2020 October to November
Highlights of this post include:
- Start of Dylan's Online Classes
- My Birthday
- Dana's 1Q Online Exams
These may seem trivial but in this new world where Covid-19 rules, these are all milestones of the New Normal. This is how we cope with being indoors and managing to stay sane despite it
October 1 - The kittens disappeared!
On the morning of October 1st, we were all in a panic because the two kittens disappeared! We couldn't find them anywhere in the house and even if we called them they didn't come. We didn't know where to look for them and we were kind of resigned to the fact that their Mother probably moved them elsewhere and we weren't going to see them again.
But, the next day, they were back! They were red-eyed as if they've been crying all night and they were wet and dirty. I wonder where their Mom brought them and why she brought them back. Patrick related that their Mom carried them back one by one from the outside. Poor babies. They were hungry and tired and after a hot bath, they promptly fell asleep.
October 5 - Dylan's Start of Classes
We were both excited to begin this new journey. This will be an adventure because there are so many unknowns because online classes have never really been the norm. And I think it will mostly be a challenge as well because Special Education entails a different set of teaching methods that may not be applicable or appropriate for an online class. But we're optimistic. Everything will have to depend on the Teacher, the Student and particularly the Parents or Caregivers because they will bear the brunt of the actual teaching.
The first day involved an orientation with parents. We discussed rules, requirements, schedules, and which online platform to use for the classes. To be honest, not everyone is Internet- or computer-savvy so we were expecting the first week to be full of dry runs, practice sessions and tutorials. At least we get to use the new tablet courtesy of Mayor Isko Moreno! Thanks po Yorme!
During the rest of the week, Dylan adjusted well to his school hours and activity probably because he's used to doing lessons via computer anyway. I noticed though that one of the cons of this online class is that when all students start talking, kids like Dylan whose nervous tics are triggered by sound, become frustrated and end up not wanting to participate. Hmm, I have to watch out for that.
October 13 - My Birthday
During this pandemic, I noticed that DIY Samgyupsal sets were the go-to party dish for almost everyone. So for my birthday, we decided to order our own Samgyupsal set which we promptly devoured because everything was so good :)
One highlight of my birthday was this birthday cake sent by my Dad and Lynne. This also had a story. Apparently, Lynne already bought a different cake for me. In fact, she already mentioned it when she notified me about the delivery. So, when this cake arrived I was puzzle because I was expecting a different cake haha
It turned out that when they were preparing to bring the cake down to be delivered, my Dad made the mistake of picking it up and tilting it on its side, thereby destroying the cake! hahaha Lynne then had to book a different delivery service to find me a new cake and deliver it. It was difficult because it was near closing time (at this time stores closed early due to curfew) and there were hardly any cakes left. Fortunately, the driver was able to accomplish his mission. He found a cake and was able to deliver it to me :) There was never a more delicious cake than this!!
October 15 - 17 Dana's 1Q Exams
Dana's exams were uneventful. It's just weird that she's taking her exams online and the possibility of cheating was ever present. Friends could just message each other for answers because they were only asked to answer via Google Docs, if I remember correctly. They were told to have their cameras on all the time though.
October 16 - Pick up Modules from Dylan's school
Dylan's teacher notified us that we were supposed to pick up our children's new set of modules from the school at this time. It was no biggie although it was still scary to be around other people :) But, everyone was wearing face masks and face shields so that's good. After, I went grocery shopping to maximize the time while I was out and in going home, I decided to ride a jeepney because the bags were heavy. It was my first time riding public transportation and I was so paranoid about everyone, especially since there was a passenger who had a child and the mother wasn't wearing her mask properly.
The rest of the month passed uneventfully as well with both kids busy with their online classes and we all just pretty much hung around each other, like there's any other choice hahaha
In November, nothing much happened except for the arrival of two strong typhoons - Rolly and Ulysses. Typhoon Rolly arrived November 1 so classes were suspended on Monday November 2. You may be wondering why classes were suspended when students didn't need to go out. It's because when there are heavy rains, Internet connection will definitely be spotty and this affects the connection for online classes. So, rather than have the students and teachers suffer through this predicament, classes were suspended. While Typhoon Rolly didn't affect us that much, it really devastated several provinces.
Typhoon Ulysses was scary though. Classes were also suspended when Typhoon Ulysses arrived on November 12. I couldn't sleep that night because I was like in the middle of a horror movie - howling winds, rattling windows and roofs. It was terrifying! But that was nothing compared to the true horror of the people of Cagayan whose homes were flooded, eroded and battered by the severe strength of the storm.
After the storms, we had to endure No Water for a few weeks and No Internet for a couple of days. Tha was tough!
Anyway, Patrick and I celebrated our 26th year together. We had DIY samgyupsal again but we failed to take pictures hahahaha
November ended badly for us because near the end, our car Stanley got towed. We had left him parked outside because of the storms. If we didn't bring him outside to park on the sidewalk, he would have been flooded because when the rains come now, our garage gets flooded because it's lower than the street. The enforcers were so eager to tow that we weren't even able to talk to them. By the time we got outside, Stanley was being towed. <Sigh>
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