Thank You, Pandemic

During the Cultural Revolution when human beings suffered some of the worst conditions ever known, a man walked past a pond and found some duckweed. He took some home and put them in a teacup with water. Every day he appreciated how the plant grew. His wife watched and the love she had for him flourished too.

There are always things we want to do but never have the time. Being in lockdown we have found ourselves having all the time in the world. Let’s do all those things we wanted! If we let one day pass doing nothing then we lose the battle. If we can do something like the man with the duckweed, we win the war.

A little pickle will improve your appetite a long way! Cut the hearts of any vegetables into the size you prefer, rub them in salt and leave for a while. Dry them in paper towels and put them into a jar. Pour half jar of vinegar and half jar of boiled water (tap water contains micro bacteria which will spoil the vegetables). Add some sugar and turn the jar upside down. Leave it for a day or two and then your pickle is done. If you like your pickle savoury instead of sour, pour in some fish sauce. You can buy this in any Asian supermarket easily. Add garlic, chilli and a little sugar. It is so good you won’t be able to stop eating it.

Make your own ice cream.

You do not need an expensive ice cream machine, simply two sealable plastic bags. Ice cream is not difficult, it is just made from ice and cream! Put cream with condensed milk in a small sealable bag. Then put ice and lots of sea salt in a large bag. Place the small bag inside the big and shake vigorously. Ice cream has now been made. If in doubt, watch a video on YouTube.

Write down your resume and squeeze it into a QR code. Use it for your social media to save time telling people about yourself.

Compile a list of songs and music that you have liked in the past. Share it with others.

Write emails to your old friends. Send them photos you took together.

There are hundreds of things you have been wanting to learn. Study them now.

There are thousands of things you have been wanting to do but did not have the time. Do them now.

My accomplishment is this book in English, for my friends who do not read Chinese.

I hope you like it. Thank you, pandemic.