Showing posts with label Write To Ignite Blogging Project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Write To Ignite Blogging Project. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

T.R.U.T.H. - Ten (10) Reel-life (Real-life) Understanding in Time of Home-Quarantine

12:49:00 AM

The TRUTH? I'm worried, I'm stressed, and I'm scared! It's not only for me but for my family.

Perhaps this is our initial reaction when we face things that are unknown and uncertain. Like in horror suspense movies that we always watch, it was something similar to that. The only difference is, it is not on reels this time.

Who wouldn't get frightened? It is real, and it's happening right before our eyes. It is always on the news, the affected, the recoveries, and the one that we hate to see, the figure of deaths. If for the number of gross earned per movie from a world premiere, that would be great, but the sad part is that we're counting the number of people infected by the virus, worse the number of deaths.

I love movies, and I love history! I enjoy reliving the past through the works of movie creators, but today, after experiencing it personally, it's much better than films. It's real-life experiences and genuine emotions, no-frills. I am human, and this made me realize things.


The Outbreak

Of all the movies that have viruses, zombie apocalypse, and outbreak themes, we didn't even bother to have precautions (probably there was, but it wasn't taken seriously). There were no presentations of "what if these things happen in real life?" It only shows that we have vivid imaginations, even to the point that it happens right before our eyes, but we couldn't do much because we were never able. I am not ready, and I am not prepared.


Probably, the situation has created an ideally immense impact when it comes to safety, security, and health. Just like in the movie "Outbreak," a single carrier, which is a monkey, had placed the entire town to chaos and spread the virus. But then again, we shouldn't be too paranoid to think about this, but instead, live a life of being aware.


Lockdown or Community Quarantine

I remember the movie "Resident Evil," it is one of the horrific suspense movies that time, and it took me a certain point to probably watch the whole film. One part of the movie, where the entire facility was lockdown because of the virus, is somewhat similar to what we have experienced. It all started when the virus made its way into the city and began to spread. I was scared to go out, primarily when the number of virus-affected individuals increases.


Then it happened, the thing that everyone is scared of, the lockdown. I'm afraid and worried at the same time because I don't have much savings for my family. No event means no income, and no income means no money to buy food for the time of stay-at-home.


The Tribute

For one month, no one is allowed to go out of their houses except for those who will buy necessities like foods, medicines, and other things needed to survive this pandemic. Like most of the people, my initial reactions were 'how are we going to survive?', 'what will be our source of income?", and 'where are we going to buy food?'.

Quarantine Passes were issued to us by our barangay, and when I got this pass, which is I think is a quarter size of a long bond paper, I thought of the tributes in the movie "Hunger Games." I felt I was one of them, the chosen one for the district, and in my case for my family.


It's not easy being the tribute of the family. You need to be in full gear when you're going out to buy foods or medicines or other necessities for the family. You need to have your mask, your quarantine pass, your alcohol, your hat, your phone, your eco bag, and of course, always have a prayer. These are my battle gears when facing the world outside of our house.

Every time I go out, I always have an understanding and learning about our life, particularly the present one. Fathers or not, we are all ready to take on any difficulties for the sake of our family. And this crisis will be overcome if we trust and believe that God is above all.


The Quarantine Life

If you have seen the movie "Swiss Family Robinson," well I can say that our life during the quarantine period is similar to theirs except for the gadgets and the internet. We're isolating our family from the rest of the community to avoid contracting the deadly coronavirus, but not living all alone in the world.

Like the Swiss Family Robinson, we tried to save and use every possible supply that we have. We don't know until when this quarantine is.


The birthday celebrations are not the usual, foods are limited, and birthday greetings are only online. It's a small celebration but memorable. My youngest son, Gelo, celebrated his 9th Birthday with a French Fries Tower like cake and pool themed family party.


The good part of the lockdown is that we get to learn a lot of things, clean the house, declutter, and communicate more with God. Maybe this is God's way of letting us find his love and mercy in the fast-phased environment that we are living before this pandemic and thanking Him for life and the blessings.


Of course, whether we like it or not, we always look at our social media accounts, witnessing the different issues of the government and also the lives of several celebrities.


Help Comes When You Least Expect

When Harry Potter faces the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore's phoenix flew towards Harry and dropped the Sorting Hat. Out of nowhere, the sword of Gryffindor appeared inside the Sorting hat. Just like what I have experienced during this quarantine and lockdown period, help comes when you least expect it. Friends from the blogging community and entertainment industry are God's sent angels because their assistance is just what we need.


Maybe it is natural for us Filipinos to extend help to others who are in need. There were many stories of "malasakit" and "bayanihan" that are praised and commended by a lot of people. Some were given more resources to be able to extend more help to other people.


