I found that if I paint my eyelashes I touch my eyes less. Same with the lips. Makeup, in general, can be a great ally in avoiding the coronavirus. Since the medical advice of not touching your face I can’t put it into practice rigorously, at least the aesthetic advice of not rubbing my eyes with mascara on my eyelashes can save me.
Who would have thought it: that the most vain people were the ones who in the end had the best chance of surviving. I have also discovered that I can’t stand antibacterial gel on my hands. It reminds me of when I used to eat a cold snack in elementary school and squirt soda down my hands and then get sick.
So far, this has been a day of important discoveries. I still haven’t managed to isolate myself. I had to leave in the morning. I’m sorry. Things that can’t be helped. But I came home quickly. I unrolled my yoga or pilates mat, depending on my craziness at the moment, and started doing some stretching exercises, which are very relaxing.
Before that, I cooked some chickpeas that were spectacular. I love to cook. I won’t go running in the afternoons on Fifth Avenue and the Malecón, nor will I see the sunsets in front of the sea, nor feel the salty breeze on my tongue. I’m ready to make my life miserable. I think so.
At least my house has huge plants and I keep incense, ginger and coffee for about two months. They say that in Spain, in quarantine, whoever has a dog can walk it. I wonder if having an imaginary dog will count, or that one will suddenly start barking.
DATEL March 19, 2020.
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.