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Coronavirus

The Curfew is Gonna Suck

I know why they implemented a curfew for us, I think it’s great that they did, but it’s still gonna suck. For someone who is usually constantly out and about, since the public holiday started I’ve spent 99% of my time at home working during my work hours and then playing videogames and watching TV for the rest of the day.

But, whenever I felt like I needed to reset, I’d hop in my car and just go for a long drive. Now I won’t have that freedom anymore. It sounds like something small, but it was my way of coping with the whole thing and it helped me not feel like I was stuck at home.

Like with everyone (I’m assuming), it’s been pretty difficult having to adjust to this new lifestyle. My eating habits have changed, I no longer exercise, I don’t see people and now I’ve got three more weeks of this left at least. I’m gonna end up like Tom Hanks in Castaway at this pace.

How is everyone else coping with all this? Are some of you still going in to work or is everyone now working from home?

65 replies on “The Curfew is Gonna Suck”

You could always have those nice drives in the mornings. Curfew ends at 4 am right? So maybe get up at like 7 am ish and have a nice drive in the nice weather! 😀

Anyways, stay safe Mark!

Yeah I think i’ll do that, drive early morning, then get my coffee, then head home to work. Only issue is what to do when it’s 9PM and I feel cooped up in my room… I think I’m going to clean up my tiny balcony and put a chair outside and just play Animal Crossing over there so I don’t feel like I’m stuck inside.

Make sure to put some sort of umbrella or cover. Weather has been very strange lately lol. But yeah, Animal Crossing on the balcony with a nice breeze going? Sounds like a very chill evening!

The curfew – along with the shutdown and decline in my business – does really suck. I think once this thing is over people are going to celebrate like crazy.

This is a fascinating and historic time in history.

@Mark are car washes open ? Atleast the ones attached with oula petrol bunks ??any idea pls do post if so

That’s pretty much my morning routine now. It’s fun too as most of the cars out at this time are also doing the same. End it with a stop outside the Starbucks opposite Fanar and then back home.

I’m doing fine during these times, but delivery services aren’t being reliable right now, except for one, but they now don’t accept cash on delivery because of the virus. Supermarkets aren’t restocking on wipes and sprays (Co-Ops now only have small dettol wipes, no sprays, and TSC hasn’t restocked on those items in more than a week, which leads me to believe that there could be shortages in the near-future).

I hope not, I have a small stash of wipes and sanitizers because I didn’t want to be one of those people who hoards the whole stock, but it’s because I was expecting to keep finding them. Now it’s been over a week since I found wipes or sanitizers in supermarkets. Actually I did find some small sanitizer bottles at city center thanks to a reader who gave me the tip, but again I only bought a few and put a bottle in each of my my cars and gave a couple to my mum. Should have gotten more…

The other day I saw some idiot fill an entire shopping cart with hi-gene handwash. Guess he thought he could flip them for a KD10 profit or something

Super thankful to have a gym on-site here at our teacher apartments. So far, been keeping up with that ritual and it feels good. There are things that co-workers are trying to do to keep things social and active – trivia nights, movie nights, etc all within the confines of our “compound”…but it is getting old pretty quickly.

I suggest checking out gamesunited.com.kw and boardgamesq8.com. They deliver for free! My go-to family/party games are exploding kittens, splendor, spyfall, coup, jenga, azul, sequence, roll for it aaand carcassonne. I can recommend more if anyone is interested in rather advanced boardgames!

@Eric You are supposed to quarantine and practice social distancing! Not socialize within the compound 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ That defeats the whole purpose of the curfew!

I was supposed to join my new job this week or in April. Because of the government shutdown this month my new civil ID is stuck somwhere with the government & the transfer papers are also delayed. I am just going about with that receipt from the civil ID machine these days.

People only went in to lockdown this month but I have been waiting for this job for a couple of months now & was already not doing a lot of socializing anyways.

Now with the extension and the curfew I wish they atleast open the airport so I can just go back home & return when this is all over. But considering I don’t have my civil ID I doubt they will let me fly on a receipt anyway!

& I can’t drive yet & the buses are not working so kudos to that too!

So I am basically screwed for another few weeks if not plainly just stuck like the rest…

Hi Shariq. I’m in a similar position. I’m on an extension visa (#14) waiting to transfer to the new employer (#18). Are you also on a #14 visa? Is the ministry giving a grace period due to the corona situation? Please let me know. Wishing you success in your paperwork.

