This has been a challenging start for the first quarter of 2020.
Everything was cancelled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. March 17, 2020 is when Alberta declared a public health emergency. As of April 21, there were 3,095 confirmed cases and 61 deaths in the province, with 37,374 confirmed cases and 1,728 deaths throughout Canada. Around the world, there are more than 2.5 million confirmed cases as well as nearly 178,000 dead. Fortunately, some 695,000 have recovered. But the virus keeps spreading.
I want to take this opportunity to salute all of the people who are out there working so hard to keep the society functioning. Especially the healthcare workers, truckers delivering goods, and grocery store employees. But everybody’s role is important to keep communities, and the country, together. And now is not the time to argue about who has the most important positions. Instead, this experience should teach us to better care for one another. I know this can be easier said than done depending on individual circumstances, but we should all try. Most countries are practising social distancing. Yet when we are being asked to keep ourselves away from each other is the time that we should stay connected. Thanks to modern technology, we can.
I am one of the luckiest people who have the option to work from home, and I am grateful for my fulltime job as a banker. Because of COVID -19, most events have been cancelled. As a photographer, I am saddened by these developments, yet this situation should not stop me from looking after my business.
I previously made a commitment to post one or two blogs every month. But because I was rather overwhelmed with everything that’s been going on, I failed and was unable to post anything new for March. I couldn’t even think of exactly what to share, as I know everybody is also trying to adjust and take their time to get through this challenging historical event. Then I came up with an idea to share some of my activities while I am trying to isolate myself from the rest of the world.
Aside from continuing to do my job from the comfort of our home and working longer hours than usual, I’ve been trying new recipes. Because some supplies are limited at this time, I have to come up with something that is either available in our fridge and pantry, or easy enough that we can find it at the local grocery store, which by the way has amazing service and hardworking staff. I have also been continuing to watch tutorial videos to improve my photography skills, along the way picking up tips on how to run a photography business. With all that’s going on lately, I’ve also been trying to reduce my presence online. Not because I do not care, but rather since it is just too much to deal with in one day. One of the roles that I play in my full-time job is to listen to my clients. That includes calming and reassuring them that we are doing everything we can to help them. But there are times when I feel bad that it is beyond my control and I cannot do anything. That is also how I feel when I see news, videos and posts about the pandemic and its effects: helpless. I feel small, but no matter what, life must go on.
At this time, I know I will have to maintain social distancing for the foreseeable future. So I’m thinking this is probably the best time for me to practise nature photography, which will give me an excuse to get out and about, especially after we had to cancel our Kimberly snowboarding trip late last month. I am glad that the Resorts of the Canadian Rockies will honour the two-days-for-the-price-of-one lift pass that we purchased as an add-on with our 2019-20 Nakiska season pass. I will have to prepare our books for tax filing too. I might need to start reviewing Canadian history as well so that I can work on getting my citizenship. And to unwind, we’ve been watching the odd movie and even started The Simpsons on Disney+ from the first season.
We should not let this pandemic take the best out of us. We should strive harder to be more productive than ever, and most especially be kinder to other people.
Stay positive and be healthy.
