My COVID-19 Lockdown Journey

Hello there!  It has been ages since I last blogged.  David told me I need to take time to reflect, because since the beginning of lockdown I’ve just been shifting from one activity to another.  

In the first few days, I spent most of my time playing the piano.  Song for Brother by Captain Ri.  Then this sad song by Paul Kim.  Maybe it was my way of taking my mind off the Covid thing.

Some questions that had kept me up at night in the early days were ‘Will the Mori moms have enough food to eat?’ ‘What work am I going to give them?’ You see, our products were  considered non-essential goods.  'How can we still contribute and make a difference in society?' 'Will we have enough medicines, food for the whole country... how about tissue rolls?'

I had the desire to do something, to help, but I didn't know how.  Good thing I stumbled upon the donation drive of my HS batchmates that was looking not just for donation in cash or kind, but also for volunteers to do face shields.  (Thank you Jirbie for spearheading!)  My friend Lynette and I had been looking for such an opportunity.  So we started to make face shields for them to be donated to hospitals.  We didn’t intend to sell, but my uncle (who owns a distribution company) told me that there are other types of frontliners that need face shields too.  It took three phone calls with him before we finally agreed to start a side project of making face shields and selling them at a cost lower than market rate.   It turns out that bankers, drivers, sales people, people in manufacturing and distribution also need them.  And because of this, the Mori moms got more work to do.  Thankfully, the face shields got them covered in March and April.

FAQ: How did you get the materials?  During the lockdown, almost all businesses and shops (except for food, medicine, logistics) were closed.  Thankfully, I had (and still have) a very resourceful partner.  She was able to find the right suppliers like needles in a haystack when all other suppliers were out of stock.  She also got us more effective and efficient materials.  Having a partner in this project made it a breeze. (I'm reminded of the hashtag #SanaAll... Sana all of my projects have a Lynette. 😂)

Another item that I wished Mori could do since day 1 of lockdown was Face Masks.  I searched for the patterns and templates recommended by nurses and physicians.  But because I lacked the expertise and there seemed to be an overwhelming pool of materials to choose from, I ended up shoving the Face Mask idea aside.  Plus, many people have told me there’s a lot of competition, so why bother.

Then one mornight at 1am, while I was browsing through the IG stories of my friends, I came across the IG story of Martha Stewart that says the best materials for washable face masks are DENIM and CANVAS.  It was as if God were telling me, “Mitzi, what are you waiting for?”  Denim and canvas are the two main materials being used in Mori Notes. 

This was April 21.  

By April 25, we had two working samples, 1 denim and 1 printed fabric.  I took photos of the masks and available fabrics.  I published an album called ‘Mori Face Masks’ on FB and said we are now accepting pre-orders.  I had no idea how many people would buy.  Within 2.5 working days, we were able to gather orders of at least a thousand pieces of face masks forcing me to close the pre-order round 1 because I didn’t expect that much orders.  

(The photos above were our first two prototyopes.)

You see, I’ve no assistant during the lockdown.  My staff is working from home as well.  And so, I’d be the only one talking to the 62 clients, sifting through the 55 SKUs (we have various cloth designs and sizes), and packing their orders. Plus I’d also need to compute the job orders, prepare the materials, purchase if needed, have them delivered to the community, pick-up from community, and quality check before packing. The anxiety with this string of to-do list caused me sleepless nights. “Will I be able to pack at least a thousand pieces of masks by myself before May 15?”  This was just for Pre-order Round 1.

(Some of the masks from Pre-order Round 2.)

Then there was Pre-order Round 2.  I decided to start the second round while round 1 was ongoing, because we have a second community in Batasan Hills that needs work.  And so while I was doing QC, coordination and packaging for Round 1, I was also doing sales and marketing for Round 2.  Then now there is round 3, and those singit orders between rounds 2 and 3.  Still these are God’s blessings.

And so David’s right.  I haven’t had the time to look far out my window, enjoy the sound of my chimes, and just reflect.  Most of my journal entries have been things I’ve accomplished for the day and the next day’s to-do lists.  But one thing I know, God has been with me throughout the Face Shield and Face Mask journey and He has blessed the works of my hands. 

Outside work, I'd be playing the piano, monitoring the vegetables we planted, watching Koreanobela on Netflix, exercising with my exercise buddies (our househelp, Lynette, Barbs, my nephew Michael, or my 5-year old goddaughter Kaikoura).   Oh, and I also did the haircut of our 2 househelp and David.  Sadly, they won't let me cut their hair ever again even if it's free! My mom said I should be the one giving the customers tip if they let me cut their hair.🤣)  So anyhoo, my time's usually dedicated to work and play.   Not much rest.

(This is a malunggay plant.  We asked for a twig from our neighbor 2 when ECQ started; it had no leaves back then.)

(With one of my exercise buddies, Kaikoura. This photo was taken after one of our workout.)

Today as I try to reflect on how I really am.. over this Coronavirus thing, I go back to the thoughts that had run through my head before I was finally able to fall asleep, and thoughts that I had shut out and replaced with activities.

More than fear, I think the feeling I had was grief. When I tried to understand the impact of a bat virus on one person, on one city, on one country, on the rest of the world in a span of less than 6 months, it was equally bizarre and depressing.  Last February, when it hit the Philippines, I slowly saw its impact.  First, people who had travel plans suddenly became busy doing cancellations.  Some people lost their livelihood.  Friends, many from middle income class, had no income in two months (and counting).  Businesses started closing.  Parents of friends have also passed away.  Leisure, livelihood, and lives were lost because of the virus.

