Passionately M

We must accept the fact that these are challenging days full of uncertainties. If you are used to programming your life in terms of advanced planning, now is the time to embrace flexibility and adjust your plans according to what is happening, parallel to realistic and practical assessment of the situation.. Cambridge.org defines "flexibility" as the 'ability to change or be changed according to the situation'.   This means the 'ability to bend or be bent without breaking' . I love this -- without breaking . What holds you not to break yourself and lose your sanity? Your mind, your mindset, your calmness, your sanity, your will power -- these all will help to keep you whole. Throughout my life, I have encountered many brutal storms that find a way to my nerves to break me completely. But I am a child of God, a warrior, with burning faith inside me. I protect my head, my brains, my mind. It is normal to feel mentally weak sometimes, but if you have ...

Except for the employees employed at the supermarkets and pharmacies, the rest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) working force are instructed to work from home, be they in the government or public sector. This is to flatten the COVID-19 curve.  The remote working is at least for two (2) weeks, starting 29 March 2020, Sunday. (Read more here .) Other categories excluded are those in energy, communications, health, education, security, police, postal service, military, construction projects, banking and finance, FNB, airports and petrol stations. If there are employees required to work in the office, they must not exceed 30% of the total number. Other companies have started requiring their employees to work at home even earlier after the outbreak, to help stop the spread of COVID-19. We see the substantial reduction of vehicles on the road so air pollutants are somehow reduced. The residential electric and water consumption will be more, but for commercial establishments ...

Many people have not yet fully recovered from the trauma brought by the recession in 2008. I am one of them. And now there is another global recession , caused by the coronavirus crisis, according to International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, speaking before Financial Committee representing 189 countries. (Read more here .) It can be as bad or even worse than the last global recession. Never in my life have I seen this -- that the normal activities have to stop like this, that the freedom of movements has to be limited like this, that people in the world unite against a common enemy which cannot be seen, nor the movement and 'behavior' be predicted accurately by AI (artificial intelligence). Fears after fears eat most of us, particularly those living in foreign lands. Anxiety attacks are real and can be depressing. When you are in your own country, you need not pay your rent as you have a roof over your head, your very own home, and you have t...

I saw a video of two (2) female tourists being quarantined when they arrived at the airport of an Asian country. The body thermal reading was at 37.5  °C   so whatever plan they had to do the following days were put on halt. It was good one of them could understand the language of the country where they landed, otherwise, it would be very difficult for the other. What an ordeal for them, considering the stress of not moving freely and stress waiting for the results. Thanks God they were both tested negative to COVID-19. Here, according to the waitress in the restaurant nearby, if your body temperature is 38 °C  , they will call the authorities and then proper medical test protocol will be done. So when you go out to the restaurant or mall that conducts body thermal scanning, just be ready if your body is hot. You will be picked up and would undergo all the medical procedures required to check if you are infected with killer novel coronavirus 2019. It is important th...

If you are away from your family, the basic reminder to self is always to protect yourself, not just for yourself, but for your loved ones. It is very difficult to get sick alone in this very challenging period. Every person's basic defense center is his immune system so it is important to Eat nutritious foods; Avoid air pollutants; Sleep well, and; Don't be stressed. There are advisories from the World Health Organization and local health authorities to  Wash hands regularly, at least 20 seconds, with soap and water or use hand sanitizer; Wear face masks and gloves, if necessary; Keep a distance of 1.5 to 2 meters away from another person; Avoid social gathering or crowd; Eat foods rich in Vitamin C and take VCO (virgin coconut oil), and; Stay home to help flatten the COVID-19 curve. This coronavirus is the worst among our enemies because it is unseen and it wants to end humanity, so this must be taken very seriously with calm minds, otherwise...

Now more than ever we realize the value of our healthcare practitioners and other frontliners in the war against COVID-19. They are our heroes and they deserve our heartfelt thanks, prayers and whatever support we can extend to them. Each of them has a family, too, but they leave them, risking their lives to save others'. There are many fallen heroes because of this coronavirus outbreak. They fought a good fight but their remains cannot be buried in the cemeteries as they will be immediately cremated. While being treated and until their last breath, they could not see their loved ones. What a painful way to die... The government must extend full support to them in terms of attractive salaries, hazard pay,  accommodation, high-quality personal protective equipment (PPE), foods/fruits basket and others. There must be reserve staff, like in military reinforcement, in case they get weak or sick so they can recharge their energy and recover fully. They must not be abused just...

As of this writing,  Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by Johns Hopkins CSSE shows that there are 95,748 confirmed cases .  (Philippines - 3 | UAE - 28 | Mainland China - 80,411) I feel very sad because it has claimed 3,286 lives and scared because this disease is very deadly. There are articles that say that there was a patient who recovered already but got reinfected so what will happen to 53,423 patients who were cleared already? May they recover fully well soon. The World Health Organization (WHO) together with medical scientists work round-the-clock to be able to come up with medicines and ways that will defeat COVID-19 within the shortest time possible. Likewise the government bodies of many countries formulate and implement policies to combat the same because the impact on the economy and other aspects of life, is huge. As I recalled how 2020 greeted us with some disasters, I remembered the violent eruption of Taal Volcano in our place on 12 January 2020. Si...