life & style // no. 12 theotherpress.ca

How I was unexpectedly put in the frontline

» And the life of Jerrison Oracion during the pandemic

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

 

n the middle of March 2020, it was the

midway point of the second half of the
college year and my parents were visiting
Vancouver Island on a trip with some of
my relatives. Before the coronavirus was
declared a pandemic, I went to college once
a week, watched films in movie theatres
mainly in the Vancity Theatre, and ate at
the Spud Shack on most Mondays before
staff meetings. The next few weeks would
not only change the way that I would do
everyday tasks but also change the outcome
of this year.

The first few weeks were normal

as social distancing was implemented
ina lot of places as there was a surge of
cases in the Lower Mainland, more safety
precautions were put into place and things
were starting to get unusual. Changes even
happened in the grocery store where I work
as a stocking clerk. We began sanitizing
hard surfaces around the store, wearing
gloves, putting up plexiglass separators
in the checkout aisles and markers in the
lineup, and in case a second wave happens,
we wear masks and screen protectors. | am
surprised that I am classified as an essential
worker and tasked with protecting against
COVID-19 for my coworkers, customers,

and self.

I appreciate the many thanks that I
get from a lot of customers for making sure
that they get the food they need during the
pandemic. The pandemic is like a world
war where everyone takes action in the
warfront and at home, except that this
situation is civil. One of the shows that I’ve
been watching recently is the Masterpiece
Theatre show World on Fire. The timing

"7

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of this show made it more relevant
considering the pandemic. The show
covers the lives of five people dealing with
the aftermath of World War II. There was
even more hype for it than the new season
of Westworld.

Most of the week, I am in my house
watching coverage of the pandemic for
half of the day and taking care of my
grandmother. My family and I sometimes

 

Getting back to nature

» How the pandemic made me rediscover the outside world

Craig Allan
Staff Writer

 

he pandemic has led to a world of
closures—restaurants, community

centres, and entertainment venues.
And while some of these places (like
restaurants) are reopening, the world still
feels like it is in the midst of rebooting.
With months on end of nothing to do, I
struggled to find things to occupy my time
in these doldrum times. However, with
the sun coming out more and the weather
getting better, I realized that now may
bea good time to reacquaint myself with
nature. While the stores may close, nature
never does.

I first started with the animals outside
of my home. Being stuck inside all day
has left me with a lot of time to look out
my window. Doing so, I was amazed by all
the activity happening on my front lawn.
Orioles pecking into the ground, crows
flying about, and squirrels scurrying across
the street to get into my neighbour's bird
feeder. The highlight though, was a couple
of orange tweety birds (canaries) that had
built a nest in a nearby bush. Their tweets
were so cute.

I then decided to get out and take in
this nature away from my house. For 18
years I have lived behind a greenbelt that
borders the Coquitlam River, but I have
rarely gone through there. I ended up
finding a whole new section of the trail I
had never been to before. It had waterfalls,
areas near the river, and beautiful
sightlines. Considering my future will likely

consist of living in a small apartment with
my only exposure to nature being a nearby
park where dogs go to do their business, |
really should make it my goal to go through
this forest as much as I can.

One day when walking through the
forest, I stepped over this long thing that
kind of looked like black liquorish. As I
stepped over it, I saw it wriggle. I jumped
back in fear. Turns out it was a snake! I
didn’t know what kind of snake it was,
and I have not been able to find out since.

(Though it may have been a common garter

snake—the most widespread snake in
Canada.) It was small (probably no bigger
than a pencil), black with white lines, and
it had a worm in its mouth as it slinked off
the trail. ] had never seen a snake in the
wild before, so it was a thrill!

With so much nature to explore, I
decided I wanted to branch out farther
from my house. I have a lot of parks around
me with lakes and pathways so I thought
it might be a good idea to pack a lunch
and enjoy the world. So, I would go to the
park with a lunch and just sit and watch
the world. It was much nicer than simply
eating at my kitchen table or inside my car.
One memorable lunch consisted of me
going to Rocky Point Park in Port Moody,
ordering from Pajo’s Fish and Chips, and
eating it while overlooking the ocean.
Doing things like that got me more in
tune with the world around me. I really
appreciated the beauty of the park as I ate
in the sun with a cool breeze—making it
comfortable—or the beauty of eating those
flaky fish and chips with the accompanying

 

smell of the salty ocean air.

I’ve experienced so much more, from
the buzzing of bees to pollinate the flowers
blooming with colour, to the woodpeckers

go outside to our backyard to get fresh

air, get active, and clap for the essential
workers at 7 pm. A while ago various first
responder vehicles were doing a parade
around Port Coquitlam and passed by our
house.

I have also been catching up ona lot
of things, including the many films that I
have on Blu-ray that I really like to watch,
reading a lot of books, catching up on
shows on the many streaming services that
I have, and doing a bit of baking—which
is one of the things that a lot of people
are doing right now. I made a cheesecake!
My family and I have been spending a
lot of time together, getting food from
restaurants occasionally, and talking to
relatives in video chats. With restaurants
being reopened again because of fewer
cases in the area, | am going to them
occasionally even though the experience is
different than what it was before.

You can not only thank other grocery
workers like me but also the doctors,
police officers, fire fighters, restaurant
workers, and other essential workers for
getting through this unexpected time. If a
second wave happens, at least I know how
to practice social distancing. When the
pandemic ends, I would really like to go to
a movie theatre again.

Illustration by Athena Little

tapping Morse code on every tree. Nature
is always open, and it can have some
interesting surprises.