Swab Test

So I had to take a swab test for the Wuhan flu. We were made to by the office because some genius cop decided to make his way into the building while he was still waiting for his own test results. He turned out to be positive for the virus. Just to be safe, we were all told to get tested.

I wasn't looking forward to the swab test to say the least. I don't know if you've seen the pictures but it's all nurses in spacesuits sticking long chopsticks in your nose until they hit something. I exaggerate but I was assured that the newer tests used shorter, less intrusive swabs. So I scheduled the only event I would ever schedule in 2020 -  a damn swab test in some hospital parking lot.

This is how it went. You fill out the forms, etc. of course. It was advertised as a "drive-thru" service, as if to bring to mind happier times when people could eat out. What it really meant was that I didn't need to step out of the car. So the nurse comes along and she takes out this really long cotton swab and I felt cheated. But as it turns out, this swab was for the throat. I felt relieved and distressed at the same time. I was relieved that this pencil wasn't going up my nose but I was distressed that it was for my throat. I hadn't anticipated the throat part.

Here's the problem: I have an extremely sensitive gag reflex. It doesn't take much for me to start choking and gasping for air. I'm also a picky eater. I'm sure it's a problem relating to the oral phase of psycho-sexual development as that fraud Freud would put it. I think I read that in a book or a place-mat at Shakey's. Anyway, all the nurse had to do was lean in and I was already like a cat hacking up a hairball. But it had to be done. The nurse told me she'd do it as quickly as possible. So I took a deep breath and to her credit, she managed to take the sample before I made like a dying animal again.

After that difficult experience, the nose swab seemed like an afterthought. It's true that the new tests aren't as intrusive as the old one. She inserted a mercifully shorter, thinner swab in each nostril. It took only like one to two seconds. It wasn't painful at all but it was just very uncomfortable. You can't help but tear up and start sniffling. 

I got my results back in a day and it was nothing to worry about. If you have to get tested, it's not so bad after all.

 Hopefully I won't have to do this again.

Thinking Positive

Instead of writing about how bad the quarantine has been, why don't I point out some positive things. After all, my mother always advised me to be more upbeat and not dwell on negativity.

I think that it's great that there are little to no people in the streets. I admit it. I think it's awesome.

I took a short walk in the park today and nobody was there. It was so quiet and peaceful. There were no loud, annoying people bringing along their pesky children and dumb pets. There were no young people blowing cigarette smoke or irritating foreigners. It was heaven. It was as how a park should be. Not a piece of trash, human or otherwise, was in sight.

The restaurants across the street from where I live have been closed since the start of the quarantine. This means that there were no hired bands playing their terrible music and keeping me awake at night. What a blessing. I've been sleeping so good. I hope they all went bankrupt and will never ever open again. 

If you do run into people, they keep things short and quickly go about their business. For once, there's no need for idle chit-chat. How pleasant. Recently, a man politely refused to ride the elevator with me and decided to wait for the next one. At that moment, I was ecstatic. After the euphoria died down, I treated myself to some otap and a glass of room temperature water.

Best of all, wearing a mask means that I don't have to force myself to smile.

Lockdown

Starting 10 PM today, quarantine passes issued by the Cebu City government will no longer be effective. The government was kind enough to warn the citizenry about this at 9 PM. Hope you weren't sleeping.

So what is this? Lockdown? ECQ? EECQ? What cockamamie thing are we going to call this?

What this means is that people can only travel within their barangays? Maybe. Who knows? Vagueness seems to be the defining quality of this government. It's annoying, honestly, that the government leaves the citizens to "fill in the gaps" for themselves, so to speak, and then blame the citizens when they end up doing things not to its liking. Now there's tell that the army is patrolling the streets shooing people away. Maybe they'll lock us in our homes and weld the doors shut like El Jefe's Chinese buddy did in Wuhan. 

These are very bad times for Cebu but instead of support, all we Cebuanos seem to be receiving lately is scorn. This is all on us apparently, since we're all so hardheaded. If I didn't know better, I think the government is scapegoating us. Nevertheless, I don't feel insulted. It's only natural for people to look for things to blame during crisis. The stubbornness of the Filipino is a believable excuse and the government would naturally prefer that explanation than admit any lapses or incompetence.

At this point, I'm wondering if I should just get the virus to get this damn thing over with. I'm kidding, I think. This is all getting so tiresome and to be frank, I'm starting to feel anxious. I can imagine other people reacting poorly to the latest news. But we must not lose our heads as difficult as that is.

Deep breaths, eh?

Extreme Rules Deluxe Community Quarantine-pounder with Cheese

Last Tuesday, Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) standards were reinstated in Cebu City given the non-stop increase of Wuhan virus cases. The government was nice enough to announce this during midnight just on the day it was to take effect for maximum disruption. Sometimes it seems the government is having way too much fun with the extraordinary powers it now has over our lives.

