Goodbye, circuit breaker!

IT started innocently with Dalgona Coffee, the foamy Korean beverage that went viral on the Internet because anybody could make it at home with just instant coffee, sugar, water and a whisk.

Before that, the closest I've ever experimented with anything in the kitchen was changing the settings on the microwave.

But the past eight weeks has been an extraordinary period. The CB has kept us all indoors almost 24-7 and picking up something new became the best way to kill time.

Going by the amount of home-cooked food porn on social media, many have uncovered their hidden talent as chefs and bakers. (Some, however, shouldn't be fooled by the number of 'likes' they get and still hold onto their day jobs.)

With malls shut, exercising overtook shopping as the nation's favourite pastime.

Suddenly, families of joggers started showing up in parks like they're training for a marathon, while cyclists took over the empty CBD streets and turned it into their own Tour de France circuit.

Within this short period of eight weeks, our lifestyle habits and routines have all dramatically changed.

Grabbing a mask before stepping out of the door has now become a ritual and is more critical than remembering the house key - unless you are a "sovereign".

Telecommuting isn't reserved just for work, as dating couples who are not living together suddenly find themselves in a local long distance relationship, so video conferencing, text messages and old school phone calls are their only means of staying in touch.

Most of us have also by now figured out our best angle on the web cam and are no longer subjecting other participants to the sight of our flaring nostrils in a tele-meeting.

For better or worse, we all have had to adapt to changes over the past eight weeks; but sometimes there are still surprises.

Working from home, for instance, might not have turned out to be exactly what we've imagined.

Yes, there isn't anybody to physically boss us around but there is also a price to pay for sleeping in for an extra hour in the mornings and taking one too many YouTube tea breaks.

As the line between office and house gets blurred, WFH burnout could set in as employees find themselves banging away at laptops without realising they should have knocked off hours ago.

The new normal

As Singapore kicks off the first phase of reopening its economy next Tuesday, businesses too will find themselves having to grapple with various changes.

Many might have to roll with the punches in the beginning but if there is anything the current CB lockdown has taught us, it's that the key to survival is adapting.

We've seen that when late night talk show hosts like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel had to pivot to YouTube after network studios in America shut production indefinitely.

Initial episodes posted online were more raw than a typical film student project - the editing was choppy, the lighting looked cheap and it was mostly just monologues.

But within weeks, things improved dramatically and the quality of the content now is almost similar to what we were once used to, even if Kimmel's kids sometimes accidentally wander into the frame.

As technology rapidly improves, a sense of normalcy has somewhat crept back during this lockdown.

Musicians that are unable to tour are still able to entertain their fans.

Some have found ways to perform like a full band again by recording their individual parts remotely before editing it together into a single mix. Others like K-pop bands BTS and SuperM are now staging ticketed virtual concerts.

Just last Friday, I suddenly forgot how much I detest queuing for anything as I waited patiently behind a virtual cordon to be let into super club Marquee's star-studded first anniversary online party hosted on the Zoom platform. I had nothing better to do, and the novel concept piqued my curiosity.

Come end June - or sooner if the infection rate stabilises and stays low - we could all be enjoying our bubble tea fix again after close to three months of boba cold turkey.

I look forward to that first sip, but it doesn't mean I'll ever forget that homemade Dalgona Coffee. And for that, I'll have CB to thank.