Though this may not be world war, we have lost another important aspect of humanity that breathes life, and that is freedom.  The freedom to step out of the house doing simple things like buying groceries.  The freedom to travel abroad for inspiration or even back home to be with the family. The freedom to go to school. The freedom to meet friends over the weekend.  The freedom to worship together in church.  Normalcy has died.  Goodbye fun ol’ times.  We have no choice but to say hello to the new normal.  

I couldn’t help but be reminded of the construction of the Tower of Babel.  Back then, people were flourishing and God changed the whole world suddenly by dividing them through their languages.  Pre-Covid, people were flourishing too.  People made travel plans so easily for the rest of the year.  People went on with their businesses.  Then in an instant, one person’s virus got transmitted to 4.99 million (and counting) all over the world. Now, we are divided and locked down per household.  Suddenly, we are made more aware that our lives each day are literally in the hands of God.

I don’t want to live the rest of my months stuck at home in fear of the virus.  But I also don’t want to be out and about carelessly.  So I pray to God for wisdom.  What shall be my “Faith Stand”?  What attitude (toward the virus) will be God-glorifying? 

What I realize I need to acknowledge is that the plague is upon us.  There is no escape, no matter how much we hide.  Some people who stayed at home during the whole lockdown period still contracted the disease.  At the end of the day, we are all at risk.  Some of us will suffer from it, and some of us won’t.  
I have been reminded through my devotion that God knows what will happen to each one of us even before we were formed in the womb.  He has also numbered our days.  This means, with or without Covid, the date of our passing has already been set. 

Some of our numbers may expire in 2020 and the reason for death is Covid.  Truly, it can be tragic, especially for those unaware of eternity.  But for those whom Jesus has prepared a place for, I cannot help but feel that they (who have passed on) have greater fate than those who are still here.  The earth has become less livable than ever.  There in the heavenly kingdom, we can frolic freely and view picturesque sights up to our hearts delight; here, we are best confined inside the four walls of our house.  How safe, beautiful, and perfect is our home up there.  We can finally experience fullness of joy being in our real home in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. -Philippians 1:21

Challenge Accepted

One of my dreams as a teen was to meet a1.  They were my favorite band ever; and Ben Adams was my first love.  He didn’t know it though.  I only met him in my dreams, literally.  I actually listened to them 3x a day.  Because I remember in one of their interviews, Ben said we should listen to their songs 3x a day to feel close to them.  So I was ecstatic when I saw posters of a1 displayed on lamp posts on my way home one day from school.  Tickets were not on sale.  Rather, they were to be won in a contest.  Call 1800-MyMusic and answer a multiple choice question.  If you get it right, you get a chance to win two tickets to the a1 concert.  Calling 1800 numbers back in 2002 was considered a long distance call which was very expensive.  I called the number everyday, and our phone bill racked up to almost Php 3,000 which meant I called approximately 150 times (if cost per minute of long distance call was Php 20) within a span of one month.

Amazingly, I won thrice.  I got a total of 6 tickets.  I didn’t know any other friend who was a fan so I invited my mom, my dad, an auntie, and our maid to join me to the concert.  I still had 1 spare ticket, but it’s okay.  It was supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life.

Right after class, I went straight to NBC Tent in Fort.  There was a huge line before me already.  Then I saw one of the organizers choosing girls who were raising their hands.  I didn’t know for what reason.  But I saw those girls leaving their line and just entering the concert hall.  And so I raised my hand, and to my surprise she chose me!  

I wiggled my way through the crowd to the organizer.  She told me to enter the hall and sit in the front row.  Then my ultimate dream was about to happen.  A camera man came over and asked me to say my message to a1.  I asked, will a1 really see it?  And he said yes. Gosh. It’s my chance to talk to a1.  It was a dream come true.  

There was a problem.  I didn’t know what to say.

My camera shyness also did not help.

What happened next became one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.

The words I uttered were just, “I love you Ben.”  Two times of that, and then “I love you” and mentioned each of the other a1 band members so that they wouldn’t feel left out.  It was neither witty, creative, nor memorable.  I just sounded like a die hard fan that could scare Ben away.  What a first message to a1.  What added to my embarrassment was that this message was shown on MTV as well.  (Back then when there was slooooow internet, MTV was a huge thing.)  The whole concert including my message was replayed on MTV.  More than once.  

For weeks, I beat myself up for not saying things properly and wasting such perfect opportunity.  I learned speaking in front of a crowd or a camera was a weakness of mine and I needed to work on that.  This made me take classes, double the effort when I do presentations, prepare in advance what I have to say, etc.  This experience pushed me to work on my shy self.  

But there’s more (and I feel more important).  I actually gained a new perspective, particularly on viewing problems.  When I was much younger, around 12, having a bad day would mean having a problem or two.  I would count my problems and then become sad for the rest of the day if I had a problem.  I hated problems, even small problems.  They were unnecessary.  

      This event with a1 was actually the first time I realized problems could actually be an opportunity for me to stretch, to learn, and to grow.  Problems are challenges wrapped in ugly, stressful packaging.  Having to carry  such a horrendous package is always painful and burdensome..  at first.  But once God reveals to us, the precious treasure (may be an opportunity, a life lesson, a build up on character, etc.)  inside this packaging,  we might just be revamped to version 2.0.  

Version 2.0 may appear in different forms.  Some relational problems may cause us to experience and appreciate God’s love more.  Some conflicts may reveal us of our sins and bring us to repentance.  Problems in business may teach us to depend on God. Health issues may lead us to appreciate our families more.  Mishaps may remind us of our finiteness, and the thorns of this world may remind us that this world is not my home.  Problems can actually be blessings in disguise.

How about you?  Are you experiencing any problem lately?  Perhaps, it is time to redefine it as a challenge.