‘Twas a Hot Day

I don’t know anything about the new normal. Everyday there are changes to routines and policies at work that we do not know anything anymore. Masks are mandatory in all corners of the workplace. The general public should be wearing masks really, anywhere they go, social distancing or not. During the lockdown, only joggers and dog walkers plus those who work with the police headquarters walks around our residential street (minus social distancing). But these days with everybody back to work (Is everybody back to work?) and with school about to start, we have to ask, why do a few believe everything is back to normal? 

However the threat is still there. There is no vaccine, no treatment yet for Covid-19. There is spike here and there, in South Korea, in Spain and just anywhere. We shouldn’t be attending large gatherings including family reunions and the likes, or even go to pubs. But humans are social creatures. They like having their interactions. They cherish being with other humans. They like the gossip and noise. In the solemnity of calm and quiet, they get bored. 

Perhaps I should be grateful that there is still no live audience for sports events. Sports losing money means our household saves a bit. Stadium sports can only be enjoyed through the magic of television. Tottenham Hotspur’s new ground is the best I have ever experienced, dwarfing Wembley Stadium and North Greenwich Arena when they were completely new (those were the days).  But it was empty when the last season resumed and it’s going to be not even near capacity when the new season commences. I mean let’s see, how is the new lifestyle going to work out. But I would love to watch Spurs live again. 

I just hope none of us becomes sick, not even a little fever nor a little cough this winter. Let’s not get out much, except for essential travel? School would be a nightmare for me, all those mothers and their Yakkity yaks. Plus just based on social media photos of my friends and colleagues, do people actually think there is still a Pandemic? 

to watch or not to watch

There are a few K-dramas I have viewed that were quite chill.  I was into Kong Hyo-jin (she prefers it spelled with a K) for a while after I watched  and re-watched It’s Ok, That’s Love.  So I went through the gamut of her work, Don’t Dare to Dream, Producers, Master’s Sun and Greatest Love.  She does a lot of romcoms, they’re quite light. Something to wallow into in times when you want to de-stress.  KHJ was quite stylish when she dropped by London as seen in her instagram two years ago.  Then she unfollowed Park Shin-hye on her insta (while Memories of the Alhambra was still on air or right after?)  and I lost interest in her dramas including my constant rewatch of It’s Ok, That’s Love (some good writing therer from Noh Hee Kyung).  But I still follow her on that social media platform, I just do not take a peek at her account anymore nor watch her latest series on Netflix. 

Then there is  the hardworking Jang Nara in the remake of Fated to Love You/You are my Destiny and One More Happy Ending, they are very enjoyable dramas.  She has a series every single year, so there are loads of choices, it depends on the genre and story. I’ve seen Seo Hyun-jin in Temperature of Love.  It’s  good, although I haven’t done any rewatch in full It’s all about gourmet cooking and scriptwriting but the break- up in the middle ( or is it near the end?) to keep the story going, is a breaking ball. 

As you can see, I’m from the school of si Nura, si Velma; Maricel, Sharon, etc., who doesn’t care much  or swoon after male leads.  Stan is the operative word these days (I didn’t hear this word when I was  writing for the school paper).  So I stan the nominees for the Best Actress award, as in the Filipino penchant for their movie aueens — from Amalia to Judy Ann.  I’m into that fandom. In celluloid, smart tv or smartphone, I want to watch empowered women as central characters or characters portrayed by actresses with a whole lot of charisma. 

But in Kdrama or in life, men usually gets the top-billing.  Women are just there for decoration.  I couldn’t say It shouldn’t be like that because for some, drooling over Lee Min-ho or Lee Jong Suk is their alternate reality.  Their escape from the dreariness of life. Or these days, their escape from the dreariness and hardship of a pandemic. 

