As faithful readers may remember, last year when the pandemic started we ran a series of “Cabin Fever” posts about our status under lockdown.  It’s been over a year since the last of them, so it’s time for an update.

RIKKI-TIKKI-DEADLY (Los Angeles): Early on I had spoken with a friend about getting jabbed via the standby process – which in his case consisted of getting up at 4 a.m. and spending the entire day hanging around hoping a few of the elderly patients wouldn’t turn up and there would be extra shots left over.  We weren’t quite that desperate to jump the line (and we were also unwilling to blatantly lie about our status to healthcare providers who weren’t going to check), so we were content to wait for a bit.  But then a stroke of incredible luck hit – the Dr. Mrs. Deadly, Esq. (ret.) was keeping a close eye on standby lists and signed us up at a local pharmacy in case they had extra doses.  She put our names down at 2 p.m.  At 3 p.m. they called her.  Of course, she never answers her phone, so they moved on to the phone number on their list: mine.  They asked if I could make a 4 p.m. appointment.  I haven’t felt my heart lift like that since…well, since the Inauguration, I guess.

The location: Pacific Medical Pharmacy.  Just up Pacific Avenue, about a mile past the pool where I was convinced for a few weeks that the woman swimming laps next to me was Megan Rapinoe.  Apparently they had just gotten their very first shipment of the Janssen (Johnson and Johnson) vaccine that day, and opened it right up and started jabbing people.  And since they weren’t expecting it, they hadn’t made any regular appointments and went straight to the standby list.  We only had to wait a few minutes before we were signing forms and getting poked.  Note the date on the card below:

That’s right, April Fool’s Day!  The side effects were very real, and very unpleasant, but in a way they were a nice bit of reassurance that we weren’t the victims of one of the most mean-spirited pranks ever. We didn’t experience much the first evening – I think we took it easy and maybe had a glass of wine, but we definitely didn’t drink to excess.  The side effects the next day…sucked.  It wasn’t too bad for me – I spent the day in something of a fog with general fatigue – but the Dr. Mrs. was absolutely wrecked.  She didn’t stray much from bed all day, and couldn’t even keep down the orange juice that I squeezed for her (yes, I climbed a ladder to harvest oranges to provide her with fresh juice, because I’m that wonderful of a husband).  The next day she was fine, though.  I felt somewhat lousy for another day, but once it passed everything was back to normal.

Except…the feeling of liberation.  I felt a sense of freedom that I haven’t felt in a year.  It really did feel like a great weight had been lifted.  Our behavior didn’t change immediately, and it still hasn’t changed all that much, but there’s no longer the sense of dread that I originally experienced and had internalized to such a degree that I didn’t even realize was present until it was finally gone.  There’s been some little changes that are pretty wonderful – in particular I no longer feel compelled to map out as direct a route as possible in the grocery store to minimize my time there.  They lifted the mask recommendations so now when we’re walking the dog and there’s nobody around I’ll ditch the mask.  But more than anything it’s the sense of optimism, that for me – and for so many other people – this pandemic is finally coming to an end.  It’s great.

yeah right:

As of this writing, today, this very goddamn day, I have passed the 2 week period after receiving the 2nd vaccine shot and am now technically 100% inoculated.

If my brain hadn’t been fried by 14 months of panic and despair I would be celebrating like a bastard. Instead my lone act of pride today was walking downstairs to get in my car to come to work…WITHOUT MY MASK ON! Of course the second I arrived at work the mask goes right back on.

I’ve mentioned this way too many times but you all should know by now that I was declared an essential government worker at the very start of the lockdown and I’ve reported to work, physically, every Monday through Friday since March 16th of 2020. The thing with work is hard to explain. As fucking outright harrowing as it’s been driving to work every day during a, you know, GLOBAL FUCKING PANDEMIC! I actually needed work to maintain even a modicum of structure in my life. It’s been an insane 14 months.

My vaccines were administered here.

That’s the pyramid at Cal State Long Beach. Every quality campus should have a pyramid. Just don’t turn them into a fucking Bass Pro Shop like they did in Memphis. For you stoners out there the vaccine site was in a covered parking lot. Lot G-13. If I had received my 2nd dose on 4-20-21 instead of 4-21-21 I would have hit the stoners daily double.

Since I received the Moderna vaccine, it was a 4 week wait between shots 1 and 2 and then the last 2 weeks after the 2nd dose to reach full inoculation.

Now I have one of these.

During the initial wave of the shutdown, there were days when I was the only person in my building and it was deathly quiet. There was more than enough time to let your mind wander and I had a couple of INTENSE anxiety attacks. I wish I could truly express my thanks to the writers crew here at [DFO] since they were available to converse with me and help me retain what little sanity I had left.