Haha glad you brought up extension visa coz I was on it till a few days before the government closure began.

I don’t think there has been anything official about the announcement of any grace period as such but it is well understood that everything is literally on hold right now.

Is your extension due for expiry anytime soon? If not then just hang in there.

If yes then, from what I understand keep in very close contact with your new employer!

Either they continue your transfer process once the government opens. Till then, just grab hold of your passport like your life depended on it wherever you go. You can tell the cops your transfer was delayed due to the shut down. Better just stay in your neighborhood for the sake of it.

OR

If your new employer does not cooperate then see if your old employer renews your old visa atleast so you don’t leave the country as an illegal resident which may potentially leave you blacklisted for 5 years in the GCC. You can then have the renewed old visa cancelled after you return to your home country.

Just hang in there my friend I know exactly what you’re going through right now!

Hi Shariq, Thanks for your advise, I appreciate it. I haven’t heard anything from the new employer as yet. My extension runs till 15th April. I’ve been carrying my passport everywhere I go. It’s a little stressful not knowing when I can complete the procedures. Do you know when the ministries re-open? Also can the #14 extension be transferred to a #18 visa online? Many thanks. Best, VS.

The current government closure is set to last till the 12th of April. So you are alright!

But considering the backlog these guys are going to have once they get back to work be prepared to live illegally for a few days.

In my situation my new employer literally warned me that this is a very real possibility & that I may end up living illegally for a few days while the transfer process takes place which also included paying the 2KD fine per day for the duration of the process.

I am assuming your extension was granted for 1 month only? Coz I tried to extend it for another month & that is simply impossible from my experience.

The transfer cannot be done online because your new employer is supposed to create the “transfer paper” which you are then supposed to take to your old employer to get signed & return to your new employer.

This is where I am stuck right now. Once the above process is complete I believe the new employer will apply for a new civil id for you and you’re set!

I am assuming you don’t have your civil id right now because you are on an extension!

Just hang in there my friend 😀 get a hobby or something coz its not stress but boredom that is most likely to drive you crazy!

Hi Shariq, hope you’ve been well. Apologies for the late reply. I really appreciate your insights, It will be great to connect with you directly via email/whatsapp etc., let me know if that’s possible. By any chance did you hear about the ministries opening earlier? I also just wanted to reconfirm that one can transfer to the new sponsor from a #14 visa without leaving the country? To answer your question about the length of my extension, I actually got it for 3 months so not sure why your’s was for 1 month. I also have my old civil ID but has a hole punched through it, is that ok? It’s been a bit stressful waiting this out. Thank you again for your thoughtful messages. Take good care of yourself. Many Thanks!

I thought i will cop with this better than what im doing like i like staying at home and doing nothing im mostly lazy all the time to begin with but it was my choice now its not im surprised cuz it turned out i go out more than i expected and adjusting been driving me crazy

Is it true that the cooperatives are going to be the only source to obtain foodstuffs and allow only 50 people in at a time during the curfew?

Don’t know about the “50 people at a time” limit but all grocery stores seem to be operating normally till 4pm.

I have been exercising walking and running around the block at night, now I just need to change my timing. Also Oculus Quest and Ringfit Adventure have been a fun way to stay active.

Getting some sun seems to help me feel normal. Even if through a window. I can totally sympathize with those Italians on their balconies

This whole thing has been a dream,. I hate work, and I hate people. I haven’t felt better in years. Waking up in the morning with a huge smile knowing I don’t have to see anyone or deal with anyone. ABSOLUTE BLESSING.

That’s how some people feel, I too love knowing I don’t have to see the people at work that I can’t stand and since I work in a hospital that has volunteered one of the units for Corona I don’t know when I will return. I only miss going to restaurants.

Bro life is too short for you to have a job like that. This is a wake-up call for you. When things go back to normal, please find something that makes you smile in the morning.

My wife and I are doing all right. We have been staying at home continuously since 2 weeks ago, just going out for groceries. I miss running outside and meet friends, but we try to cope with this exercising and doing yoga at home, reading, watching series and other activities. For us now our main concern is regarding flights since we don´t know yet if we will be able to come back to our countries by the time that we need.

