Day 9 (Community Quarantine)

    PREVIEW- I am used to waking up around 4 in the morning, brew coffee, do a 20 minute stretching routine while listening to classical guitar music after which I take a shower. At 5, I wake up my daughter for her work, then I bring her to the UV station and I proceed to the school where I work.

    Now this routine is unsettled. I wake up an hour or two later though I sleep the same time as before. The thing is, I wake up blank. Nothing...

   I have this inner struggle to do something and not to do something. Anyway, though I still have a decade to go, I guess this is a preview of retirement. 

     DOG AND FASTING- Jaya was sick for two weeks, lethargic,  loss of appetite, mucus build up on the eyes and in the nose, black excrement, difficulty in breathing, etc. 

       This is bad. This is the symptoms that killed "Alden the dog" (yes, that is his full name). Since I don't have money for a vet and from my experience with Alden, I know any medicine is almost useless since this is a virus (I forgot the name) that is picked up from eating dirty stuff. The best thing to do is just let her be, to let her fight it off by herself.

     I didn't force feed her but I did clean her eyes and nose of mucus build up, gave her food, then waited.

      A couple of days ago, she started to smell her food, took a nip, drank water. 

      When she started to bark at anything that moves, I knew she got over it. I gave her a bath and she is well now. I learned my lesson, I keep her on a leash and never take my eyes off of her to prevent her from eating dirt. 

    I practice short fasting. I did research on it and one of the weird thing about fasting is that it helps in healing the body. According to literature (and/or videos), fasting helps the body heal through autophagy, stronger cells attacking and consuming weaker cells and along with it any pathogen and cancerous cells. The body is cannibalizing itself, to put it bluntly.

    Loss of appetite is a normal reaction of the body when sick and it is part of the healing process. Counter intuitive from what people are used to, but judging from Jaya's experience, it could be true.

  Of course I am not recommending fasting, always see a doctor. Self healing is good for minor sickness but for acute or chronic diseases , seek medical intervention.   

      SWEEPING EGGPLANTS- Usually I sweep the yard in the afternoon, after my classes. But since the lockdown, I have been doing this in the morning and in the afternoon. Like walking, it is engrossing and at the same time pumps blood to jumpstart the brain.

     There is a "wild" eggplant that grew out under one of my bonsai trees stand. My neighbor has been telling about it's fruits, "you got a long eggplant there" she said. 

    I smiled and replied, "not that long".