Lookback 2020

 

It's time to say goodbye to 2020.

Truth be told, we cannot wait to bid farewell. 2020 has been in most part non-existence due to Covid19. From circuit breaker to travel ban to work from home. Our lifestyle as we had known it prior to 2020 has changed dramatically. In fact, 2020 had just flown by us. This year is the year where change and pivot go hand in hand. 

Here is a look back at our online life in 2020.

January

The year started off like any other ordinary year.  We were looking ahead to start the year with aplomb. Looking ahead, we highlighted 15 key changes in Singapore for 2020. Little did we know, that these changes are minuscule compared to what is to come for the year ahead.

This month, we also recap on our first holiday to Danang as well as relive our Taiwan family trip with a one-week itinerary in Taipei and Taichung.

We were coasting along until the first wave of the 'Wuhan Virus' ( as it was known in the beginning) arrived on our shores. Quickly, we pivoted and within a week, we had 7 posts up on the impact in Singapore. From being just another parenting blog, we had somehow became a voice for the virus in Singapore. 

February

By Feb, the virus caught the nation's attention. We were downgraded to Dorscon Yellow and without days it changed to Dorscon Orange. Suddenly, local transmissions began to pop up. Fake Surgical masks began to emerge. Panic buying happened in Singapore and we went to the streets to check out the situation. 

We even managed to be one of the first to thaw a possible online facemask scam. That one post bought us to the forefront of Covid19 reporting. Of the 50 posts in Feb, at least 80% are related to Covid19. For 2020 alone, we have over 200 posts on Covid19. Using TheWackyDuo as a platform to inform and create awareness of this ongoing pandemic.

March

With Covid19 in full swing, the blog focus turned to provide alternatives to issues arising from Covid19. To combat the Supermarket run, we provided a list of 10 places to get essentials to avoid crowds. While most of the posts are on Covid19, we did not forget our roots as a family website. Our Secondary School PSLE cut off point became one of the most-read posts for 2020.

The feather on the cap, we were indirectly mentioned and acknowledged for our work at the Resilience Budget Speech. DPM thanked bloggers for helping to share the message of Covid19. At that point in time, we are probably the most active blogger with updates on Covid19 almost every day.

You can see the video here.

On a personal note , we lost our great grandma, the matriarch of the family to old age at 100. It was a month we will remember for many reasons. 

April

By this time, Circuit Breaker became the buzzword. For this month, most of the time was spent at home by the majority of Singapore residents.

This lead to an Empty Singapore, a sight that looked like a page out of 'I am Legend'.

Staying at home means we have to make do with eating in.  We had food from 8 Crabs to whet our appetite.

May

With Covid19 taking its grip in Singapore, we identified new trends due to Circuit Breaker. Interestingly, some trends like Work From Home is still in place.

We also broke the news on Phase 1, the first step to normalisation in Singapore.

June

With Phase 1, things began to normalised. After a short hiatus, we were approached for reviews once again. We did a review for Gaston Luga Splash backpack, Ferns N Petals Father's day gift, Trendhim and Durian Delivery.

To all our sponsors who stuck with us, we would like to say a big THANK YOU!

Covid19 still lurks and this is the month where we decided to make Daily Dose, a Daily weekday update on the happenings in Singapore, permanent.

July

This is GE month. A GE in the middle of a pandemic shows how confident Singapore is at handling the crisis. The GE has also taught us important lessons that we can share with our kids. The winner for GE2020 was clear and it was the voice of Singaporeans. 

In July, Phase 2 was also introduced as more Singapore Attractions are opened and hotels open for staycations. We were honoured to be included in Best in Singapore Top 30 Lifestyle Bloggers .

At the same time, since we are staying at home, we get to review the Lumos Auro Projector, a wonderful piece of tech that allowed you to create your own cinema at home. It goes well with the Pizzas from Pizza Delivery. Interestingly Tech and Food became our regular reviews post for the next few months.

Follow our Tech and Gadget posts here.

Follow our Food Review here.

August

This year NDP was celebrated uniquely due to Covid19. Instead of a massive parade and crowd in one location, it has gone to the heartlands. We witness the Mobile Column roaring down the streets of East Coast Road while enjoying the parade on our new Benq GS2 mini projector.

We also visited a Koi Farm- Marugen in Singapore and decided to start a new hobby!

September

Our reviews section was bumped up with reviews on Fav Florist, The Fruit Hut , Cake Delivery SG, Little Flower Hut, Dlink Wireless cameras,Hydragun, Dyson Digital Slim Fluffy and Shepherd's Pie. It has been a busy month for us on the review front.

A sense of normalcy seems to be returning this month. Unsurprisingly as restrictions continue to eased this month.

October

We went for a short staycation in Sep and lived to tell the tale. Actually, with normalcy returning, having a staycation is not as scary as one would have envisioned in a pandemic.

During the staycation, we even managed to explore Fort Siloso, Singapore's only surviving Fort that deserves UNESCO recognition.

Our farm visits continue with a visit to Mainland Tropical Farm and World Farm Singapore.

In between, we visited Fun Claw at Waterway Point, reviewed monitors from Prism+. took cable car rides, had a meal at the scenic Arbora Hilltop Garden, It was a busy October for us.

November

November marks election in the US. It may be far away but it does impact little Singapore in some ways. In Singapore, things are starting to look up as we had a streak of 2 weeks without a local transmission of Covid19.

We kept the holiday spirit going with our traditional School Holiday Activities list.

Reviews of Cosmo Air Purifier, Prism+ Android TV, Sigmund Home Ergo Foram Pillow, Sudio Femtio kept us busy during this month.

December

We head to another staycation in RWS. This time around, the crowds were much bigger but still manageable.

More events are in town, as we visited the Orient Express and the Poinsettia Wishes at the Flower Dome. We were also invited to Timezone Westgate to play .

Last but not least, we reviewed Benq Monitors, Cosmo Water Dispenser and Marvel Medical Masks for this month. With close to 700 posts for 2020, this has indeed been a busy year for us. 

2020 comes to a close in a day's time. It has been a turbulent year for many (including us). It is probably a black swan year that would never be replicated. We do hope that things will be better for 2021, especially on the Covid19 front. That said, we would most likely reduce our Daily Dose reports as we would like to bring you creative and original articles for 2021.

Regardless of what is to come, we would like to thank you- the readers, who stuck with us through thick and thin. Hopefully, you will stay with us for 2021 as we head into the new year with renewed hope and anticipation.