MCO Day 56 ~ 12 May 2020 (Tuesday)

Today I received more Covid-related depressing news.  Two weeks ago, my papa informed me that Kok Thai Restaurant in Ipoh has shuttered for good.  Our family has created so much fond memories with birthday celebrations and anniversaries at this restaurant for over a decade and because of an invisible Virus, yet another restaurant has to belly up.  Several hotels in Ipoh have shuttered for good in these 2 weeks of MCO and more closures are in the offing. Two weeks ago too, Mercure Hotel in Penang (previously known as Four Points Sheraton) announced its closure.  My family has also created loads of happy memories at this hotel twice. Cass loves the replete of seashells at the beach of Mercure Hotel. Each time we were there, she would spend hours at the beach picking up her favorite seashells and corals. We actually planned for a holiday at Mercure Hotel last December but had to cancel our plan as there was a wedding to attend.

Today's depressing (yet expected) news is the closure of the gym that Sherilyn used to attend for her Taekwondo, Muay Thai and Kickboxing classes.  The gym is the sole income of the owners (a couple with two very young kids). With the closure of their lifeline and source of income, another family is brutally impacted.  😭  The next closure may be the dance studio that Sherilyn goes to, also owned by a couple with young kids and I pray that the dance studio does not have to go through the same horrifying route.  Unless your family is impacted financially, one would never comprehend the  feeling.

When will this war ever end?

Which is also why everyone MUST have ample savings for rainy days.

Onward and upward! We humans are extremely resilient creatures. When our wings are clipped, we struggle to be released; slowly but surely we will soar high again in the sky. Remember it's World War 3 now and almost everyone is not spared from hardship, unless you're in the essential business sectors. Only time will heal and repair lives.

I told the girls that when I was growing up, my maternal grandmother would regale me with her heartwarming WWII stories. I never got tired of listening to her war stories. She came from Guangdong in China to Malaya to escape poverty and built everything that she had single-handedly, bought a house with her hard earned money and raised her only child, my mum into a very smart lady.  I told them that they, too, will in future have WWIII stories to regale to their children and grandchildren 😁 although this WWIII is sans missiles, bombs and war planes but on an invisible enemy.

Dinner tonight: onion omelette, stir-fried Chinese spinach, braised Hakka pork with black fungus and braised pumpkin with dried shrimps.