Never thought there would be a sequel to the previous post I wrote, but I think it might be cool to make one. Here it is, a blog post series about things I learned (or attempted to) during a pandemic such as this one.

Not long ago, I heard someone quoted Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher saying “change is the only constant in life.” and in a crazy time such as today, I believe that it’s equally important to cherish the privilege of permanence, or refuge perhaps- in a form of family, loved ones that I can call my ‘constants’.

Due to the pandemic, I can re-live the experience of my childhood by staying at home 24/7 with all my siblings and parents. Fun fact, it’s been 3 years (or more) since I have all three of my siblings, parents, and grandparents living under the same roof with me! Here are some things all of us GET to experience as a family in times of corona:

My sister, Alma graduating live from the comfort of our living room

This is by far the most unique thing I have witnessed ever since the pandemic began. I mean, sure other people have posted about having their online graduation but witnessing one is another whole new world.

We huddled in our living room one evening with our ‘PJs’ and my sister is the only one with her toga on, she even did her hair and makeup just like a normal graduation!

The ceremony went like this: we waited for about… 30 minutes or so to see her name to flash on the screen for several seconds (while munching on our rengginang), clapped :”) then the graduation evening ends after slurping on some bubble tea and a few photoshoots on our backyard, lol. Oh, the simple things in life…

Celebrating birthdays from our infamous living room 

We get to celebrate three #quarantinebirthdays ever since the pandemic began. Starting from Alma’s, then my grandma, and mom. My grandma made her good ol’ Blackforest for Alma’s birthday- then we bought two other blackforest-themed cakes for mom and Opung.

I don’t know why but the #quarantinebirthdays got us hooked on the sweet, tangy, soft layers of Blackforest cakes. Mom even made us a Marble cake during her birthday! (have I mentioned that we (by we I meant mom or grandma) almost made this Marble cake as our daily dessert for us? Yes. Never once bored of it, and always vanished by the next morning- WE always have a room for warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven sweets)

If anything, birthdays during quarantine have made me appreciate how it is truly a blessing to witness the presence of my loved ones- alive, and in good health.

Sharing our family’s favorites through Lan’s Bakery

I always hate it when YouTubers promoted something in the middle of their weekly vlog but this paragraph is exactly that, a clickbait. Lan’s Bakery is a little something mom and Opung made during the quarantine. It all started when they got bored one day then turned that boredom by cooking up a storm in our kitchen. Next thing I know, there are cardboards filled with ingredients, unfolded cake packaging lying around the dining table.

I can say that Lan’s Bakery is both a passion project and a business. Witnessing them cook, all drenched in sweats – back there in the kitchen truly shows how my grandma and mom manage to do all things with love. Hit us up to have our family’s comfort food (marble cake, donut, Macaroni Schotel, pudding, fruit pie) delivered straight to your doorstep. *wink*

Seizing the carpé diem by exercising

I realize I have taken my neighborhood for granted until this pandemic begins where I acknowledge that I don’t need a gym membership to have an active and healthy lifestyle. It is as simple as walking 1x/week and doing home workouts 3-4x/week (in days where I’m too lazy to apply sunscreen, use mask and walk outside) 1 or 2 hours before the workday starts. My sisters have been quite active too! It’s not a rare sight to see our trusty, one and only mat placed in different areas every day since we have our go-to spots to do home workouts.

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The different sights I get to see everyday involve of seeing mom and grandma’s baking showdowns, observing my sister attempt to listen to her online school lecture, hearing dad come home after his 9-5, then finding my brother (who was supposedly on his summer holiday) practicing ‘golf’ in the backyard with a plastic bucket as the hole during lunch breaks (yes, that was a thing). To me, it is quite rewarding to see how we, as a family are managing to adapt through this time together by ticking different sets of daily to-do-lists under the same roof.

Calling it a privilege would be an understatement.

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
Gives unto each day what He deems best,
Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.