I should have followed up on this about a fortnight ago.
Remember when I was boasting that Mother darned for me the prettiest cloth masks that ever was, and that I was going to honor her by not wearing them? Well, I blogged that on a Sunday. Overnight I changed my mind to the point of saying to myself, "Well, let me try it out in some half-ass measure over work. I'm tucked into an out-of-the-way space anyway, so I won't feel so awkward." So on the following Monday, where I was assigned to My Favorite Department, I started to wear it, but only while sitting down at my desk. That doesn't make sense, I know; the main reason to wear a mask is to not spread your respiration into the air and potentially onto other people, and there's virtually no chance of that happening if you're not moving. But whenever I stood up to go somewhere, I took it off.
But … I don't know if it was talking to other people in the department, or more news I heard on the radio or read on the Internet, or some act of courage that welled up inside me, but … shoot, I think it was that afternoon (where I may have shifted back to my original position outside) but certainly by the next day that I started wearing it around at work everywhere. I decided that the social stigma attached to a mask was finally outweighed by the extra layer of safety, however unproven, a homemade mask provided. At least one person agreed; I looked up upon hearing a banging of the glass window from the other side of my department, and a worker wearing a bandana gave me a thumb's-up!
Honestly, that helped me overcome my self-awareness a lot. By Wednesday at the very latest I would put on my mask as soon as I got down disinfecting my workstation, per enacted work rules, and kept it on for the whole day. And even though no one else in the department followed suit, I didn't mind because deep down, I felt I was keeping myself, at the very least, safe. I have to note, however, that I was far from the trend-setter; the other Chinese person working in my department started wearing a mask one if not two weeks before this. She's smarter than me, and kudos to her for not giving a fuck about how she looked.
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I say this now because yesterday I started seeing a couple of the higher-ups wearing a surgical mask. That was a prelude to news that I got through text from my boss after work yesterday: There will be an extra layer of security for everyone who comes in … and now everyone is required to wear a mask at work. Seems like I am ahead of the curve (although not as ahead as my co-worker, of course)! Now, everyone will be given a surgical mask when coming into work. I am allowed to use my own, however, which raises a question: Are people going to be OK with me continuing to wear my old, homemade mask now that (apparently) the company is providing (I think) the surgical mask which should be much better? I want to keep wearing the ones Mother made for me because, well, Mother made them for me. I guess I'll let social pressure decide for me.
Remember when I was boasting that Mother darned for me the prettiest cloth masks that ever was, and that I was going to honor her by not wearing them? Well, I blogged that on a Sunday. Overnight I changed my mind to the point of saying to myself, "Well, let me try it out in some half-ass measure over work. I'm tucked into an out-of-the-way space anyway, so I won't feel so awkward." So on the following Monday, where I was assigned to My Favorite Department, I started to wear it, but only while sitting down at my desk. That doesn't make sense, I know; the main reason to wear a mask is to not spread your respiration into the air and potentially onto other people, and there's virtually no chance of that happening if you're not moving. But whenever I stood up to go somewhere, I took it off.
But … I don't know if it was talking to other people in the department, or more news I heard on the radio or read on the Internet, or some act of courage that welled up inside me, but … shoot, I think it was that afternoon (where I may have shifted back to my original position outside) but certainly by the next day that I started wearing it around at work everywhere. I decided that the social stigma attached to a mask was finally outweighed by the extra layer of safety, however unproven, a homemade mask provided. At least one person agreed; I looked up upon hearing a banging of the glass window from the other side of my department, and a worker wearing a bandana gave me a thumb's-up!
Honestly, that helped me overcome my self-awareness a lot. By Wednesday at the very latest I would put on my mask as soon as I got down disinfecting my workstation, per enacted work rules, and kept it on for the whole day. And even though no one else in the department followed suit, I didn't mind because deep down, I felt I was keeping myself, at the very least, safe. I have to note, however, that I was far from the trend-setter; the other Chinese person working in my department started wearing a mask one if not two weeks before this. She's smarter than me, and kudos to her for not giving a fuck about how she looked.
---
I say this now because yesterday I started seeing a couple of the higher-ups wearing a surgical mask. That was a prelude to news that I got through text from my boss after work yesterday: There will be an extra layer of security for everyone who comes in … and now everyone is required to wear a mask at work. Seems like I am ahead of the curve (although not as ahead as my co-worker, of course)! Now, everyone will be given a surgical mask when coming into work. I am allowed to use my own, however, which raises a question: Are people going to be OK with me continuing to wear my old, homemade mask now that (apparently) the company is providing (I think) the surgical mask which should be much better? I want to keep wearing the ones Mother made for me because, well, Mother made them for me. I guess I'll let social pressure decide for me.
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