AMBROSE LO

Director of Finance in Hospitality

SPENT TIME WITH WIFE & PUPPY IN TORONTO

I remember how frantic the weekend of March 14 & 15 was, with rumours of a provincial shutdown swirling the air. On the Saturday, my wife and I attended a wedding where all out-of-town guests were absent. Later that evening, we were scrambling to learn how to use Zoom and spread the word to church members that worship service would take place via video conferencing the next morning. I spent my Sunday afternoon on the phone with company executives to financially plan for the rumoured shutdown which meant the closure of our group’s 35 restaurants and venues, temporarily laying off 90% of 1,300 employees, and freezing all payments to our 250+ suppliers, lenders, and landlords.

A lot has changed for me personally since that weekend months ago. My wife and I have adapted to being together 24/7 as we’ve both been working from home. We’ve rediscovered a love for art after experimenting with paint and Posca pens. I trusted my wife to cut my hair and we welcomed home a Cavapoo puppy in May (which in some ways has altered our lives more than Covid-19)! We’ve been cooking more Chinese dishes than Western dishes at home. We’ve daydreamed about visiting our favourite restaurants again and sharing meals with our friends and family. At church, worship services have continued and are broadcasted on Youtube. At work, we’ve taken advantage of the government’s emergency programs to rehire staff and are planning for the re-opening of all our businesses.

This global pandemic has caused a whirlwind of change for everyone around the world. I pray for the families who have lost loved ones and I thank the front line health care workers who have risked their lives to serve the sick. The silver lining for me has been an appreciation for the things I took for granted before Covid-19.