12 Saturday Sep 2020
Posted in coronavirus, health & happiness
Tags
Has anyone tried these? Yet another “discovery” made while scrolling through Twitter in the wee hours. The face bracket! Apparently it makes mask-wearing much more comfortable, giving you more space to breath. Washable and reusable. I’ve looked at a few on Amazon and the silicon ones seem best, five in a package for about 12 euros. Might give them a go, especially for my long river walks, unless someone tells me they’ve tried them and they’re crap. 🙂
09 Thursday Jul 2020
Posted in coronavirus, health & happiness, work
Tags
‘You should not think the only way you can get the infection is if someone coughs on you or sneezes on you’ — Dr. Fauci dispelled myths about how you can catch COVID-19 pic.twitter.com/JYe2hd9TqA
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 9, 2020
So I had a two work-related meetings yesterday, both about an hour long, and I was surprised to see that at both places the people I met with weren’t wearing masks. And well, okay, we were seated *almost* a metre apart (the new magic distancing measurement) and nobody was coughing or sneezing, but we all know about transmission from aerosol droplets now, which can stay in the air for up to eight hours. So I sat there uncomfortably until the meetings were finished, slathered sanitising gel on my hands and left.
Then on the way home I decided to see if anyone was at my hairdresser’s. I know they stay open all day and that usually during lunchtime (2-4pm) it is quiet. And so it was. In fact at first I thought they were closed but the owner was outside having a cigarette and came over when he saw me at the door. I told him I just wanted a wash and cut, and he could skip the blow drying, so I was out of there again in about 15 minutes. I noticed that they are now using disposable “towels” and single use plastic capes, but just before I sat down to have my hair washed I said to Joaquín, “aren’t you going to put on a mask?” and he said yes of course, that he just had it off while he was outside, etc. I explained about my immunocompromised situation (he knows about the cancer, been going here for years) and after that he seemed to take even extra care, wiping down the chairs with antiseptic gel before I sat down, so that was good. And while I am never totally comfortable in public places these days, at least I felt precautions were being taken.
But I noticed – and learned – something about those different experiences. At the meetings where I was hoping to get a work offer I didn’t feel like I could mention the mask issue, but where I was a paying customer I felt totally within my rights to request that a mask be worn. And I thought to myself afterwards, is that what it comes down to? That my life is worth less when there is money involved? And so even though I really need the money, I vowed never again. If some people want to believe they are somehow safe from this virus then I guess I will have to keep my distance. Me? I’d rather believe Dr Fauci.
20 Wednesday May 2020
Posted in coronavirus, lockdown, lockdown sevilla, sevilla, sevilla shutdown
Tags
Remember yesterday’s mini-rant about seeing so many people in the streets still not wearing masks? Well, as of tomorrow it will be obligatory to wear a mask in all public indoor spaces, as well as outdoor spaces where it isn’t possible to keep two metres apart. That last bit spells trouble though… srsly, you’d think the government would know better by now than to give us options.
What I noticed yesterday was that, even in wider streets and in squares, people still weren’t being careful enough with “social distancing”. Meanwhile, most of the streets in the old centre of town are barely two metres wide, making it impossible to keep a safe distance apart. Add to that the fact that wearing a mask is uncomfortable as fuck, especially in The Heat, I am predicting mask mayhem. Entitled selfish assholes will start bleating about their Freedom and Rights, there will be protests, more pot banging bullshit.
Me? I almost suffocated yesterday wearing my mask. But I learned that I shouldn’t go out there when it’s 33º without a cloud in the sky. Duh. Not that difficult. The main problem is that people want things to go back to the way it was before and they have yet to accept that it just ain’t gonna happen. Nothing is ever going to be the same again. They also have yet to cotton on to the reality that you don’t just get freedom and rights handed to you for nothing, they come with obligations and responsibilities attached, and one would hope with some respect for those who came before us, and including today’s frontline heroes, who have made and continue to make much greater sacrifices than simply wearing a fucking mask. Honestly, I get so tired of people sometimes. Not you guys though. 🙂
Blog buddy Jodi Ettenburg @legalnomads has written an excellent, informative (and less sweary) post on the subject of mask wearing…