Though my friends' deeds aren't as sensational as the ones featured on any news, in my heart, they will always be my hero.


Share Your Blessings

Blessings are not just items that we usually receive, but its actually beyond the physical appearance. I am thankful that I am blessed with so many things in life, my family, who are there to give me strength and to my friends who help in times of need.

Perhaps helping is innate to us, it's a part of our culture, the Filipino culture. Remember the 'bayanihan,' that is probably the best picture to describe us Pinoys. It may not be similar, but the movie "Pay It Forward" is one of the best visualizations of the helping deeds. I haven't fully watched the film, but I like how it describes the way how to repay the help given out to you.


In my case, during the quarantine/lockdown period where we all are in need, my way of repaying was through my services. I am the leader of our homeowners' association in our area, and the only way I can help is by coordinating with our barangay for the assistance to reach our community.

Helping even in simple things, are great, the feeling is unexplainable. Seeing the relief from their eyes, and hear those short thank yous are enough for me.


The True Value of Time

Right before the outbreak, we are all living in a fast-phased environment, a world where innovations happen in a short period. We definitely take the meaning of time by intentively doing multi-tasks activities and work almost every minute from the moment that we learn how to compute. That is how we live before, but when the NCov19, now CoVid19, break out, lives started to move slow. Most of the people are inside their houses together with the families.

I remember when I was still working in the corporate world, most of the employees are looking forward to the dates of the holidays. During the quarantine, their wish was granted. All they needed to do was spend it wisely, and most of them spent it with their families. I did it too, and with the help of my wife, we spent that time with the kids by having different activities together.


Perhaps this is also one of the lessons in our life we should take time off from our work and activities to spend it with our loved ones. Good thing that our era doesn't uses time as a currency. Unlike in the movie "In Time," a science fiction story where the people stop aging when they reach 25, their money is their time. They work to have more time in order to live.


The Heart of Men

In the background story of "Lord of the Rings," Isildur, the one who manages to kill Sauron and get a chance to destroy the one ring, was described as the weak men and easily corrupted. It is true. Like Isildur, I'm also tempted to do the unworthy ones, especially during the crisis. But thankfully, God covers it with his love and better yet my heart is more of Aragorn. A human core with a strong will to overcome the crisis that we are facing.


I learned that in times of pandemic, there are people who tend to go selfish, but there are still others who are willing to do and give more of what they have just to help.


Moving Forward

One of my favorite lines from the movie "Forrest Gump," 'Life is like a box of chocolate. You never know what you're gonna get.' Life continues even though that there's still the Covid-19 scare, but knowing that I have my family to support, it inspires me to do more. I know work and events are limited, but I have to do what it takes to have something to support my family's needs.


Life now is really uncertain, but it is better to do something rather than nothing at all. Since most of the people now are transacting online, we too jump in the wagon of online sellers. It is aside from my writing gigs, graphic designs, and social media account management. So if I'm off with my online gigs, I do the delivery of the orders. Since I don't have a bicycle, I use 'Cadillac' - 'Kadali Lumakad.'


How many calamities and crises had passed in our country already? Actually, I lost count. We, Pinoys, are resilient, we always find positivity in every situation. We are like bamboos, no matter how strong the storm, we just sway it around and come up standing tall again when it is over.


Learn to Appreciate Small Things

At this time, every little thing that we have is necessary. Our life is short, and let us make every second a moment to cherish.

If you're a fan of Eddie Murphy, I'm sure this movie won't escape your radar, the "Holy Man." It is about a strange person who appreciates life that changed the perception of the other main character.


I like how the character, Mr. G, truthfully describes the value of things around us. The smell of the grass and even the effort of hugging a person (unfortunately, we couldn't do that at the moment because of social distancing). But my point is, we're alive and surviving, so let us appreciate more of the small things in life.


As we face this new normal, let us always find the good and the strength in each person.


This story is an entry to ComCo Southeast Asia's "Write to Ignite Blogging Project". The initiative is a response to the need of our times, as every story comes a long way during this period of crisis. Igniting and championing the human spirit, "Write to Ignite blog Project" aims to pull and collate powerful stories from the Philippine blogging communities to inspire the nation to rise and move forward amidst the difficult situation. This project is made possible by ComCo Southeast Asia, co-presented Eastern Communications, and sponsored by Electrolux, Jobstreet, and Teleperformance.





About Me

About me
Hi!, This is Marco a.k.a. Toto Blogger and Publisher. I created this blog to provide stories, personal experiences, entertainment, and insights on products I like. I'm here to share and inform you (readers) on things about music, movie, food, travel, and events.

You can also meet my wife on her blog www.mommysmaglife.com.


For project collaborations, product reviews, event invitations, or hotel and resort experience reviews, kindly email me at marcopolojdemo@yahoo.com.



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