This is me  |
 Circuit Breaker 2020
Singapore, May 2020
People are staying at home.
You have to wear a mask when you visit a bank.
The roads are empty and ...
ERPs have finally been defeated 🤯 Singapore, June 2020Circuit breaker was extended, making it a 2-month long work from home period June holidays were brought forward Re-opening occurred in phases GE2020... It's July 2020 now and I'm finally getting about to completing this post~
Welcome to Circuit Breaker 2020!
A long overdue post is finally out. It's been almost 6 weeks of 'circuit breaker' here in Singapore. You might be wondering what is this 'circuit breaker', isn't that the thing you have in your house to prevent short circuits from setting your house on fire? Somewhere in April 2020, the government in Singapore gave this word a whole new meaning.
With the whole developing situation of COVID-19 that struck our country. The daily increase in infections were getting pretty scary, hence the government had to do something to stop community spread. While most of the world had put in place lockdowns, preventing people from leaving their houses unnecessarily, ours was something slightly different. Essential services still functioned, super markets were still open, food stalls too. People were still allowed to leave their homes for exercise and our frontliners continued with work. Circuit breaker is different for everyone. There are people who enjoy the whole work-from-home (WFH) arrangements due to this flexibility and of course, the saving you get from not leaving your hose. Yet, there is also a portion of us who are starting to get bored at home, yearning to leave our houses to meet friends and to do something other than sitting in front of a screen. Not too sure if I would consider myself productive this season. With school officially ending in May'20, June was spent job hunting and looking for something to fill up my time with. Started off on a few online seminars and courses, read up on some social issues, prepared for various interviews (which I eventually failed to get an offer from), Zoomed a few friends here and there. Sounds pretty mundane right. Time slowed to a halt when you literally spend everyday doing the same thing. Then came June, the end draws near. The government announced that we will be re-opening in phases. Phase I wasn't that much different from the circuit breaker. A few more food options were open, bubble tea was still closed, more people got to go to work. After that is what we are still stuck in right now, Phase II. In my opinion, Phase II doesn't seem to be any different from the full re-opening of the country. Shops were open, people could go out to shopping malls, progressively tourist attractions were restarting their operations as well. The only stark difference is the need to wear a face mask everywhere we go. It's kind of interesting how in the past if you wore a mask out into the public, everyone would think that you're a freak, yet now if you leave your house without a mask, you will be the talk of the town. I've had my parents screamed at me just to remind me to wear my mask before I leave the house. The mask is not really an issue for me, but for those with breathing difficulties, it's not something that you can get used to in a day. Along the way throughout this pandemic, the government passed 4 budgets to help individuals and businesses tie over the period. Up till now, we've also had 4 public distributions of masks to the public. Things have been improving, however we still can't leave the country for leisure. Well, it's the rational and responsible thing to do. Looking at the rest of the world, and watching the second wave hit many major cities, staying home is really the best decision. As we wait for the next phase and travels to restart, I'll continue to work on my on-going projects so do check me out on my new Instagram account @unemployedchild. Stay safe, Sam
Labels: 2020, Circuit breaker, COVID, NUS, Reflection, SamFreedomAdventures, Uni Life |
