Author: TscTempest

  • Day Twelve, Month Three

    Day Twelve, Month Three

    PCR Testing Day: A resident takes advantage of the morning to observe the South Gate activity from the the covered Gallery; The Beimax have taken to “Disinfecting” the streets; The medical team is made up of nurses and general volunteers, these volunteers ready themselves to call down residents, check their names, and scan QR codes;…

  • Day Eleven, Month Three

    Day Eleven, Month Three

    We are half way through a five day curfew, they claimed that in the next two days we will do some PCR testing and on the basis of that they will then decide whether to open up this area or not.  In the meantime, we continue to be allowed out within a designated, six hour…

  • Day Ten, Month Three

    Day Ten, Month Three

    We are still confined to quarters, except for a few hours each day, the same hours each day. [敲打] Put the kettle to heat the water; Toby 头哔, is so happy to be outside, he doesn’t understand the edicts of the committee… come to think of it, I’m not sure I do either; An ex-hairdresser…

  • Day Seventy of Lockdown

    Day Seventy of Lockdown

    SEVENTY! … … … (or Day Eight of the Third Month) The wind has a fresh breath, it speaks of a new arrangement that we will be let out from lock down, all of Shanghai, will be let out from lock down very soon. Yet we are on the curfew we who have been under…

  • 1392 Fèng Huáng Dān Cóng Chá (Yā Shǐ Xiāng), 1392 凤凰单丛茶 (鸭屎香), Phoenix Mountain Dancong Tea (Duck Excrement Scent)

    C. sinensis “yashi xiang”. Fenhuang Dancong; Phoenix Mountain; Wudongding, Fenghuang Town, Chao’an District, Chaozhou City, Guangdong, above 1000 m; Autumn 2021, whole leaf, single cluster, oolong process. #TodaysTea, #今天的茶, #JīnTiāndeChá, #Tea, #茶, #Chá. The dry leaf is almost black in color with red tinged edges with some occasional, lighter, greenish brown leaves interspersed.  The leaves…

  • Day Eight, Month Three

    Day Eight, Month Three

    Lockdown’s Day 69… “69” tee-hee-hee… It’s a Piscean moment, a two fishes event, a Yin-Yang juxtaposition… Who will be the yin to my yang today? A resident walks their dog… it’s a daily, “s.e.p;” Time to boil the kettle; Duck Shit Oolong Tea is the choice for today; Yesterday I swapped a yellow croaker for…

  • Day Seven, Month Three

    Day Seven, Month Three

    Just another blur of a day:  Volunteers patrol the compound; Someone walks a dog; Another volunteer attends their shift; And one volunteer leaves for home… mask down?!? Home Rapid Antigen Testing… twice a day; Hubbub! A government delivery arrives; The delivery cart goes by in a blur; Boxes of fresh supplies arrive; Fruit, veg, and…

  • Day Six, Month Three

    Day Six, Month Three

    I have always said, “Boredom is the sign of an infertile mind.” Mine feels as though it has not only been barren for a season, but it’s desertified as well. The bars on the windows are to stop people getting in; Express volunteers call out to the top floor; The delivery made, a volunteer stays…

  • Day Five, Month Three

    Day Five, Month Three

    The Silence Period is completed. We should be allowed out, right? Wrong!  We do PCR Tests again and another notification came, tomorrow we begin the Sprint Period, another three days in home detention, before the next notification.  The day after tomorrow, and the day after that, new food parcels from the government will be delivered.…

  • Day 65 of Lockdown, or Day Four, Month Three

    Day 65 of Lockdown, or Day Four, Month Three

    I heard a noise in the, “Silence.” It was only two volunteers, walking and talking; this image speaks to my sense of humor… I added the last line; Rapid tests, twice a day every day.