I just want to get the new doom but unfortunately it has not arrived in Kuwait and it sucks.

Thee Internet is way to slow to download a 60Gb plus game.

So basically, I am just here at home working and its getting boring. My wife doesn’t give me coffee so i miss my workplace 🙁

i am too waiting for the new doom but unfortunately it might not arrive at all since the MOI is closed so they cannot get the game and sell if it doesnt pass the MOI first. Best bet is to buy steam or PSN/xbox cards or whatever and put up with the download. it might take a day or so but better than not getting it at all or waiting a month or so if it gets thru some how.

We’re suffering. We’re provided an apartment with work, but it’s designed for two adults sharing and we’re a family of four. We have a gym but every piece is broken and the pool is out of use as well.

We have a three and a two year old and they have nowhere to play and nothing to do. We can’t even go out on the balcony because it’s tiny and it doesn’t have any security (even at two years old the children can just topple over the top of the barrier). It’s too small to put a chair on anyway.

With two beds in the kids room there’s no room to put even a board game out, and in the living room no room to play either.

We are struggling to be honest.

Every third day or so we go out in the desert during the day and let them run around and have a picnic. It’s guaranteed to be quiet out there.

We can’t socialise with anyone in the evening as the place is so small the kids would get woken up.

We had signed a contract on a bigger apartment with playroom, pool and gym but pulled out due to financial uncertainty. I’m pretty sure my company will pay me during this period but can’t take any financial risks at the moment.

My wife’s mother was admitted to have part of her lung removed in a cancer investigation but obviously my wife can’t get back to see her.

So yeah – pretty tough at the moment. We know why it needs to be done – but it’s difficult. A decent place to live with space and a balcony would have made all the difference.

We still have the desert though.

I feel you! I have an active 9 year old trapped in an apartment with no outside space (we do have a balcony but it has the air conditioners on it). No school since Feb 20, which we were inside the entire week of National Day anyway because my son was sick (and because he gets sick so easily with a poor immune system and lung disease we stayed home once school was closed anyway), so we are day 31 of being indoors! His school is sending lessons, but I have discovered we are NOT a homeschooling type family – it is a struggle every day with certain lessons!

Stay strong, stay safe! #onekuwait

To put my two cents worth, self-quarantine and now the curfew has made us realize how small things such as going out whenever we may, getting your morning coffee or dining out – things we seldom consider as luxuries; we now get to know the value of such privileges among many other things. One step at a time I guess.
We always have deemed our life as something ordinary and nothing more while in reality we are kings and queens in the eyes of actual kings and queens in say, the 14th century, (in my very recent memory, Dracula episode 3 beautifully reenact this notion) and in the eyes of many misfortune souls around the world. This crisis is a reason to be thankful and appreciative of all the things we always took for granted.
My destiny would’ve been entirely different if I, for example, were born couple of hundreds kilometers away from my original birth place.. and I’m thankful for that. To be in Kuwait as a Kuwaiti in such crisis, is a privilege for me and one has to realize these things to appreciate the little things as well.

Anyhow, I’m personally cooping just fine in the self-quarantine! I mean, this is 17 all over again for me haha. Not going out, staying home, binge watching all there is of anime, movies, tv shows, playing video games, listening to new music while doing some artsy stuff.. plus the obligatory home workout. So yeah, I’m in my element. The only thing I honestly miss is having boardgame sessions with my friends ;.;

Hope the best for everyone here, just stay safe and try to abide as much as possible to the laws and health instructions! I still see people who don’t care about the distancing in co-ops =/ at least wear a mask if you can’t control yourself around people. And if anyone is still wondering what he can do while being stuck in home, it’s never to late to study some online courses for free! (unless you want a certificate, then there’ll be a fee) coursera.com is a great place to do that. Structured learning experience and a variety of courses to pick from. Hope that helps someone.

Oh and it’s my fiftieth birthday tomorrow – looks like I won’t even be able to get a take away meal due to the curfew…..

Happy Birthday ! Order in a nice breakfast/brunch and more importantly, some cake !

I’d recommend Lazy Cat, Frankie’s and Madison for breakfast.

Cake from November… always.

Hope you have a good one !

I’ve had to go to work despite there being a work from home policy because my boss does not care about his staff or about humanity.

