At the end of August, I have walked 2000 km, which brings me to spitting distance of the border of Myanmar. I plan that in the next four months, I will walk the 1400 odd km and reach the border of India and the goal in 2022 will be to walk all through the country to reach my home in Mumbai.

My reading this month has been quite steady and I have read 85% of my reading target, so it looks like this year I will easily exceed my targets.

BB & GG are in their school holidays and while GG is busying studying for the first of many professional exams which will take place in about six weeks, BB is enjoying his free time.

Singapore has seen an upsurge of infections, and so it’s a little frustrating that even after more than 80% of the population is fully vaccinated, cases have not gone down daily. But with 80% of the population vaccinated and still cases happening, it looks like the virus is endemic in Singapore and sooner or later we will probably get it. It’s a fatalistic attitude and I am sure it’s not the right one, but I am tired. Ah well, that’s my venting done for the day. Singapore will also start booster shots for senior citizens and those who are immunocompromised later this month. This means sooner or later, we will also get the booster shot which should help with more virulent strains.

Today’s quote comes from Aristotle who tells us what should be very obvious to us, but we don’t see. According to Aristotle, happiness is something that comes from within and should not be directly proportionate to the amount of money one has or what one is willing to splurge on.

That’s all for this week. Stay safe people!

Today’s quote is such a positive one that I wanted to start this post with it. When it means is that when one is positive and radiates positivity, people are attracted to this positivity and want to be near you. When we think about this, with our family, friends and colleagues, are we not attracted to and want to be with those who smile and are generally sunny people? Nobody wants to be near a moody person, someone who is a grouch and so when we do that, we attract people around us. Why don’t we try this?

BB & GG had exams this week and while GG has finished hers, and this semester, BB has one more to go on Monday, after which he too will start his holidays. Next semester will be the fourth one and GG already received news that she will be on her internship next year. I am hoping she gets an internship where she will learn and grow as a person and this internship will help her in the next stage of her education.

In Singapore, this month there have been so many deaths, especially of the elderly. Almost every week, we hear of deaths of the elderly, especially those who have not yet been vaccinated or not completed the vaccination regimen. 54 deaths have been reported in total as of yesterday, with 14 deaths in this month alone. 79% of the population has been fully vaccinated and we hope that the the critical mass that is needed to open up the country will come soon. We have to live with this virus forever it seems to look like, but there is hope for us. While COVID-19 will stay with us and within us forever, when enough people have gained some immunity through either vaccination or infection, the coronavirus will transition to what epidemiologists call endemic. It won’t be eliminated, but it won’t upend our lives anymore. It may become common like the common cold and influenza, which are part of the same family of viruses and are something we have learnt to live with. We may need to take booster shots at least for some years, just like we do for the flu and when we travel to certain countries, these shots may be mandatory, like we do today, but it will become a part of our lives.

That’s all from me this week. Stay safe and if you are still not vaccinated and don’t have any impediment to get vaccinated, please do that and stay safe and keep your family and loved ones also safe.

Today are the festivals of Avani Avittam and Raksha Bandhan. As it happens every year, since they were about nine months old, GG will tie the rakhi to her brother. BB usually hates wearing it, but he has grown better at this over the years and since it’s on a Sunday this time, GG has already told him that he needs to keep it on for atleast 24 hours. His gifts to her are small ones because this comes out of his pocket money, but he has promised her that once he starts earning, he will gift her something special.

Last weekend, the world watched in horror as the Taliban took over Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul and the ensuring chaos has shaken everyone. Like me, I am sure many of you have seen the viral videos of people clamouring to get into planes and even climbing on them and how some people have fallen to their deaths when the planes eventually took off, such was their desperation to escape the new regime. I also saw parents passing their babies to strangers and throwing them over barbed wire to the departing soldiers and those who were lucky enough to escape just so their babies have a shot at a better life.

In Singapore, in the month of August, 10 people have died because of COVID and in the past almost twenty months, this is the first time I am seeing this many people die in a short period of time. And this is very scary. Of the 10, I think one was fully vaccinated, with the others unvaccinated, all were 60ish and had other complications. 77% of Singapore’s population is currently fully vaccinated or completed the full regime which means either both doses of the vaccine or one dose if they have recovered from a previous infection of COVID.

GG & BB are in full examination mode! BB has started his already and is one down with four more to go while GG, who only has two this semester has both this week. BB is slightly miffed that GG finishes a weekend before him so while she chills next weekend, he has to continue studying. And then they will go on a semester break before going back to school for their fourth semester.

