Anxiety-Sadness-Ennui-Dread Combo Meal

By Will on May 5, 2020 • ( 0 )

I opened my eyes this morning with a combined feeling of anxiety, sadness, ennui, and dread, so I had my Spam sandwich and sugar-rich 3-in-1 coffee and told myself maybe I would eventually figure this out. I turned on Zoom for a hospital conference, and at the same time wrote digital prescriptions, requests, etc of patients. This whole online consultation concept has been driving me insane. I should be used to this because even as a trainee years ago and until now in private practice I have been giving my personal contacts to all my patients, but this ECQ-induced telemedicine is a whole new level of necessary craziness. It demands more time, it opens me up to some possible legal problems, and frankly, it requires a lot of guessing game. The “tele-” really stands for telepathy.

Touristy pose sa labas ng tindahan.

Maybe it’s the heat, I told myself. The simplest movement drenches me in sweat. The aircon has been malfunctioning. The bed was warm. My hair has mutated into a totally independent life form. The morning heat has sapped me of energy to ride the elliptical. The Simpsons Village app has notified me that I haven’t collected money for two days already, how negligent. Tried to read a book but my attention would wander after a few pages. I have just taken a bath and changed clothes and now I’m like bleeping Niagra Falls.

Smirketh then notified me that she has been testing this telemedicine platform where the patient would actually have to pay. Sounds fun, I told her, I want in as well–I have bills piling up and so far I haven’t charged anybody via online yet. To test how efficient this platform is I logged on to Smirketh’s virtual consultation room. I was informed by an “automated” (hee-hee) text that I have to pay a certain amount to proceed. So far so good. I paid via the BDO app. And just like that I got in and was having online consultation as Smirketh’s first ever pay patient. “I-donate mo na lang yung PF,” I told Smirketh. “Or better yet, pwede mong ipang-Jollibee!”

To try and overcome this strange Anxiety-Sadness-Ennui-Dread combo meal I looked at some of my old photos and remembered how going to the comic shop used to make me happy. I have long shifted to digital comics for less clutter, but I just loved going to the store, looking at the display shelf full of colorful toys, eavesdropping at other people’s conversations about comics, sometimes buying a special comic book issue. It was just genuine fun. I don’t know if I could ever recapture that feeling again. Maybe when I’m geriatric and afflicted with memory loss and peeing from a bag.