Tag Archives: coronavirus

coronavirus cutlery

30 Thursday Jul 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, restaurants, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

outlery
I’m gonna need a bigger handbag. I’ve noticed when going out these days that I need to carry a few extra items with me. Like a paper envelope to store my mask if I stop for a drink or a tapa. A whack of folded up paper towels to mop my sweaty brow (it’s 40º out there guys!) because I don’t think using my usual abanico is a good idea as I’d just be fanning surrounding air into my face, possibly filled with those pesky and possibly lethal droplets. Also there’s my small bottle of hand sanitizer, a pair of latex gloves, emergency sunglasses… so my usual small, cute and comfy summer bag isn’t going to cut it anymore. Especially as I have now decided to include a set of picnic cutlery.

For the most part the bars I have either eaten at or popped into to check things out have been doing things very well in terms of distancing and hygeine. My pet peeves are that some are still using the dread yellow cloth over and over, whereas the best option for disinfecting tables and chairs after each use is recycled paper towels. But the worst is that some are still serving bread and cutlery in baskets that are then reused without having been cleaned at all. I mean, this was always a gross practice, but now?? Seriously, what is wrong with people.

After a recent experience I decided I should always have my own clean cutlery in my bag just in case. And it turns out that there are lots of interesting options on the internet, including these very cute and colourful stainless steel ones by Outlery that screw together and so fit into a tiny box. But I think for now I will be putting together an assortment of teaspoon, tapas fork and dessert knife from my own cutlery at home, toss them in an envelope with a couple of serviettes and see how that goes.

the new normal is not just the old normal with masks on

28 Tuesday Jul 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, video

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

, ,

So all this has been bubbling up inside for days, a sense of desperation and defeat, that feeling of  “why the fuck even bother anymore??”… and today it has me reduced to tears. I just keep crying. Maybe not a bad thing as I’ve been holding them in for so long. So I’m just letting the tears flow while I go about my day. Which is basically all about doing pretty much nothing other than get through the day, and then go to bed for maybe 3-4 hours of sleep. And then start all over again. Groundhog Day style.

Where is the hope? Even when I thought I was going to die from stage 4 cancer (because they told me so) I never felt quite this hopeless. Possibly due to my exceptional “living in denial” skillz (most child abuse victims have them – it’s that secret place we go to when what’s happening around us is too unbearable to keep experiencing). But even now that is failing me. It’s not working its usual magic. And I am left feeling… terrified and alone, which is bad enough, but even worse is seeing no way out. How is this ever going to get better? I can honestly say I have never felt like this before in my entire life, during an entire life filled with uncertaintly and fear.

I always used to be able to cope (often badly, but whatever works, right?). And I have usually, I think, given the impression that I am a strong and capable woman. I’m even someone that many people have “feared” because of my own seemingly fearless way of living, with sometimes brutal honesty and a serious no-bullshit approach to, well, bullshit. To be honest, that whole persona has softened in the past few years, because it just took so much effort to keep her going, but many prefer to keep me buttonholed into the “scary Shawn” persona that they mostly created. Makes it easier for them to write me off. Whatever.

I no longer give many fucks about most things anymore EXCEPT how we are going to get through this. So when I look around and see so many people truly not giving even one fuck about all that is happening with Covid, I just get overwhelmed. Shit like, what you CAN’T wear a fucking mask? You HAD to go to that party? You HAVE to travel abroad on fucking holiday?? All of this going on without any proper testing, track & trace programme by our – or anybody’s – government.

But I suppose what I find most disheartening is how people think we are just going to go back to our old lives, without even the teensiest iota of understanding that it was specifically OUR OLD LIVES that led to this pandemic and the disastrous global response that has followed.

Much has been said about the “New Normal” but what most don’t want to accept or even acknowledge is that the New Normal won’t just be the Old Normal with masks on. The New Normal is going to rock everyone’s lives to the core. And we are not going to get anywhere unless we learn compassion and especially empathy. Because that person over there? Not really much different from you, just had other things happen to them during their life. At the risk of sounding totally flaky, we do actually have to learn to open our hearts to others, because they are also us. But I don’t see that happening anywhere. Not yet. Or not nearly enough. It’s still “every man for himself”. And it’s making me cry. For all of us.

Thanks to my friend Julie who sent me this video while I was in the middle of writing this – couldn’t have been more appropriate.

friends in the time of coronavirus

24 Friday Jul 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, friends

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , ,

corona

This is tough. Yes, lockdown was lifted here on June 22nd, and non-essential shops, along with bars and restaurants, were allowed to slowly reopen. And so far that seems to be going well. People are mostly following the rules.

But then Spain immediately opened its borders not just to EU Schengen countries but also to the UK, which was basically WAY BEHIND in their Covid response, and even now have yet to call for a the mandatory use of masks.

After lockdown was lifted here nothing much changed for me. I stayed home, waiting to see what was going to happen. Would there be a second wave of infections two weeks later? How safe was it really? For those who don’t know I am in a high risk situation due to being immunocompromised due to previous cancer and chemo treatments, and also because of my age. So not only am I more likely to catch this fucker, I am also more likely to die from it. A sobering thought.

But I have been out for tapas now… maybe 3-4 times? And also for the occasional cold beer when I’ve been out grocery shopping on my own. Have also had a couple of business meetings and a trip to the hospital. Though I mostly keep myself to a schedule whereby I only go OUT THERE about once a week, and maybe meet up with a friend every other outing. Which leads me to… Continue reading →

getting misty

14 Tuesday Jul 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, restaurants, sevilla, spain, tapas bars

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

misty
My friend Thane once joked (?) that whenever she sees these mist jets over terraza tables it makes her think of Legionnaires’ Disease. Personally, I have never liked having water sprayed all over me, my food and drink, my table, which is why I never sit out at places that do this (and anyhow, I almost never sit outside to eat). But when I passed this terraza a couple of weeks ago I wondered aloud on Twitter if this mist could be driving Covid aerosol droplets onto our faces, food, tables, etc.

And then I saw THIS TWEET (and linked article) talking about the real risk of LD being transmitted via tainted water…

Hotels Worry About Legionnaires’ Disease as Buildings Reopen From Pandemic Closures

Smaller hotels face the most risk. They may not have kept water flowing during the pandemic and might have let dangerous bacteria build up in their pipes.

The article talks about hotels, schools, offices and gyms having this possible problem. But no mention of bars and restaurants. Why not? They have also been closed for three months, if not longer, and I don’t know how many – if any – thought to go into their bars and run the water to keep their pipes bacteria free. It seems that 2020 is just one thing after another.