summer in the time of covid-19
Manila, 5 April—Summer’s already in full swing, can you feel it? These days it feels like the heat seeps through walls. This temperature is actually par for the course, as far as Holy Week is concerned—yes, Holy Week already! If, like me, you’re often lost in the calendar, then you must be as confused and surprised as I am.
For many, Holy Week is often a time spent with family and friends—preferably in an out-of-town location near a body of water. For my newspaper friends and I, Holy Week was the only time we could all be outside of the office together. In recent years, we looked forward to Holy Week as an extra-long weekend, an opportunity to rest from work, stress and traffic.
This year of course is different. The Covid-19 pandemic has put a stop to traveling, for one. Everybody’s in their homes already by default, and the streets are practically empty, even in the usually busy central business districts. As a joke, my co-workers and I told each other, Maybe this Holy Week, we should go to the office for a change of scenery.
We’re almost approaching the end of our enhanced community quarantine, but it looks like the government is thinking about extending it. Personally, I find it worrisome that some areas have seen a resurgence of cases, particularly across Southeast Asia. There’s still so many new things that we’re discovering about this sickness—new studies, for example, are finding that you may be able to spread the virus by merely breathing. Add this to the anxiety of contracting the virus from silent spreaders, or those without visible symptoms.
That, and the lack of mass testing (not happening anytime soon, if the last clarification is to be believed) should be reason enough to extend the quarantine further, perhaps. I’m not sure I’m ready to be around so many people just yet, with so many things still up in the air.
I mean, I may have missed the first round. What if I don’t miss the next one?
So. What are you up to this Holy Week?
Out-of-town plans and trips to the beach out of the list, what’s left?
Readings. So far, I think I’m on track re: my 12 books of 2020—Olivia Waite’s The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics, Chi Yu Rodriguez’s No Two Ways, and Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree for Q1—not bad for a lazy ass like me. I wanted to continue this streak by opening Q2 with even more books. I’m looking forward to reading Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone’s This is How You Lose The Time War, Eliza Andrews’ Princess of Dorsa, and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. I’m trying to take a break from non-fiction and productivity books, and enjoying reading as the escape it could also be.
Writings. I’m trying to get into a Quarantine/COVID-related writing ritual, and have so far been unsuccessful. I did find this: The Isolation Journals. Maybe it will work for you :)
Games. What’s on rotation in your devices? This household is still alternating between Animal Crossing and Mobile Legends. I’m also still playing Two Point Hospital (because, you know, signs of the times.)
TV/Movies. Well, there’s also Netflix—we’re currently bingeing Money Heist and Itaewon Class. (I tried searching for classic Holy Week fare like The Ten Commandments or The Passion of the Christ—to no avail)
I swear sa sobrang haba ng The Ten Commandments, we had a copy in TWO BETAMAX TAPES. Traditional rewatch pag Holy Week, shoo-in. Nakatulong sa pagmemorize ng items for Religion classes sa elem. Thank you, Cecile B. DeMille.
Closing this entry with my favorite cat tweet this week:
Have you ever seen a photo that needs audio so bad? :)) Happy weekend!
XO,
K