Finding visuals that best illustrate how we’re feeling isn’t always easy. Many of us rely on popular gifs or memes, but we may have found a dramatic Shiba Inu that’ll do just the trick.
Thanks to her facial expressions, 8-year-old doggo Mickey-chan from Japan has become a rising Instagram star (@shibauni223) with over 28,000 followers.
Recently, several pictures of Mickey-chan went viral on Facebook as she acted like she was in pain while a pillow brick leaned on her.
Though her expressions are hilarious on their own, we can’t help but realise that they aptly capture most of our reactions towards Singapore’s ever-changing Covid-19 rules.
Last April, Singapore entered the ‘Circuit Breaker’ mode when the number of Covid-19 cases was at an all-time high.
Many of us had a mixture of emotions such as anger, confusion and helplessness. However, one thing for sure was that most of us felt trapped.
One can say that the Shiba Inu gritting her teeth may be a tad dramatic, but we can’t forget how upset many of us were when he had to cancel all our social plans.
As Singapore entered Phase 3 on 28 Dec 2020, many of us felt delighted that we were finally moving towards some form of normalcy.
Everyone seemed to be doing their part to try to curb the spread of the virus, with a few exceptions here and there of course.
We could now meet up with more friends, attractions were slowly opening up, and regulations were slowly being lifted.
Moving into Phase 3 made it feel like we were inching closer to pre-Covid times, just like how Mickey seemed to be successfully moving the pillow away.
However, it was not to last.
Like Mickey was about to learn, good times don’t last, and it was the same for our brief time with Phase 3.
A rise in the number of Covid-19 clusters resulted in Singapore falling back to Phase 2 on 8 May 2021.
It felt like all our efforts had gone to waste and we were stuck again.
The agony on Mickey’s face is quite dramatic, but the Shiba Inu couldn’t have captured how we felt then better.
Just when we thought that the return to Phase 2 was unbearable enough, Phase 2 Heightened Alert (P2HA) commenced a mere week later.
By this time, signs of pandemic fatigue seemed to be kicking in.
Since most of us scroll through social media often, we could only look enviously as people from other countries began to enjoy a greater sense of normalcy than we had had in a long time.
Relief came when we went back to Phase 3 in the middle of June, but alas, the joy was fleeting.
First, a KTV cluster had broken out, followed by another outbreak at Jurong Fishery Port, resulting in over 1,000 Covid-19 cases.
Once again, Singapore went back to P2HA. Though some of us may have felt like protesting, there was nothing else we could do besides resigning to our fates.
As the number of Covid-19 cases started to dwindle and the clusters at the KTV and fishery port closed, restrictions started to lift slowly.
But even as we got to meet up with more friends and dine at our favourite places again, we were enjoying the perks cautiously, as case numbers spiked again.
With the situation on the horizon still uncertain, everyone’s probably looking over their shoulders like how Mickey-chan is peering over the pillow brick.
If you love the range Mickey-chan has demonstrated, you can follow her on Instagram at @shibainu223 to see her in various adorable getups.
Perhaps what we can learn from her is that no matter how stressful any situation may be, we can get through it if we know how to find the lighter side.
We sure hope you’ll be able to do that. In the meantime, hang in there and take care of yourselves!
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Featured image adapted from Woof Woof on Facebook.
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