I love this site.

I’m also on the verge of tears writing this out but I am relieved beyond expression. What an insane year plus that was.

Now we’ll be around to find out what’s next.

BALLS:

I’m also considered an essential worker and I was able to get my first Moderna shot on March 1. The only side effect was soreness in the arm for about three days.

The second shot was on March 29. This time,  I hardly felt any arm pain.  This may have been due to a tip that I got from a friend that said that if you do curls or other arm exercises, you’d be better off.  He was right.

Instead, the next day I got some minor chills (wore long underwear) felt sleepy (took a nap in the afternoon), and had a slight fever (forehead felt hot but that was it). Overall,  I had a pretty good experience.

The best part of the vaccination process,  though,  was that my parents both got vaccinated before me and had absolutely no side effects. Not even arm pain.

My sense of relief really came when it was 2 weeks after their second dose.  That was HUGE.  It’s actually indescribable.

My behaviour hasn’t really changed much.  I still wear a mask in public because I have a 12 year old niece that can’t get vaccinated yet.  I don’t want to expose her to anyone’s virus. So I stay the fuck away from people and wear my mask until the vaccine is approved for her, which I hear may be soon.

I haven’t gone to a restaurant to eat in over a year and I doubt I will be doing that any time soon.

PS: I was a dumbass and forgot my card when I went to get my second shot.  Luckily,  they still took me and gave me a second card. So,  I may be one of the rare idiots with two vaccination cards!

GTD
So where I live (Ontario) is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy behind in the vaccine rollout. From the local health units, they were still doing the 55+ age range until recently and have just started prioritizing the vaccine to areas with stoopid high infection rates, which I get. Canada also does NOT have the ability to manufacture the Covid vaccine, so we are dependent on importing them (great planning Feds) and there have been many delays in just getting the vaccine to Canada. So when they announced that the AZ vaccine would be available in select pharmacies for those 40 and up starting mid April, I put my name on a few chains waiting lists, but wasn’t expecting to hear anything until the end of May. But then on the next Saturday, a buddy of mine, texts me to ask if I’d drive about an hour north of me to get the shot. Hell yes. So, called the pharmacy and gots me an appointment for my first shot on the following Monday. I also managed to get the appointment just after him, so was able to have a socially distance visit too. Wooooo. Planning for the win.
For side effects, I had a wicked headache after about 4 hours after the shot that lasted for about 24 hours and was very tired the next day. I went to bed a like 9 on the Tuesday and slept through the night. After that, it was just a sore arm at the injection site for a few more days, but nothing too bad. Still need my phone to get Wifi, so not sure when that kicks in.
At this point I’m to get my second shot sometime around mid August, but as thevaccine availability and science about when to get the second shot keeps changing, I’m not sure what brand I’ll be getting or when. Fun. But honestly, I’ll take whatever they have for me as its still better than getting Covid. I’ve got asthma (sucks to your asmar) so don’t want anything else to mess with my lungs. My buddy has no side effects.
Oh and I brought by buddy a case of beer to thank him for the info. Probably was too much, but since none of the other chains have contacted me yet, it’s nice to have had some protecting. As a wise woman (Mrs GTD) said to me, “if you could spend $50 and get the shot in a few days you would do it. So it’s the same as getting him some beers.”
As for changes to my daily routine. Nothing changed. We’re still in lockdown, masks for all stores, socially distance visits if any, kids are full remote schooling, I’m full remote and we order things online and pick up as much as we can. I’m still a few days (as of writing) away to be 2 weeks after the shot, so whatever immunity from the first shot has not reached it’s max. But comforting to have some protection against Covid if I’m exposed somehow.
The feeling about getting the appointment for my first shot felt like winning the lottery. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited yet scared for something.

Beerguyrob:

It’s been a strange pandemic for yours truly. I started the school year teaching to actual students, only to leave in late-November for three months medical leave on account of my torn rotator cuff from the cycling injury.

When I got back to school, I was only there two weeks until Spring Break. Since Spring Break ended I have been back at work for six straight weeks, and I have to say it has blown goats.

Not GOATs – that’s Gisele’s job.

It turns out that if you give teenagers the option to optionally attend, they will not. So my days have been spent churning out the supposed manias that live inside Pete Carroll’s mind.

The lone interesting thing of the pandemic was trying to see which designation would get me my vaccine first – age, medical condition, or essential worker designation. I registered under all three classifications – 52, kidney disease, teacher – and patiently continued going aboot my business because, like Ontario, the BC rollout has been a fucking clown show (or “coital hooligan experience” as I stated during the staff meeting). In the meantime, I continued going to & from work, because there’s no point going anywhere else because the “circuit breaker” response has led to the cessation of all inside service at restaurants & taverns. So, I’ve resorted to drinking outside with the neighbours.

