Falling Back, 9. Breaking Down and Buying

So, I broke down and got an air purifier.

I hate the idea of more gadgets in the house, especially those whose benefits don't seem so absolutely necessary. (There's a juicer next door that might have seen action during the first month of its existence in the house.) But, reading different articles on closed spaces and the devil virus, I realized that during the winter I wasn't about to keep my study window open while I gave class. Yet that is what is recommended to keep the air circulating, and the devil virus at bay. That, or an air purifier with a HEPA filter. So, I looked for one.

They're not cheap, either. I've seen them at over six hundred euros. Then, I checked Amazon, to see what companies sold there. I discovered some cheap ones that started at around thirty euros. The reviews were raving. Then, I checked the one star reviews, the ones that are so far down, no one ever bothers to scroll until they reach them. The old adage, you get what you pay for was spelled out in very expressive language. Scrap the internet. 

I checked local appliance stores. The largest one had the largest range to choose from. On their web page. When I got to the store, they only had a few expensive ones on display. All the others had to be bought online, and shipping had to be added to the price. Then, I went to a department store in Santiago, and asked about what they had. I chose one of theirs, from a reputable company. 

It's a small, round tower, with variable motor. This afternoon I plugged it in and turned it on. For around an hour, the air quality was deemed poor. Then, it slowly turned good. The study does smell a little different, not so closed. The problem now, is what corner to set it working in. The other problem is that once kids come and go, the little tower will probably deem the air quality poor. Just as long as it sucks in all the tiny stuff, any possible virus included, I won't mind.

Standing in the department store, waiting for the elevator, I let my eyes stray. There was more or less the normal amount of people for a weekday morning. Their clothing reflected the fall weather outside; long pants and some long sleeves against the wandering clouds and the cooler temperatures, a jacket or two. And every single one of them wore a mask. Some wore the surgical mask that comes in packs of ten at around six euros. Others wore cloth masks, simple black or white ones, or colorfully designed. Not one person was without it. I think the day we can wander out of the house without a mask, we'll feel naked. The way things are going, I don't think that day will come soon. 

I am facing another problem with masks. This summer, I wore a face shield during my classes. But the window was open, and contagion was low. In the winter I will most likely have to wear a mask. So, I will have to find comfortable ones, that will let me speak, and breathe, and won't fog my glasses. That's a problem.

Unlike a t-shirt or a pair of pants, which you can try on before you buy them, you can't try on a mask. Each mask is slightly different, depending on who was sewing. The one I'm wearing at the moment lets me breathe, but it doesn't let me talk. I have trouble getting out my words in a coherent manner with it, and sometimes have to pull away the bottom from my face to be understood. And, while it lets me breathe, as soon as I set my glasses upon their correct position, I can't see for the fog. Another one I have, which is in the wash, is slightly better. Then, there's the one that let's me breathe well and talk, but if I settle my glasses on it in a manner so as not to fog, the fabric wants to follow the air into my nose. Again, I have to go blind with that one. I think I'm going to spend a bit of money before I find a mask that will let me exist the way I want to.

It's getting so normal to see masks everywhere, that whenever I see the rare television program, and no one is wearing a mask, at first, I'm startled. Then, I realize it was filmed in those normal times of yore, when the biggest worry was climate change. Well, that problem is still there, and getting worse, but now it's taken second place to our health. Yet, the virus most likely appeared because we are continuously undoing the wild habitat of our planet, and exposing ourselves to more fauna that have illnesses that can easily be mutated and passed on to us. It's a vicious cycle that we aren't willing to break. Destroy habitat, unleash illnesses, keep destroying habitat, keep unleashing illnesses. All so our living standards can keep going up, at least in the richer countries, among those who have more. The little machine I bought is so that I don't have to open the window and be cold in the winter. Twenty years ago, that's what I would have done because I would have no other choice. Maybe it would have been better that way.

Life continues.