HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPE-VINE
Philip Cu Unjieng
Earlier in the month, I had enjoined my friends and readers to get interactive with this column, to send their suggestions to completing the sentence: “You know you’ve been in lockdown or perpetual isolation for too long, when....” It was fun to imbibe your enthusiastic response, and I included several of the initial submissions in my column last week. I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize the efforts of those who continued to submit beyond the deadline of last week’s column – as there are some really hilarious replies. So enjoy this latest round, and pick out your favorite.
You know you’ve been in lockdown or perpetual isolation for too long –
1. “When the new hair color of the season is white!” This from Ica Sebastian, and it is so true! Light grey or white, as the quarantine extended and Salons stayed closed, it became one case after another of “Huli ka! You’ve been dyeing your hair” – as their natural hair coloring would come out. And Ica was quick to add: “When you’re more than ready to pay for the Zoom extended fee.” Rather than keeping one eye on the 40-minute mark, the frequency with which we find ourselves on Zoom and staying online ... meant it made more sense to have an official account, and pay the monthly fee.
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In the realm of the shopping experience, or what was left of it, during the pandemic, Diane Joyce said, “When you start comparing the prices of Shopee and Lazada.” And Denise Calnea chimed in with “when you’re excited to go out to buy groceries and meds.” And I’m so guilty of the second, as I would actually plan for my next supermarket run, my next drug store excursion; and I’ll admit it, there were times, I’d invent the “need” to purchase something or to replenish the medicine cabinet, just to have an excuse for leaving the house or condo. While others opted to just stay put, I was constantly in cabin-fever mode – taking the necessary precautions of social distancing, mask & shield when out, but just happy to be moving around, even walking from my condo to the mall supermarket, and to Watson’s or Mercury.
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If the subject is social interaction, of loneliness and/or anxiety, Czarina Rivera had: “When you’re no longer satisfied with just messaging, and long to hear a human voice on the line,” while Vicky Veloso-Barrera submitted: “When you’re conversing with your pets and inanimate objects in the house.” For Vicky, that even led to two books being written about those very subjects. And my friend Regina Javier, who lives all the way in Brooklyn, commented that children weren’t immune to this loneliness bug, as she said it’s “when your young child is playing peekaboo with the robot vacuum cleaner.” That’s too cute, as the child is obviously missing the nursery school interaction with other kids, with his or her playmates, and resourcefully improvising substitutes.
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Our personal appearance and hygiene standards. For Ingrid Chua, it’s “when you look at your rows of shoes and don’t remember what they’re for, or can’t remember when you last wore heels.” Michelle Katigbak-Alejandro astutely observed that it’s “When the only make-up you put any effort in is for your eyebrows, as they’re the only part of your face people will see.” And for being brutally truthful, I’ll give the prize to Micaela Pineda who confessed it’s “when you can openly say you haven’t yet showered that day, and it’s almost time for bed... and you’re not disgusted with yourself!” I loved that one as it truly captured how some days would just devolve into blurs during the height of the community quarantine, when it was ECQ, and it became difficult to differentiate one day from the next. There were weeks when I would be genuinely surprised to find out it was still only Wednesday, as it felt like the weekend should have already arrived.
Am praying the above gives you some wry smiles of recognition; for that is the point of the exercise. By sharing these submissions, we all can share in the experiences, make some sense of what the last five months and a half have been, or at least take some comfort in the fact that you or I are not alone in being confused, disillusioned, desperate, or struggling to hold on to hope. While some have turned these pandemic months into a period of resourcefulness, I know that for so many more, it’s been a truly difficult time – a little lightness of being, a chuckle here or there. That’s my unsolicited gift to you.
One final word. As I observe what’s happening in the USA during this election year, I’m saddened by how politicians are trying to rewrite the history of the last six months to serve their personal agenda or callous purposes. Whether it be the official coronavirus response, Black Lives Matter, or the postal service; anything and everything gets twisted around with brazenness, in the knowledge that if the lie is repeated often enough, and said with a loud enough voice, it becomes one version of the truth. It reminds me of a quotation from my best example of a true statesman: “These are my principles - if you don’t like them; well, I have others.” — Groucho Marx.
Your call to decide if the same thing is happening here.