I eventually got the vaccine call based on the essential service designation. I showed up at my appointed place & time, only to be told that both were wrong because the system crashed & deleted all that data. This clearly upset someone else, because the cops were called to remove her when she tried to barge in and “get my fucking shot”.

Once I got inside, I got put into an Astra Zeneca line, then transferred to a Pfizer line, and then to a bench while the two ladies argued about my status. Before I got the chance to say that there was enough of me to go around, a supervisor walked me over to a Pfizer station & said, “stay there”. I got my shot, ordered some Dominos for pick-up, sat the 15 minutes, got the pizza, and went home.

Later that night, I threw up twice. I’m not sure if it was a side effect or the pizza’s fault.

So now I wait for society’s reopening, which might happen after Victoria Day. In BC, the current plan is to get everyone a first dose, and then four months later get them their second. The beer I hoped to sling is still on ice as the team has to play in Hillsboro, OR due to border restrictions. Until all that happens, I sit at home every morning awaiting the delivery of 3200 pounds of ceramic floor tile, because WineWife has decided we will be replacing the floors with something the dogs can’t as easily gouge.

It’s going great.

LITRE: I’ve been home 15 months now and I am not sure I could go back to the office full time now. I head there 1 morning a month because I can’t sit in a small condo with a cleaning lady work around me and there is no place to hide. Mrs. Cola works at the hospital and has gone in every day since this shit all started like a trooper. Like GTD my province is run by a right wing cuntbag who tried to play the middle with half ass lockdowns and now we are the worst in North America. Hooray you white supremacist fuck.. We also have been trying to sell this condo and my old one during Covid which has been utterly fruitless. Why? Covid? No, fuckhead continues to pump money into a dead industry (oil) and the condo market here has tanked hard as no one is hiring. We will be taking losses on both places but Decilitre needs a yard bad.

For 15 months I see the lady at daycare 5 times a week, and my only outing is groceries at 7 am on a Saturday because Fulham sucks and there is no one there. Had this been handled better in my province we could be like other places that are opening up. I watch Aussie Rules and it saddens me that our government was so foolish and we can’t enjoy life like it was.

So the second over 40 folk here were eligible for the AZ jab I signed up and could go down that afternoon. Handily on the same day Mrs Cola got the Moderna flavoUr so she is a bit more protected now. Did I mention they didn’t vaxx care home staff before they opened up the care homes for visitors? Or front line workers in hospitals? I am convinced my provincial government wants people dead.

That afternoon I went down to the Convention Centre and it was like a Pearl Jam concert meets Disney World. It was all 40 somethings in there, everyone was happy and there were a lot of band t-shirts. The line was longer than anything Disney has ever seen but it moved lightning fast and I was in and out of there in 45 minutes. The hall itself must have had over 500 nurses and it was smooth as silk. Well done Health Service.

My wife’s only complaint was that she had a sore arm while I felt fine for 24 hours after my jab. Exactly 24 hours after my needle suddenly I felt like I had done a triathlons, or what I imagine that feels like. I could barely walk around the condo I was so sore and absolutely foggy. I fully expected to have to take the next day off because I felt so shitty but nope the next morning I felt 100%. My response to folk who asked about the AZ shot is that I do not give a rats ass about the blood clot issues, women’s contraception is more dangerous. I am loathing jab 2 because apparently that one buries you for a day or two, but I will be there the second that I can get it.

Be safe and drink more wine.

HIPPO:

I got my Pfizer el Dos on Monday.  Being the mushy moderate that I am (as I noted on the drive back, I tend to use the centre lane on the interstate, or if there are an even number of lanes, then the centre-left one), I waited until North Cakalaky opened “standard” eligibility for Category 5.  I waited like 48 hours for NCDHHS/Wake County to get back to me, before my ex-wife (who works in pharma and who I trust almost absolutely, especially in matters science-y) encouraged me to get the lead out.

As such, I tried all the “pharmacy” sign-up sites.  Walgreens is my usual pharmacy, but their site was done.  Harris Teeter (mostly a grocery store chain and me backup) was just a mess that I couldn’t figure out.  CVS worked, but the first we could get was the following Monday morning, in Burlington.

Burlington, in many ways, is a nice little town.  Elon College is there, and I am friends/co-workers with their all-time leading scorer in hoopsball.  I played tennis with him once.  Once.  He hadn’t played in over five years, and he kicked the living shit out of me.  Turns out most university-level athletes…are pretty much good at everything.

