Going Out, to the "GCQ Outside World"

I am part of the workforce fortunate to have worked from home for the past two and a half months. With the relaxation of the lockdown to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) on June 1, I was able to work at the office again. My expectations were vague. I was a shut-in for the past few months. I was a bit scared to go out, as if I forgot how the outside world functioned before.

Travel

At 7:30AM, I took a tricycle, since jeepneys are not yet allowed to operate due to physical distancing issues. The tricycle had plastic cover between the bike and the sidecar. There was also an alcohol bottle inside. The driver asked me to write my details on a contact tracing sheet required by the local government. Fare was five times higher compared to the jeepney, but I was surprised that it has not increased. I am thankful, that drivers can earn again and the fare has not been increased for commuters. We are hoping that jeepneys and other public transportation would be allowed very soon. Economy cannot survive while transportation is handicapped.

It was very noticeable how the roads have decongested. There were only tricycles and private cars. I saw people walking to work. I saw people painting the walls of Manila South Cemetery. No one slept along the streets. Everything—vehicles, people, noise, smoke, travel time—seems to have been halved.

Tricycles were not yet allowed on major and national roads. So, I alighted, paid my fare, bid a prayer of safety for the driver, and started walking. I was satisfied that I still remember the way, even if I do not normally take that path. It was a nostalgic 1.1-kilometer walk. And tiring as well.

Breathing

Breathing was difficult.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Philippines recently clarified that face masks do not cause hypoxia. "Partly false," they said. Not to the point of hypoxia, but I can testify that face masks make breathing difficult.

A face mask is permeable, which means it allows air to pass through after being filtered. But for people with shallow breaths like me, it literally obstructs breathing. While walking that far, wearing a face mask is really uncomfortable. I had to loosen my mask just to widen the opening where air can enter not through the filter. Even inside the office when I was simply sitting down, I had to put my mask down.

I also had to bookmark that article where WHO PH said that "people with breathing difficulties should not wear masks," just in case needed for defense. Being the paranoid girl that I am. A protocol to "remove masks only when eating or drinking" makes me think that only normal people were considered in making it. But, it is okay. I am not complaining. Nothing is normal today anyway. Protocols should always be open for review so that it can be as inclusive as possible.

Office

Floor markings were very visible. Male and female entrances were also separated. The guards required us to step on the footbath, then they checked our body temperature. Even the elevator had designated areas we can stand, and only at maximum of five people at a time.

At 8:00AM, our floor was empty. Even at 8:30AM, official start of working hours, the people present can be counted in fingers. The office was cold, literally and figuratively. It was peaceful and lonely at the same time. It was a good thing that internet connection was strong enough to synchronize all the backlogs I have accumulated.

Lunch

Even fastfood chains have strict entrance protocols and floor markings. The crew I saw were still the same crew before the lockdown, and that is a relief. That means that they had maintained their employment. The taste of food did not change, or I just did not care too much. I can tell how much my colleagues missed each other, as they ate lunch together, and chit-chatted.

Online Meeting

I attended an online discussion with a client. They also dispersed their employees to different floors to practice physical distancing. It is just like the memes say, "This meeting could have been done online, and it would have saved both our time." During this period, online meetings are normal and physical meetings are not. Being alone in a conference room is kind of awkward (and cold), though. But, I achieved homeostasis as my temperature warmed up because of that meeting, for whatever reason that meeting brought to my afternoon.

Work

Office: At the comfort of the air conditioner. Given choices, I would always choose to "work at the comfort of my home", but the weather does not usually cooperate. Work was still hectic and stressful, and battling with emotional instability is exhausting in itself. In the end, I was not able to perform what was planned for the day. It is not something to be proud of, but I need to admit it in order to move forward.

If I have to rate my level of productivity at home and at the office, I would say, I achieve more at home because I work alone, physically far from the things that cause me pain. Although, that "I achieve more" bs is because I work for longer hours, sometimes as early as 7:30AM and as late as 11:00PM. At the office, I work more efficiently because of conducive facilities, provided that I still work alone. Because of the travel going home, energy level drops dramatically, and productivity is not achieved during the night. No use in working at night.

This work setup is definitely much more loose than a normal audit season. I am starting to wonder how I actually succeeded the audit season last year. It feels like I am much more of a mediocre now than when I was a new hire. Both seasons are challenging, "cryable", stressful, but on different terms. In the end, I am still a sad auditor who lost sense of human interaction with that two and a half months of being a hikikomori.

Going Home

Because of the decreased number of vehicles, taxis did not pass by our building. I have lost discernment what going home at 6:00PM felt like, which used to be an auditor's dream-come-true. Since there were also no jeepneys at the highway, the most possible way to go home is to walk the same 1.1-km path and ride a tricycle.

I walked with a colleague. She tripped along the way. Both her knees were scratched. I let out a joke that maybe she forgot to practice walking during the lockdown. I can tell her knees hurt, but there was nothing that can be done, unless we can book a GrabCar. We took different tricycles because one ride can accommodate only one person.

That joke I let out was also actually directed to myself. I did not practice walking during the lockdown, so those two 1.1-km walks made my legs sore.

Summary

Nothing was normal.

I did not particularly "miss" the outside world. But after going out, it looked familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Everyone is striving to get back to the previous activities as close as possible. We are trying to revive the lost liveliness of the environment.

Going outside is scary. The country is not yet healed. But, we have to support the economy. There are so many things gone and are going wrong right now; reopening the economy may be interpreted that the workforce is sacrificial lamb. But more than being afraid of the virus, we are afraid of being blind and misinformed. We have to see what is happening outside. We have to regain what we lost.

We cannot heal the country and the world alone. Yet, in the context of our own lives, we can be engaged and active. We can observe our community. Of course, we have to protect ourselves while outside.

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Post-note:

If this was a normal busy season, the office would have been... if we put it in anime universe, purple miasma would have smoked off the floor and everyone would have a dark aura around them. The once jam-packed office full of stressed auditors has been barren and dried out. It could be for the good, like the office has been purified from toxicity. At the same time, the office is just not the same anymore. That heavy atmosphere we used to have is proof of auditors working hard for our clients. But now, that proof is dispersed. Everyone is coping up alone. Some might be crying off alone, without the chance of a friend discovering them in the restroom. Wherever you are, I am rooting for you!