Despite this, its been nice getting 8+ hours of sleep, reading and doing the occasional workout.

I am not enjoying the weight I am currently putting on and the 43 steps I took yesterday.

My husband still goes to work but working hours changed from (7:30 – 4:30) to (8:00 – 1:30) since the holiday started, but just now they informed him that the working hours changed to (7:30 – 3:30) !!
We usually spent our day like you after he comes home, hope this whole thing ends as soon as possible ,,

I’m coping okay for now.
I have been doing super heavy lifting at the gym for the past 2 years. I am working out at home but I don’t know for how long I can stay sane with my limited “equipment” (resistance bands, dumbbells and plates… no barbell though). I’m worried about my deadlifts. 😂😂 can I survive 3 more weeks? Don’t know…
I walk around the house to get some steps but it isn’t sufficient.
My diet has been the same so far, doesn’t rake much effort since ordering food is unreliable these days (orders will be late anyway).
In regards to work, we are conducting online classes but I am depressed about schools being postponed to August. 1. I miss my students so much. 2. This gap WILL impact them and their learning. 3. This is not psychologically good for the kids! Long periods of unproductively does too much harm!!! 4. Self centered but true, dahell are teachers supposed to do till August?! I’m a teacher because I like teaching. This is awful! In regarding to the ministry of education allowing us to return home… OH HELL NAH! It’s too dangerous. The journey itself is insanely risky and my country has a MAJOR outbreak. I’m staying here!!!!!
At this point, I just want to return to the gym. I let my anger out by lifting heavy, something I find very limited for my little dumbbells and kettlebells.
Heartbreaking.

Catching up on the backlog of games, movies, and tv shows that I have had for some time now. Loving every bit of this.

I think I’m coping pretty well. Phone calls with family and friends helps, and ton of memes add some humor.
Most of my exercise is at home so no biggie there too.

But there is some anger building up in me, an anger and frustration that stems from the fact that all of this horror around the world happened because of small group of dirty people

I just found out that I have a spare bedroom in my place :P.
jokes aside… I set up a new computer with all my cameras and drone and now I’m just hanging out inside the room. But I’m still working I used to leave work at 5PM now I have to leave work at 4PM.

I was wondering can we still go for a run in the neighborhood or is that not allowed as well?!

I didn’t sleep well in a very long time. I can relax a bit. Doing some physiotherapy with YouTube.

Browsing the internet like 2002. Sorting all my HDD files.

I’m enjoying it actually.

I surely took my work for granted. Gonna miss my long drives at night. Late and heavy sleeper so wouldnt be able to drive in the early morning. Coping with netflix, PUBG ,Tiktok and helping with somw household chores. Growing uncertainty about this pandemic is surely talking a toll on me. Praying for everyone’s life to get back to normal. Stay safe and take precautions. All well that ends well.

Mark, you should at least exercise at home this will have a big impact on your health and physical shape in the long term.

My suggestion : apart from your usual routine , get hold of some online collab tool be it teams / hangout /webex …and start creating meetings with your co workers , friends in Kuwait , outside Kuwait , online friends , relatives , family…..spend at least 30 mins .Trust me that’s a stress buster.

Anyone know where i can get the original monopoly game online?
I checked on gamesunited.com.kw and its out of stock while the one on boardgamesq8.com is pretty expensive…
appreciate any help in this matter. Thanks

It sucks definitely!

I haven’t seen anyone for the past 12 days. I have gained weight instead of losing, since I have been spending my time creating/cooking. I even came with a social fun initiative that I will be launching today.

Netflix is becoming so boring to me because its all about watching and eating (mafi 7al).

and last but not least when I decided to start tanning on my balcony the weather suddenly became cold hahahahah!

Since you are a gamer, what would you recommend for PS4? something fun and can be played with a partner? Just got a Ps4 yesterday lol

Hi I am an American stuck in Kuwait. I’m so bored and so tired of sitting inside this curfew has been so hard for me! The country is so much smaller than mine and already not much for me to do. I don’t have many friends here and I can’t go home right now the airport is closed. Trying to watch as many YouTube videos and binge on series on Netflix as much as I can but I’m going stir crazy.

When the curfew ends. Its been more than 1 month and I am fed up with these curfew, I missed going outside so anyone knows when this curfew ends, I’m not talking about time I’m talking about which date will the curfew ends

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