I’m on Day 7 of a 14 day hotel quarantine. This – after several looooong travel days back to Malaysia, including a 10 hour layover in Amsterdam (layovers should really never be longer than 4-5 hours, in my humble opinion), 2 1/2 hours to get through immigration, and an hour long drive to the hotel – is actually quite pleasant for me.
I know, I’m weird.
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I used to be top dog priority in my house before I went overseas.
I don’t mean in a “I was more important than everyone else in the household.” I was just literally my dogs’ top priority. Any time I went upstairs, there was a scramble of paws on the staircase behind me as my dogs raced me to the top to join me in taking a nap, working on homework, reading a book; really whatever it was, they just wanted to be a part of it. To sit at the foot of my bed and maybe get in a belly rub while they were at it.
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The past week and a half has been a whirlwind – scrambling to check in resources, making sure my suitcase is packed, running to get police permission to travel. Finding out I don’t need police permission to travel. Running to another police station to double check – yes, no need for police permission if you take a Grab driver. Making copies of my passport. Printing off plane tickets, getting a COVID test to travel, printing off the COVID test results for traveling. Saying goodbye to all of my classes in back to back Google Hangout meetings, crying over all the people who left.
And then…travel.
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“It’s mango season. Can get so many for little!” This explanation accompanied my friend giving me a bag of three ripe mangos.
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We are fast approaching the end of our school year. We have exactly seven days of school left and the flight to visit home is becoming more real. (I’ll be back, Lord willing, Malaysian friends, just gotta go home this summer and get some well-needed hugs from the fam!).
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I love to crochet.
When I was 11 or 12, one of my babysitters taught me how to do a simple single-stitch – easy enough to duplicate and use to make blankets and scarves. I was hooked (crochet pun for the win!) and over the next few years, I made enough blankets and scarves to drown in.
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I am super tired today. I think the last time I looked at the clock last night, it was 4:15. Since my alarm went off at 6:30 today, you can imagine my consternation.
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So…if my grumping in my first delight (what a contradiction that is!) didn’t give it away, Malaysia’s in it’s 3rd lockdown and has just announced tighter restrictions, which, given that we’re only allowed to go to the grocery store and school (with all our students online), I’m not really sure how it could get much tighter (that is not a challenge, Malaysia!).
As a couple of my friends and I debated what this lockdown would be like, we started talking about hobbies we’ve picked up over the course of the lockdowns. I.E. – spots of happiness in some rather tough times.
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(Pre-Lockdown 3.0 in Malaysia, obviously, but this was the first “delight” I wrote before I knew I was going to make this into a thing).
I’ve run away from my job for the day. I was given permission – a day of rest provided by our school, so I’m not straight up playing hooky.
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ali oleary 