H1 Ewan

Well I’m back here again in China. Despite my initial resistance to travel due to the swine flu scare in Hong Kong, I find myself back in China. I won’t go anymore as to how I eventually relented cause it’s a long story where eyebrows were raised, there was howling , and the requisite grinding of teeth(No, not really but adding some drama makes for an interesting read). So off I went from Pinas to Hong Kong but not without fully equipping myself with all the right protection and stuff. I had me vaccinated with human flu antibodies which would very well last me for six months.

Yes the human flu vaccine is not for the swine flu strain but as most information against swine flu suggests, a human flu vaccine is better than no vaccine at all. I also stocked up on Vitamin C, Centrum, Bioflu, paracetamol, an antibiotic for tonsils, and 6 packs of strepsils. Aside from that, I ditched sleeping late and I am now chalking around 6-7 hours of sleep which is a huge departure from my usual 4 hour sleep. I also got this pocket atomizer which I regularly refill with alcohol(I bought 3 bottles totaling almost a liter). So everytime I deem the cleanliness of my hands have been compromised, I pull out from my pocket me little atomizer and just spray like mad. I spray like I have a lifetime supply of daily 10 liter alcohol provisions.

My hands have never been cleaner. The practice of spraying my hands also extended to my clothes and everything that comes in constant contact with me. I also spray my pants, my bag, anything that my paranoia dictates have brushed against any virus harbouring surface.... I just spray ‘em.

In the airport, most staff were wearing masks but very few passengers did. Maybe just around 6-10% of us did(yes I forgot to mention I also brought a mask-goes to show the preparation I went through making sure I wear that medieval armor protection like in the cecon commercial). But among those who wore masks, mine was the top of the class. I was wearing N95, now beat that. Other passengers wore the run-of-the mill good for nothing cloth masks. Mine was N95 baby!

N95 is not for those who'd like to be reminded of what their last meal smelled like.
This respirator has so little pores for particles to exit that those who have claustrophobic tendencies had better stay away from using it. I was in the wide open space of the airport and yet I felt like I was inside a torture chamber with the way I was like....gasping for air. I never realised that breathing can be such a daunting task.

I guess removing the mask every now and then defeats the purpose of using it as my hands would always come in contact with the cup. Touching the mask every so often increases the risk of polluting it with virus and germs that you'd effectively be fixing yourself your own virus culturing mini-lab which you'd be slamming right across your face.