Lockdown for Now

This is the time of war. Lockdown is a cruel phase in the battle against Covid-19. But thank goodness, my small nuclear family have no symptoms. I might have one cough when talking on the phone or writing on the bed board and I would get called out by a consultant doctor or a well-meaning friend. “Is that a cough?” they would query. But we all have these crazy paranoia and sometimes fear take over. There is no vaccine. There is no cure for Covid-19. Words such as desaturation and low blood pressure bring such trepidation. It’s a nasty pestilence, fatal to the weak leading to a shortage of body bags. I know I’m being morbid but it’s not like measles nor chicken pox where there is an inherent natural immunity once afflicted. It is oh so cruel to the lungs. It might have hit you already, you recovered and it will hit you again. 

We are terribly exposed at work. The battle for safe Personal Effective Equipment is real. The deaths of front liners; of doctors, nurses, health care assistants, porters, bus drivers particularly hurt not only because they are colleagues but the powers that be ignore the high-viral load associated with any positive and suspected patients. Please, protect people and front liners from death. 

South Korea has these massive and rampant testing and contact tracing that is  keeping the figures down whether infection or death rates. Or so the reports say. Germany as well have the capacity to test more people. Here in London, as I observe so far, you only get tested once you are admitted to a hospital and on the brink. Even if you self-isolate, you don’t get tested unless you are top of the pyramid in the hierarchy of humans. 

Social distancing, as in not seeing people, is bad for business and bad for mental health. Imagine not seeing friends and family and not going to McDonalds or a theme park? Well, there are no McDonald’s, theme parks and restaurants or clothes shops as they are now closed. Entertainment is staying home. The world works at home. School is all a series of computer exercises and homework. My husband is correct, I won’t have the time and energy for home school as we both work on the battlefield. I’m grateful for the key worker incentive. Because unlike those who work at home, us from the lower tier, have to go to work (and take the tube at my end) and face this cruel infection face to face with flimsy protection. So I couldn’t do much in terms of homework and learning from home bits for my seven-year old. No energy on day offs. None at all. I’m so tired. This would be my classic refrain. 

Memories of the Alhambra

A year ago today I was engrossed in my first live K drama series starring of course, Park Shin-hye and it opened up to a large troll following of female stars. Others are so male-centric in their approach to watching shows that it makes me ponder the motivations in their lives. 

The first few episodes of Memories of the Alhambra is set in Granada in Spain. Prior to watching MOTA, I sat through episodes after episodes of Hyde, Jekyll, Me and Secret Garden. Did I enjoy them? There were moments of wavering emotions. Both series are a hard sell for my acquired taste, makes me wonder why drama writers think those plots are good for the soul. Yes, I don’t think the element of body swapping is kind of passé even at the start of the last decade. 

MOTA itself is a hard re-watch. As I watch through Netflix and engage in My Drama List conversations to defend the Park Shin-hye character Jung Hee-joo and Park Shin-hye herself, I could not embrace the fact that trolls are trolls, and there are certain forums I should just avoid. Why watch Park Shin-hye if you don’t like her at all? Oh, they are fans of Hyun Bin and he is ever so dreamy. I swear the guy sitting opposite me on the tube on a random day was far better looking than him and he doesn’t have to sing A Star is Born’s “Shallow” on repeat. 

MOTA makes viewers think and come up with theories on dungeons and viruses and why technology is so cool. But it also doesn’t make sense. Sci-Fi doesn’t usually makes sense. But I enjoy the love angle in this drama. Those who have seen Heartstring or You’ve Fallen For Me would in all likelihood say, this is Park Sin-hye’s best kiss. I may not have binge-watch the entire 16-episode arc after the series finished its run but Episode 11 is hot, that it is the only episode I watch on the MOTA timeline. They should definitely star opposite each other

Now Hyun Bin’s has another Netflix drama corrupting my page on Netflix. I would not ever watch. But why could not Park Shin-hye star in another drama? Or Flower Boys Next Door to stream in Netflix or have her film Call and Alone break box office records and win awards? It is of course possible