April 19th,
10:15am
Room 2339, Fairmont
Hotel
Singapore
It’s now over 60 hours
since I have been in this room, as part of the StayHomeNotice COVID19 quarantine
SOP. M suggested that I record my experiences and so here goes.
I am at the writing
desk which overlooks the junction of North Bridge Road and Stamford Road, where
the Capitol Kempinski Hotel is, along with the office of its owner, Perennial
Capital. Further down the road Peninsula Plaza and Funan IT Mall (owned by the
state-owned Capitaland), and then across the road the St Andrew’s Cathedral. So,
in this junction stands private, public and spiritual assets.
Speaking of spiritual, the last time I spent
some time like this is at an Opus Dei Silent Meditation Closed Retreat nearly
seven years ago. Back then the setting couldn’t be any more different than
where I am now. In Ulu Tiram in Johor, I was meditating in a class where:
“there is a wooden door that opens into the
courtyard which features a flowing fountain, out of a jar. The sounds of
flowing water is one of the most soothing to me. The windows overlook a three
tiered plain lawn garden lined at the side by simple shubs and at the perimeter
by fir trees (or Christmas trees as we call them here). A garden which I had
covered end to end in my afternoon walk yesterday.
So, this is the perfect location for this
epiphany to come together: pleasant familiar sight, soothing sounds,
appropriate imagery and most importantly, the right message.”
The weekend passed
uneventfully. I guessed I have spent many days and evenings alone for so many
years when travelling for work in all parts of the world that being in a hotel
room, doing work at the writing desk, dining and drinking alone, or watching TV
until I fall asleep. That D has thoughtfully supplied me with snacks (including
M’s home baked banana brownies) as well as yoga mats and free weights meant I
had something to fuel me as I work and watch and then some equipment to burn
off the calories I will inevitably put on.
So, all in all, the
set-up is right. The big challenge is the duration of time I have to spend in
here. While I have packed the days with calls, I also have to deal with eating packed
food everyday and at some point, Netflix & Spotify will cease to entertain.
Right now, it’s Day 3 and I have 3 times more the duration to go. Will keep you
all updated!
