MCO and working from home.

Belian swing for small children, there is a hole at the bottom; easier for washing when the kids get over-excited and pee themselves

When we first heard about this restriction, we thought that it would last the two weeks imposed and then we would get back to our 'normal' lives. It is just a precautionary measure by the government, I thought to myself as I packed work sketches, drawings and letters to refine and finish at home. This quarantine would be a great opportunity to sort out the garden and tidy up the house. I would have time on my hands, as I cleaned up the belian swing to use as a work station in the garden room.

tomato seedlings in paper pots

We built a screen to keep the cats in, so now they have a room.

Uppermost on my mind to make sure that everyone had work to do, something to occupy themselves while they quarantined themselves at home with their family members. Instead when we met on-line at our first Monday Morning Meeting, my first thoughts was instead to re-assure them that they will still be getting full pay (without overtime), and we would meet regularly to discuss sticking points and gauge progress. Everyone seemed quite positive and even excited, this was no doubt aided by PH's presence - as a younger partner in the business he was more like an elder brother (or young uncle), a mentor to our young team. And since he is based in KL, he has always communicated with the team via phone and email - the ZOOM conference was just a short stretch of the imagination and work habit.

When the two weeks was extended by another 2 weeks and then another fortnight, there were other duties which we did not foresee but took in our stride. We found our that the security guard in my former company had difficulty in getting to and from work - the public bus service had stopped. He was forced to stay put, and live in the office.
DL rang and told me this; half complaining and half gossiping - so we thought that we will help in providing meals for Janting.  We also found out that the kitchen once fully equipped now only had a rice cooker, and the TV lounge did not have a telly anymore (I wonder who took it?).

Mao

Movement by car was limited to one person, so either I drove or Sam did taking turns with DL (who lived down the road from the office) to provide him with home cooked meals, an occasional beer and some fruits. We drove to the office and fed the cats on alternate days making sure the bowl was filled to the brim and they had plenty of water. Eventually the two office cats come home and stayed in Sean's room for a while.

tent resort

We worked through the MCO, each enduring our own struggles no doubt; barking dogs, crying babies, no air-cond, family members getting in the way and melding of work and home lives. Despite this FL and PH worked solidly and turned out a good housing scheme which was accepted by the client. So, in the midst of worry about cash flow, we had several silver linings; this scheme ensured work in the next two years, two clients paid fees during the MCO while another texted to remind to claim fees for work done last month. Our contractors who were allowed to work became more organised and submitted detailed progress reports to replace out fortnightly progress meetings.

The garden room

On the home front, Sam continued with her exercise classes; on-line - it is not the same for her without the camaraderie of her gym-buddies but she persisted. I joined her as it was illegal to run outside. Sean was struggling to finish his thesis, and without the participation of his studio mates and tutors, I could see that it was a struggle. He was on his own in a room, going out only to replenish supplies. Many shops were closed. Sara after a short spell on her own, was adopted by a uni-mate's family and lived with them in return for helping out with cooking and house chores.

#UCSI on-line crit

I learnt that people are resilient, we adapt as a matter of survival, we find ways to continue with the tasks at hand. We do this to support ourselves and others financially, and emotionally. I learnt to not always talk to them about work, but about them. We bought lunches on-line for the team and had them delivered one Sunday, as a surprise for the approval of a building plan submission.

We learnt that we had many things in our possession which we do not need, or (in my case) is under-utilised. I realised this when I cleaned up and moved out in to the garden pavilion; my new office. The long space was filled with morning light and ideal for a studio - the long dining table has been cleared of crockery and cutlery and is now filled with drawings, sketch-books and reading material. More about this in later posts.

home office

#MCO #workingfromhome