2020-04

#794 How COVID-19 changed my lifestyle

COVID-19 has changed the way we work and live.

We are in a state of emergency, from April 7th 2020, because of the COVID-19 in Japan.
My lessons at the cram school were cancelled.
All students at the cram school, from elementary to junior high school students, are getting online lessons through Zoom instead of in-person lessons. It is a new experience for the students and the cram school.

As for my husband, he has started “teleworking” (work from home) on April 10th.

COVID-19 has changed the way we work and live.

What is the good side?

On the bad side, we might lose our jobs. We cannot go to our workplaces and meet up with our colleagues and students. Even though the internet can somehow connect us together, it is still not as good as face-to-face in person communication. We are always stuck in the house. We cannot enjoy the beautiful weather of the Spring. We get less chances to exercise.

On the good side, new experience is always exciting. We get to learn new things, and practice new techniques. Learning how to use Zoom is a new experience. Even re-learning how to wear a mask properly is a new experience. I believe working from home is convenient for most people.
We can take this opportunity to reflect on ourselves. There are places that we miss going to during this “mini lockdown”. This allows us to re-discover what we truly like about places like schools, workplaces, restaurants and shops.

No matter how tough or how difficult the environment is, it is our mentality that matters the most.
Stay calm and positive. And one day, this will be over.

Small joy!!(2020.4)

#795 Cloth masks work just as well as paper mask.

I may wear a cloth mask in the future.

Last month, the Japanese government announced that they will give 2 masks for each household.
Since paper masks have been sold out at stores for a long time, nowadays handmade cloth masks are very popular.
People simply cannot wait for the government to take action. They are so slow.

At first, I thought I wouldn’t wear cloth mask because it doesn’t look good.
But more and more people are starting to wear cloth masks recently, and I found that some of them look quite nice!
I have changed my mind. I may wear a cloth mask in the future.

Do cloth masks work just as well as paper mask?

Anyway, don’t you worry about whether cloth masks can protect you from the virus?
I found a good movie from Tomoaki Okuda, who is a professor at Keio university. He had an experiment about how much small particles can be captured by a cloth mask with paper towel.

The result is quite surprising. If you use up to 6 layers of paper towel, you can block almost 70-80% of the small particles. That means a cloth mask may work just as well as a surgical/paper mask.

Professor Okuda also uploaded a few videos in his channel. While you are stuck at home, you should check out his other videos to learn more about masks.

His channel is here ↓
https://youtube.com/channel/UCI1KuKpxsEvAclxgJNdKWdA

#796 Handmade cute cloth masks are very popular, now.

How many weeks or months we haven’t seen masks at stores?
Some people don’t wear masks recently. They probably don’t have any mask left.

My parents-in-law sent me some masks.

My parents-in-law sent me some masks which were made of paper or cloth. The paper masks were sold at some shops and cloth masks were handmade by somebody. I am grateful to receive their thoughtful gift, even though I think they also need masks just like everyone else. Since they belong to the high risk group, I think they need masks more than I do.
But there is just one tiny problem. The cloth masks are too cute for me.

Handmade cute cloth masks are very popular.

The other day, I gave a propolis toothpaste and alcohol hand gel to my kimono teacher, because I heard that they are good against the virus.
Then, just in case, I asked her if she wants any cloth mask, because she usually doesn’t wear a mask. She gave me a lovely smile and said “Yes!” She seemed to like the cute design on the mask more than the toothpaste and alcohol gel. Then another young woman came to us and said “I want to it too!” So I gave another cute cloth mask to her.

I found that handmade cute cloth masks are very popular among young and senior women.
I’m happy that these cloth masks eventually found their right owners, because I might not use them otherwise.

Small joy!!(2020.4)

#797 I got an unhappy letter.

I got an unhappy letter last weekend.

According to the letter, my investment fund will be closed in May.
I was very disappointed because now it is a terrible time to close a fund.
The market fell so much since the coronavirus has been spreading around the world. Actually, I’m losing a lot of money in my investment.

I am really shocked to get the letter.
I can either sell all my stocks now which are at such low prices, or wait till May when the fund is closed. It is difficult to sell because the market is fluctuating heavily these days.

But yesterday I sold 20% of my stocks. Fortunately the US market soared yesterday. I was lucky yesterday but I don’t want to go through things like this. They are very stressful.
I think I have to deal with this a few more times until I finished selling all of them before May.

No joy!(2020.3.26)