Non-Filipino readers may wonder what "ECQ" is. During the outbreak of the virus, the government came up with several grades of quarantine standards. The strictest is Extensive/Extreme Community Quarantine or EECQ. ECQ is a step below that but don't confuse it with Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ), which is not as strict as ECQ but is still stricter than Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ). General Community Quarantine (GCQ) is considered the least strict of all. Of course, this all shouldn't be confused with a "lockdown" which is a different thing altogether. You got all that?

What's the real difference between all these forms of quarantine? Hell if I know the specifics. Go look up an infographic on google or something. Best start learning how to use the internet. All these different quarantines makes Bush-era America's color coded "terror level" look genius. Why couldn't we have added some colors to the mix? That would have been nice.

Why is the outbreak so bad here? Everyone has their own theory - people being "stubborn" is the favorite. It's only human to play the blame game. But I do wonder why Cebu is getting the harsh treatment while Manila, a city much more dense in population, gets bumped down to GCQ. 

Whatever the reason, it's just more shit to deal with.

War Mindset

To entertain myself in this time of enforced isolation, I went over my collection of books about World War II. I always found the war fascinating. One of my prized possessions is a reproduction of an aerial reconnaissance map of Cebu City taken during the conflict. Another prized possession of mine is my grandfather's copy of the book, The Koga Papers.

Speaking of my grandfather, I suppose I inherited this fascination with World War II, and war in general, from him. He had his own collection which he displayed on his shelf. He lived through the war as a young man and his interest stemmed from simply being a part of one of the great turning points of history. He lived through two actually: the war and the EDSA revolution, though the latter was a more local affair. He liked to talk about the war but not to me. He probably thought me too young. When I got older, certain circumstances not of our fault made us distant. The fact that I never really got to know him is something I regret.

My knowledge of my grandfather's experiences during the war is fragmented. It's second-hand stories and anecdotes from other family members. My grandfather wanted to do his bit in the war, as hot-blooded youths would tend to, but had poor eyesight. Besides, he had other responsibilities. Perhaps there was some element of longing and frustration in his preoccupation about the war. 

I know that he almost died. One day, the Imperial Japanese Army were rounding up young men for God knows what reason. My grandfather lived with his widowed mother and sisters. He was asleep on his side wearing a red sweater. When the Japanese came, they somehow mistook him for a woman since he was wearing red and lived with a lot of other women. They overlooked him and he managed to escape what would have been a horrible fate.

Of my other relatives, there was a harrowing tale of how my grandaunts tried to evade the Japanese by riding a small banca. The boat began to take on water and they were forced to throw away a small trunk filled with their most valuable jewelries and possessions.

My great-grandmother, on my mother's maternal side of the family, had a brother who was a spy. When the Japanese found out, they looked for him. When they couldn't find him, they killed one of his sisters and one or both of his parents. The Japanese were known to punish families and entire communities if even one of their members was in the resistance. Later on, my great-grandmother testified against the Japanese in some kind of military court. We still have a copy of her testimony to this day.

The war left lasting impressions on my grandfather and you could see some of it in his habits. He was very frugal. He wasted nothing and saved everything. He had a thing for hoarding big water containers "in case the water ran out". This was probably because since he was the only man in the house, he was always the one to fetch water  for his sisters and he resented the arduous task of pumping water and hauling it home on his shoulders everyday. He lived simply. He wasn't choosy and was perfectly content to eat rice porridge with a little fish for dinner. He never wore rings because one night during the war, when the electricity was cut, a stray cinder from a fire somehow got under his ring and burned his finger. He was very wary of thieves and trespassers. He made sure every door had two deadbolts, even doors to the toilet. Every window had a metal grill. 

What habits would we develop because of the Wuhan virus? Will we be hoarders of alcohol and hand sanitizers?

I wonder what my grandfather would think about the current situation if he were still around. What would he think of the quarantine? Perhaps it wouldn't seem so bad to him. Maybe it would bring uncomfortable memories? Not to make light of the current troubles, as there are people out there who are really suffering more than they have to, but can this plague compare to a war? Probably not. The Wuhan virus is a morning stroll compared to a foreign occupation by a brutal, murderous, fascist, racist, and imperialist regime. 

Again, I'm not trying to make light of the current troubles. The point I'm trying to make is that people have lived through worse and we should take heart from that fact. Public utilities are still running. Grocery shelves can and are still being restocked. We're not in any danger of suddenly being killed or having all our possessions destroyed in an instant. The world is smarter now and more technologically advanced. The best minds on the planet are no doubt dedicating all their efforts to develop a treatment for the Wuhan virus, if not a cure.

It was my grandfather's birthday yesterday. He would have been 96. We couldn't go to the cemetery.

We will visit him when this is over.