DAY 99: ECQ

Finally, tomorrow I am hitting the century mark for spending my days locked in my house for reasons of human survival.

And as we slowly move into that historic level --- perhaps being distinguished as the winner of the Longest Lockdown Award on the Planet, I am told that there are more than one thousand new cases of COVID19 reported by the Department of Health Tonight.

I do not know what to say.  Perhaps being speechless is the only alternative --- because you really cannot make rhyme or reason about what has happened and what is happening.  Worse, you do not want to think of what is yet to come.

I know for a very sad fact that the virus has taken away about five people I know personally.  That is far much more than the numbers fed to you from all over the world about those who succumbed to the lethal import from Wuhan.  When  there is a name and a face to the victim --- it hits you where it hurts most.  And frightens you.  

No, we haven't flattened the curve.  We haven't even plateaued.  We are just cruising along and let God or Bathala or whoever Supreme Being there is out there to lead us through wherever we are meant to go.  As the number of COVID cases rise, so do we open the doors and ease the quarantine --- some damn irony brought about by necessity.  As I have always said, it all came to a decision to choose between being alive or having a living.

Guess what choice was made?  Matira ang matibay.  As that tindera in the palengke told my housekeeper who asked her why she was not wearing a face mask, the rather proud lady declared, "Naku, yang COVID na yan ... sakit sa grocery at supermarket ... hindi sa palengke. Kami dito sanay sa dumi hindi katulad ng mga mayayaman na masyadong malinis ang katawan kaya sakitin."

OK, tell that to the World Health Organization.  Or maybe somebody can come up with a brilliant theories about spawning anti-bodies.  Tell that to all the confused and confusing as we try to make way out of this pathetic quagmire.

But as we enter the 100th day, we have more problems than the rising cases that seem to smack us right in the face.

I had the mistake to enter a mall to buy stationery and what I saw absolutely depressed me.

Only about thirty percent ... maybe even less ... of the shops were operating.  The mall was dark, devoid of impressive air conditioning (as required by law) and there were about ten of us in there ... at twelve noon.

This is the mall that is my go-to everytime I need to see other human beings of various shapes and sizes: this is the mammon where I can enjoy the noise of crowds while at the same time enjoy the sights and sounds of my little capitalist joys.

Now there is something strangely dystopian about that experience --- something sad not only because of the emptiness of the place but what it implies about the businesses gasping for breath inside.  Fact:  people are still wary of coming out of their homes and exposing themselves to others ... social distancing or not.  Moreover, nearly three months of isolation has taught the common folk that you can stay home and not feel miserable because this is all a matter of getting used to.

And when staying home becomes a necessity --- then going out to see the sights and sounds of beautiful commerce turns into an unnecessary luxury.

I have spent three months without buying a stick of clothing.

I have amused myself with streaming platforms and found the joys of the diversity of YouTube.

I have learned that you can buy almost anything online ... ranging from succulents to terra cotta pots for plants to ink for your printer and even the best kare-kares in town.  You have discovered the joys on online groceries and even have Wagyu cubes delivered to your doorstep.

And you realize that you do not need crowds.  As a matter of fact, you have grown a fear of them.  

Thus business are literally struggling.  And one good reason why malls are empty is because walang pera ang tao. Ganoon lang kasimple yon.  At kung may pera man sila, there is no joy going to a mall that has turned into a catacomb.

So how are we going to proceed from this?  As we enter our 100th day, we ask ourselves, "O, tapos?" and we wish somebody can give us a concrete answer.

But the way it seems, the operating principle in these parts is, "Bahala na si Batman."

Now that is really scary.