I’ve had a serious case of writer’s block this week and so barely did anything. I am hoping that next week is much better and things go back to normal as I do not like this period of not writing.

And this week’s quote is very simple – people either inspire you or they drain you. We should therefore choose very wisely whom we interact with and choose to hang out with, the implication being to choose those who inspire us to be and do great and let go of those who drain us of energies.

That’s all from us this week. Stay safe everyone!

It’s another week that has gone by. Singapore celebrated it’s 56^th National Day on Monday and though the National Day Parade has been postponed to later in the month, we did have a small commemoration ceremony with a flypast of the Singapore flag and the F-19 fighter jets. And both the jets and the flag flypast flew past our home which was quite thrilling.

And today is India’s 75th Independence Day, and these are times when I really miss being back in the country! Ah well, one can only hope that things get better soon and travel can resume.

Worldwide, cases and deaths resulting from COVID-19 continue to climb, mostly fuelled by the highly transmissible Delta variant, which has spread to 132 countries, according to the WHO. More than 206 million cases have been reported till date, and most experts feel the numbers have been under-reported and the actual number is much more, maybe even double the reported number. Infections have increased in every region of the world, with some even reaching 80% more in the past month with deaths having increased by 80% over the same period in Africa. Deaths have also been increasing, mainly because of the Delta variant, with over 7 deaths in Singapore since the beginning of August. In Singapore about 81% of the population has had at least one dose of the vaccine while 73% have completed the full regimen. And because of this, residents who are not yet vaccinated can walk into the centres and get themselves vaccinated.

Today’s quote is from Rodolfo Costa who tells us to cultivate an optimistic mind, use our imagination and most importantly dare to believe that we can make possible what others deem to be impossible.

BB & GG have exams coming up soon and this will be the end of their third semester in school. They have to go for a semester’s worth of internship either in their fifth or sixth semesters depending how it works out. Hopefully they get good organisations where they can learn a lot.

That’s all from us this week, keep safe and get vaccinated.  

Today’s positivity quote is from the Queen of All Media, Oprah Winfrey which is all about having a positive attitude and how this will translate their lives. A good attitude is the key to ensuring your outlook in life is a forward facing one and this in turn will help an individual achieve the successes in life they want, be it personal, professional or even within the community.

The Tokyo Olympics are now ongoing and India has had a dream run there. Both hockey teams, Men and Women did very well, with the Men’s team getting the bronze and the Women’s team losing to Great Britain narrowly in the play-offs for the bronze. I was so looking forward to a gold from India and to see the tricolour rise up as the national anthem plays. I experienced this five years back at the Rio Olympics. It was a Saturday morning and I was at my doctor to get medicines. While waiting to pay the money, the TV started showing Joseph Schooling’s 100 meter butterfly event and the entire doctor’s office waited in bated breath to see if Schooling will make it to the podium. And when he came first, we all erupted in joy and cheer. I quickly paid the money and rushed home because I wanted to see the medal ceremony and when the Singapore flag was raised and the Majulah Singapura tune was played, I got goosebumps! And just I was typing this, we heard that India’s Neeraj Chopra took the gold for the men’s Javelin throw. And when S called me for the medal ceremony, I had that same rush of pride when I heard the strains of the Indian National anthem, Jana Gana Mana played.

In Singapore, 78% of the population have received at least 1 dose while 65% of the population have completed the full regimen. In Singapore, many vaccination centres have now a walk-in policy so anyone who is not yet vaccinated can just walk in and have it done. We are also preparing to get on with life with COVID as the country opens up its economy and moves towards treating the virus as endemic. Restrictions are slowly being eased, especially for those who are fully vaccinated and the hope is that by the end of the year, life will become a bit more normal, albeit a life having to live with the virus. A lot of other countries are also pushing for their citizens to become fully vaccinated with some like Pakistan using the carrot and stick approach where those who are not vaccinated and especially working for the government having salaries withheld and others having phone sim cards blocked and even not being allowed to leave the country. This may be a good approach, especially for those countries which have a lot of resistance to vaccination.

Singapore has been consistently reporting high double digit and low triple digits for the past few weeks, though we can see a declining trend. But and not in a good way, we have had a few deaths this week taking our death toll to 40. Almost every single person who passed away was unvaccinated and elderly, so to those who are on the fence, or have elderly and vulnerable at home who have vaccine hesitancy, just look at the numbers not only in your own country, but also elsewhere.

That’s all for this week. Some news was good while the others were not so good, but we’re all in here for the long haul and the sooner we have the upper hand on this virus, we faster we can move on and get our lives, which has been paused for almost two years now. Take care and talk soon!