I still remember when I'd hear the news about the virus in China and think "that sucks, oh well..." and then I'd move on with my day. Then the first case appeared in America, then Latin America, and eventually the first case was confirmed in Peru and everyone started to freak out. One day, in the middle of work we got sent home as a way of precaution since there had been a lot of new cases of covid. Little did we know it was going to be 3 months until any of us came back to work.
At first, the idea of having two weeks to myself was lovely. Then it turned into a month. A month where all I did was spend my paycheck in an absurd amount of groceries, vodka and cigarettes. The second month in, I was having vanilla ice cream and vodka smoothies for breakfast and dino nuggets for dinner. I also went through a bit of a phase where I experimented with my hair, as one does when your mental health is all over the place.
It went from brunette
to blonde,
to pink,
to platinum blonde,
to teal
to eventually, a baby mullet
At the beginning of lockdown, having to go grocery shopping with my mother, both wearing masks, seeing the shelves mostly empty and people not getting anywhere near others, it was all very surreal. It' was like a movie. A very "Viral" or "28 weeks Later" looking scenario. The image of the military guarding the grocery stores will forever be stuck in my head. Now, I might be overdramatic (Kim, there's people that are dying), but for me, it was shocking to see all that. Watching the news on social media and TV, all the most touristy places, empty.
But I still felt bored for most of it. Filling my days watching reruns of Glee, blasting Dua Lipa's "Levitating" all day (Let's face it her music kept a lot of the gays and theys sane during lockdown), having cigarettes for meals and vodka for dessert, and then attending someone's birthday party on Zoom. Very depressing if you ask me. No wonder why I gained so much weight and also felt like my already fragile mental health was starting to decline again. But not like "descending into madness", more like I was giving up on it. I was down all the time, tired of existence.
Occasionally I'd have Zoom meetings with people from work to discuss how we could still be productive during lockdown. I'd record stories for Instagram, do Lives, and take over the brand's account for a day. So we were not just getting paid to exist. That kept me somewhat sane while watching the news about George Floyd and the BLM movement.
After three months I got the glorious call. They were reopening the malls, so I could go back to work. But now it was only one person, instead of the four we were before Covid, and I was the chosen one from my team. It all felt surreal. Going to the building's rooftop, mask, and face shield on, social distancing from people I used to share makeup brushes with, while we got our temperature taken and signed some documents.
By the end of the year, I didn't have to look at CNN to find riots. They started happening in Peru after the impeachment of our president at the time. Peru's political climate has been a big mess for years now. But I don't think this is the place to talk about that. As much as I would've liked to be more supportive, I attended one of the protests, and after that, I went to my friend Nectar's place. Her brother was not responding to her messages. It was Me, Nectar, and Andy just watching the news while waiting for some sign from her brother. Finally, he came in through the door. Covered in sweat, vinegar, and some white-ish powder. He got hit with some tear gas but other than that, he was ok.
Before welcoming the New Year I had a Covid scare. Me and my irresponsible friends got together for a day by the pool. We didn't really take much precaution after a couple hours of my 2 favorite Ms: mimosas and molly. I think it was just what we needed after such a scary year. Granted, we still didn't have a vaccine available but since all of us had been just stuck home, we felt like there was no way we could get covid if we got together. One of them brought a +1 we all knew, so we didn't really care much about it, let's call him Barry. Until the next day we all got the message in the group chat "Barry just tested positive for covid". The panic that the message caused was insane. I was exiled to my room until further notice. I had to call work and make someone cover for me, which they didn't like (Sorry Shirley). Thankfully we all tested negative, and Barry was fine. But it definitely scared us into not being social for a while.
Overall Covid was overwhelming for everyone. So on a chaotic Thursday afternoon, in the middle of June, I did it. I called my boss and quit my job. I, of course, was unfortunate, but I was just done with everything. I felt stuck and there was one little beacon of hope in a family event taking place in Colorado. I spent all my savings on getting my documents straight so I could give myself the vacation I desperately needed. Now knowing that vacation would be extended. Forever (TBD). Turns out you actually can run away from your problems. But not from problems. I might've left my chaotic life and the sense of being stuck back in Peru, but the struggles I had to phase once I decided to start over were a lot worse. The universe has a cruel sense of humor.
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