Sorry, I wandered.  Am medicated (duh).  However, like most areas not directly in the orbit (now including suburbs like mine, totes Biden Country) of Charlotte, Asheville, or the Research Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill)…it’s fatass Trump loving country.  Lots of gun stores noticed by I-40.  But fuck ’em, their lemming-like vaccine hesitancy got me and Wolven HippoSpawn jabbed.  Even if we had to drive like an hour each way, x2.  Worth it, and very relieved to be done.  Ten fookin’ days from as immune as I can get.

HORATIO CORNBLOWER: My wife and I are opposites in almost every way, which is good, because it’s easier for the parts to fit during teh sex. In one of the ways we are opposite, however, is that Mrs. Cornblower is a hypochondriac, and I am not. Every headache for her is “probably brain cancer”, every obvious leprosy sore on my arm is “eh, it’ll heal.” As you can imagine, life in our house during a pandemic was. like Nigeria, a land of contrasts.

Connecticut pretty much shut down from mid-March of 2020 to sometime in June of 2020. During that time our collective experience was limited to walking the dog, working from home, and working out in the basement. That last one is not a euphemism, because our daughter returned home from college when that shut down. On the plus side I got a $4,000 credit on this year’s room and board for the room and board she didn’t use last year. On the minus side, that was a crowded house for a lot longer than we’d expected. We’re getting too old to sneak around and worry about the noise.

In June Connecticut had made enough progress that things started to slightly open up. My world expanded from getting take-out, going to the grocery store and buying toilet paper whether we needed it or not, and going to the liquor store, to doing all those things plus going back to the gym. Also I was doing some reading and discovered that Covid was on the East Coast a lot sooner than anyone knew, and thought back to that slight fever I had in February that turned into a cough so bad that I spit out blood a couple of times. I actually went ang got a flu test at the time, and it came back negative. So I tried a case before a jury and had to stop my cross-examination and closing arguments early due to the coughing. I’m sure the jury loved me, (couldn’t tell it by the verdict!), and I apologize to any of them that I gave #NuAIDS too.

We became vaccine-eligible in early April of this year. Mrs. Cornblower has a friend whose hobbies apparently include staying up late to get everyone she knows vaccination appointments. She had us set up the next morning. My wife got hers with no problem; mine was canceled. Before I could finish work that day and get on the phone myself, that same friend called up with my new appointment. That one went forward, and I traveled to scenic Putnam, CT, (putting the “failed” in “failed mill town” since 1977), where I stood in a moderate line before getting Pfizer’d in the left arm. Three weeks later I did it again, and the line consisted of, well, me. Both times I was allowed to wander through the CVS unsupervised afterwards, but managed not to turn into a flesh-eating zombie and left after the required time. The side-effects from the 1st injection were limited to a sore arm and needing a nap the next day. The side effects from the second injection were feeling like I had a moderate case of the flu/more-than-moderate hangover, and going to bed very early the next day. Woke up the second morning after with no side effects at all, although for some reason I am now fluent in Mandarin. I’m sure it will come in handy in the next 4-8 years.

Mrs. Cornblower and I are now fully vaccinated and outside of the 2 weeks waiting period for things to take. Last weekend was my birthday, and we were able to go out to a restaurant, sit down in the restaurant, and eat our meal in the restaurant. Goddamn, that felt good. We’re actually talking about going on a vacation again.

We’ve ruled out India.

THE MAESTRO:

I’ve spent the last 14 months in a dimly-lit basement apartment, apart from the times when my sociopathic provincial government was forcing me into a tiny, poorly-ventilated classroom crammed with surly, resentful teenagers. At least teaching from home is pretty tight right now – I honestly prefer it to the in-class experience for the time being – though since I’ve done virtually everything else besides teach music this year, of course my perception will be different from my normal opinion. And somehow, through it all, I’ve stayed healthy. Even Lady Maestro, in her hospital job, has been a-okay this entire time. Have we gone a little stir-crazy? Oh fuck yeah. Every possible moment through spring and summertime is about chasing sunlight now since we are so starved for it. I bought a used Outback for a little more space (and our subsequent camping adventures) and we’ve been able to sleep both of us comfortably with the rear seats folded down – such luxury! Aside from that… we got our canoe… we got our bikes… we got our beer and cider… and a shit ton of books. Oh, and shitposting. No lack of shitposting. I get my first jab on Thursday. I just want some fucking normalcy back. I miss playing shows. I miss wing night. I miss Thursday and Friday beer league hockey. I really, really hope I’ll get those back in the fall, elsewise I have no idea what I’ll do with myself. At least now I have stuff to do – it helps think about how I’ll never be able to buy a house in my entire life, despite an eventual six-figure salary, a little easier to stomach.