In Praise of Singapore and Pickles

New trend, you saw it here first, it's called the mask snap. It hurts. Sorry Ernesto.

What a difference 3 weeks makes. My previous post now looks almost prophetic, western world. I feel compelled to write about what's happening here, in case we're still in the future.

1. Our Mental Health Suffered
Much of Asia is working from home, in small apartments, often with their children unable to go to school. Normal social engagments have changed. VPNs and networks in China are strained. People have worried about their parents, struggled to get supplies or medical care, and have faced very lonely quarantines. We worried about the unknown. The stress and anxiety are worth attention.

It's ok, we made our own fun.

2. Singapore gave us Beautiful, Delicous Data

Singapore has been agile, swift, and informative in its response. In addition to our daily Whatsapp case alerts, we now have full cluster data, like this.

Yes, that's right, every single case is linked and clustered. Majulah, Singapore.

Certainly not every country can do this, but data really helps when worrying about the unknown. (As do extensive testing, quarantines, and enforcement). 

So despite the population density disadvantage, we feel lucky and patriotic to be here.

3. Our supply chains have recovered. 

There were a couple of bad weeks. But please don't worry, it seems toilet paper will go on sale in ~4 weeks in the western world, so hold tight. (Here's the Laura in Singapore prophesy this week). 

4. The Economy, on the other hand
Flights are cancelled, restaurants are half-full, tourist attractions are empty. This part is also worrisome.

Some people still went on Prison Death Ship holidays, inexplicably. (It's not clear if the passengers are allowed to leave the ship). 

5. I sought new hobbies
It turns out that travelling (for work, in particular) takes up a lot of time. So, I've been making probiotic pickles, since they're good for your health. My kosher dills are stellar. Looking for more stress-free, non-group-oriented hobbies, (sportless), please advise.

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