Namaskaras from Bengaluru! We arrived yesterday and I am here to drop my parents off after two months spent in Singapore. This will be a very short trip because I need to get back to Singapore soon as R, my helper is also going on a pilgrimage to Malaysia later in the week.

Today’s quote comes to us from American self-help author, best known for his book, Think and Grow Rich. According to Hill, any dream will not become a reality without taking any action. And when action is taken, it needs to be done in a structured and logical way so that the goal can be achieved. However, without setting timeframes or deadlines for these priorities, dreams run the risk of being ignored, and the dream remains just that.

Most of us have recovered, though my throat is still a bit scratchy. This flu swept through the household and there was not a single person who was spared.

That’s all from me this week. Stay safe people and stay blessed!

Singapore has been so hot all this month, and because of the humidity levels, even though the temperature showed 32 degrees, it felt like 40 degrees Celcius. And this is not just restricted to Singapore, starting in April 2023, a record-breaking heat wave has affected many Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, China, Thailand and Vietnam with several regional temperature records being set. Temperatures so searing in places that people are frying eggs under the heat of the noonday sun with meteorologists tracking temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celcius in India, Thailand and Myanmar, and 42 to 43 degrees Celcius in Bangladesh, Laos, Vietnam, Nepal and China. These are temperatures that most of these countries have not experienced in decades. People are dying of heatstroke as they gather in thick, large crowds under the sun, and students are landing in hospitals as their schools bake in the heat. Power grids are stretched beyond their capacities, and farmers are looking at failed harvests. According to climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera, the continent is experiencing the worst April heatwave in its history and warned that it will only get worse. This is what climate change is capable of for all those still denying the fact.

Today’s quote is from the creator of a beloved comic strip, Calvin and Hobbs, Bill Watterson. According to Watterson, we are so busy watching out for what is in the future, that we don’t stop and smell the roses and enjoy today. What this means is that we should not let go of what is in front of us today for the chance that the future will be something better.

And speaking of better, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday that Covid-19 deaths had dropped by 95% since the start of 2023, but warned that the virus was still on the move. Countries would need to learn how to manage its ongoing non-emergency effects, including the post-infection condition known as long Covid. Some countries are seeing increases, and over the past four weeks, 14,000 people lost their lives to this disease. With the emergence of the new XBB.1.16 variant, the virus is still changing, and is still capable of causing new waves of disease and death. So there’s still a need to be vigilant and stay safe.

And on that note, stay safe everyone and stay blessed!

To all those celebrating, here’s wishing you Eid Mubarak! May the day be filled with love, peace, and harmony and you and your family be blessed always. Selamat Hari Raya!

Life moves on as usual. BB & GG will have their poly graduation ceremonies soon and then it’s off to university for GG and to NS for BB. GG has gotten two offers as of today and is considering them, but she is still waiting for news from her first-choice university. It’s the waiting that is bad. At least if you have a decision either way, you can go on with your life. And if she gets a clear rejection from her first choice university, she can decide on the other two offers she has. It’s the same with BB. Now that Poly is over, we are waiting for the letter from the ministry letting him know when he will have to enlist for national service. Until then, his life is also paused. He can’t look for jobs because companies are not going to hire someone who will stop working soon and he can’t enrol into any course because of the same reason. Ah well, though he is enjoying this break, I can’t say the same about the rest of us.

Today’s quote is credited to Charles R. Swindoll, an evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator, and radio preacher. He says that Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. What this means is that what happens is less important than our reaction to it. Reactions drive action and action defines the outcome, so ultimately our reaction is everything. No matter whether we succeed or fail, our reaction to both is what defines us. At the end of the day, we’re driven by our minds. How we perceive things determines our reactions to them. Ultimately, no one or nothing can make you happy or unhappy; it all depends on how we react. We are ultimately responsible for our reactions and actions. The way we feel and perceive things determines everything. Remember that nothing external can make you happy or sad unless you decide to do so yourself.

That’s all from me this week. Take care and stay safe, we are not out of the woods yet.

Today’s quote is from the venerable Dalai Lama. According to his holiness, happiness is not something readymade but comes from our actions. What this means is that happiness comes from within and only we can control your happiness. We decide to be happy or sad in our own life, body and mind. Outside factors and other people can affect our happiness, but we need to go through grief and sadness to appreciate the good things in life. To be happy in life, we need to show gratitude and appreciate everything we have, instead of complaining about what we do not have.

There has been a surge of COVID cases, both in Singapore and India. While we all know that the virus is here to stay and we are now in the endemic stage, this new surge is worrying. There is a new covid wave in Singapore, with the estimated number of daily infections rising from about 1,400 a month ago to 4,000 last week with about 30% being reinfections, higher than the 20 to 25% seen during the last wave. While the number of infections is climbing, there is no evidence that the current strains cause more severe illnesses. Hospitalisation of patients is also below what was seen during the last wave as was intensive care admissions.

Over in India, the country recorded 11,109 fresh cases on Friday. The daily covid cases are the highest in 236 days, according to data from the Union health ministry. This surge is driven by the new XBB.1.16 variant, dubbed Arcturus. The spread of the strain, first detected in late January, is worrying experts, as it seems to exhibit unique symptoms in children, one of which is conjunctivitis. The Arcturus XBB.1.16 variant is a recombinant of two sub-variants of BA.2, and a preprint study from scientists at the University of Tokyo suggested that it spreads about 1.17 to 1.27 times more efficiently than its relatives XBB.1 and XBB.1.5. It appears to be resistant to antibodies from other Covid variants, which has raised concerns about its potential to evade immunity gained from previous infections or vaccinations. The XBB.1.16 strain, a sub-variant of Omicron, has been classified as a variant of interest by the WHO.

So, if you haven’t already done so, please take steps to protect yourselves and your loved ones. Stay safe and see you next week!