This week…
I did the unthinkable.
I went…
Outside.
*GASP*
“Kanmani,
You didn’t.”
OH YES I DID
On Monday I tagged along with my dad to Costco because I needed to get new glasses because my prescription changed. And if I told you that everything seemed okay and normal would be a complete lie.
To give you some background, I haven’t gone outside since mid March; which was nearly five months ago. There were some cases where I absolutely had to go out but only for very short periods of time. Like returning my school textbooks. And with a mask on of course. But I didn’t go to places where there were tons of people, but rather where everything I had to do was in seclusion. So when I was suddenly dropped into a place with so many people, after not being in contact with anyone for 5 MONTHS, it can really do things to you.
On Monday, at around 3 or 4 o’clock, my dad and I hopped into the car and made our merry way to Costco because we needed to buy groceries and place an order for my glasses. My dad and I both wore our masks as soon as we arrive at the Costco parking lot and climbed out. My dad said we had to go to the tire center first because he needed to replace two tires on our car.
While my dad placed his tire order to the man at the counter, I looked around the interior of the building. And I noticed signs around the register and doorways that said that you were required to wear a mask by state law. And everyone we had seen so far in Costco was wearing one.
Since we are on the topic of masks, may I mention that no matter which one I wear, it never fits me properly? Either my face is to small, or every single mask I wear is just too big for my face. Which is a problem because then they leave open gaps near my eyes or under my jawline, which will then end up bringing in even more bad germs into your mouth and nose. Not only that, but it’s downright uncomfortable! So I try to position the mask so it fits snugly on my face.
Anyways, we left the tire center and headed to the Costco building.
I thought I was mentally prepared for seeing a lot of people when we reached the building, I mean come one, it’s Costco. Of course there will be a lot of people! But like many things in life, I had underestimated just how overwhelming it would be to be dropped into a massive crowd of people when you haven’t interacted with anyone for nearly 5 months.
As soon as we walked in, I instantly wanted to run back to the car and skedaddle out of there.
There were hoards of people pushing carts, talking on the phone, and the entire atmosphere of the store itself was overwhelming to my senses. It was too loud and too claustrophobic. But I pushed all of those thoughts to the back of my mind and continued with my dad to the Optical’s center.
The glasses are usually displayed on a large wall, and once you choose which pairs you want, you bring them over to the counter to place your order. It was essentially the same concept now, except every sales worker in the entire store wore masks, and the employees that worked in the Optical center wore gloves, masks, and those protective plastic shields that can protect your face. As well as constantly wiping down all surfaces and objects touched and handled by customers and employees. They also had everyone put glasses in a bin after you tried them on so they could be disinfected and sanitized.
I picked two pairs of glasses, one metal and the other was a different material, but both were glasses that I really like the style of. One was a bit rounded on the the bottom(which is a style I’ve been wanting to try for a while)while the other was similar to the previous model but a bit more rectangular and defined.
Once I had picked my two pairs of glasses, my dad and I made our way to the counter to place the order for the glasses and gave them my prescription. After that, a women from the counter came and asked me to sit down in a chair so they could get the measurements of my face.
Before I was told to put my eyes in and peer inside the binocular looking thingy, they had disinfected the whole thing, which I thought was great. But what I didn’t like was the fact that the smell was literally burning in my nose since I was so close to it. It was sterile and I thought I was gonna pass out from inhaling it so much. But I tried my hardest not to wrench myself away from the device that was supposed to measure my face and run outside to get some fresh air.
So there I was trying not to cry for a few seconds while I stared a fluorescent green dot the size of a grape.
After that horrific experience(though I appreciate the effort to clean everything so thoroughly)my dad had the same women(who helped with my order), loosen his glasses because they were too tight on his face and wouldn’t fit properly.
After that was done, my dad and I grabbed a cart so we could get groceries. And we finished grabbing all of the things we needed.
Well, actually, that entire sentence that was written up there is way nicer than what actually happened.
It was more of my dad dragging me around while I had to push the cart and make sure I didn’t bump into anyone or anything. Which is pretty hard when my dad has long legs and can walk really fast, while I have short legs and small feet. Not to mention small hands, which made it really hard to control the massive cart that was loaded with a ton of items waiting to be purchase. At some points my dad would drag the cart behind him while I held the handlebars, but then, he would run off to quickly grab something that was on our list, and then leave me to stand there awkwardly and try to give other people room.
When we went to the register and got everything paid for, my dad said he wanted to get something price-checked. So we went to the little area designated for that. But there was no one there to help us. So my dad went to an employee and asked he for help. She came over to where we were standing and waiting. She was a bit old, and had a kind demeanor, instantly apologizing for the inconvenience. She told us she was going to call someone over here to help us, but I wasn’t expecting from the kindly old women was for her to do this:
“51!”
My dad and I stared at each other in shock as this women bellowed across the entire store to her colleagues, signaling that the station needed someone. This goes to show just how relevant the phrase “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” is. When she was done screaming(in very high octaves mind you)a man came to help us and everything went smoothly.
After that we clambered back into the car and drove home, and as soon as we got home, I kicked off my shoes and smushed myself into the couch while I tried to regain a sense of relaxation.
That was too much social interaction for me to bear so soon…
I hoped you enjoyed this mini story time, and can somewhat relate to all of this… Mess. Anyways, stay safe, stay happy, and wear your face mask!