devastated one morning when I saw Jagger, our GSD heaving and his breathing reminiscent to our dogs before who all died from distemper many years ago. His breathing was laboured and is obviously abnormal. So, we rushed him that same evening to the same vet clinic we sent our cat to and we were told t’was bacterial infection, no kidney problems or whatsover which somewhat set our minds at ease although they were doubts at the back of our heads because he was never better despite the many antibiotics prescribed to him. Days later we rushed him back again to that same vet clinic because we saw his enlarged scrotum and swollen feet and that’s when we heard the real bad news, he has heart worm which can be really deadly if not treated properly. Jagger’s doses of antibiotics were increased, a heart worm medication was prescribed to be taken once a month and other medications so forth were given to him but to no avail my elder sister found him dead one unfateful morning just days before Christmas. 

We were totally aghast because he’s being treated well and monitored properly how come he still died? We asked for the vets explanation and we were told that his condition might’ve been already severe when he started his treatment. We couldn’t wrap our heads around with what happened and we were left to just accept the fact that he was gone too soon no matter how hard it was to swallow. I loved that dog, he was the kindest despite his really huge frame, he thinks like a puppy and often leaves food in his bin to feed his little Mountain Sparrow friends who swings by all the time looking for food. I was really heartbroken and the thought I’m not gonna see him ever again tore me apart. That’s the problem with owning a huge breed dog, their presence feels more human because of how big they are, it’s impossible not to notice their presence and he’s a howler like a talky, whiny kid. I know he’s crossed the rainbow bridge just like the rest of our lovely pets in the past. I told my Mom to take care of him on the other side in case they meet or if animals do really have souls. 

I know a lot has already happened since last month considering it’s only the first quarter of the year. From the sudden eruption of Mt.Taal last January 12th which affected hundreds of people and animals within the danger zone, the outbreak of the 2019 Novel Corona Virus, the bush fire in Australia which almost wiped out species of Kangaroos, Koala bears to mention a few, and the recent passing of a basketball legend, Kobe Bryant and his daughter from a plane crash. My heart goes out to all people who’s hearts were broken this first quarter of the year from the calamities and sudden deaths of their loved ones. God is always here to guide us all. We just need to keep praying and hope these too shall pass. May we surpass all the trials this year brings forth moving forward.