phyncke

Today I am getting sh*t done. I feel productive. I am going through stuff. Taking stuff places. Just dealing with stuff. Feeling like I want to get sh*t done. I better capitalize on this feeling because it does not happen very often that I feel this way. Usually, I mess around on the computer and waste lots of time reading Reddit. So getting stuff done today. I hope the feeling lasts til tomorrow. I would like to be productive tomorrow too. That would be good. I am serious. This is so rare - I better jump on it. I am not one of those people who was productive during the pandemic - that was not me. I am productive at work but at home I am usually pretty lazy and chill. Anyways. Glad to be getting sh*t done.

Started a new book this week - for a book group at work and I am really liking it. It is AAPI Month and we are reading The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston. I am on the second chapter and I am really into it. Right now it is kind of a retelling of the Mulan tale and loving that so this is cool beans. I run the book group at work so that is fun. They buy us books and we have a discussion about them every little while. Free books? Sign me up - let me run that. I love giving people books. We have been reading really good books too. Alternating fiction and non-fiction. Excellent stuff. I am in two book groups right now - one for work and one with family and friends. Keeping busy with that. I love to read so that is good. The family and friends book group moves slow and is on a break right now. We just finished the book on misogyny so that was very intense and we needed a break.

This week at work was very busy and I like it better that way. I prefer to have a lot to do. So that is good. The University is asking us to go back to work in July. We can go back voluntarily in June but it is mandatory in July. They just sent out a draft document about flexible work arrangements so I think they are going to let us decide how we want to go back. I appreciate that. I am thinking a 3/2 schedule. Three days in the office and 2 days work from home. Variable for when I need to work in the office more. Hope they let me do that. Will see what they say.

So I did this thing - I have this massive "to read" pile of books in my bedroom and it was not really one pile. There are piles all over the place. So I decided to create a google spreadsheet and input all the books in there to try and organize it all. I am still working on it right now. Almost done with it. Right now I have 57 books in the list. I have more books - these are just my books to read. I don't think this will stop me from buying more books but maybe I will start reading the pile and get at that. It is kind of fun to have a scrollable list of titles and authors there. I put publish date and number of pages because I like to know that. Anyhoo. This is part of my getting sh*t done thing. I started this a while ago and have been chipping away at it. The books are still in piles but now I have the list. I will let you know how many are in the final thing when I am done with this.

Anyhoo. Feeling good. I have been going out without a mask. I take a mask with me - but outdoors I have not been wearing it all the time. That is kind of nice. Feels like things are ok. California is retiring the tier system on June 15 so that goes away and we will see what happens then. Situation normal? I don't know.

I want things to be OK everywhere - like in India and Brazil and other places. I want everyone to get the covid vaccines too - we need to make that happen. It is in everyone's interest to make sure the globe is vaccinated.

Hope all is well with you where you are. Take good care.

Got my appointment reminder to my email tonight. I was worried my appointment would be canceled but it was not. The mission is a go for tomorrow. Pfizer vaccine second dose. Yes. Very happy about it. My friend, J**** has an appointment on the same day so we are going to go together. They don't seem too worried about what time people show up so we think it will be ok. Soon I will be fully immunized for covid19. It takes some weeks to get to full protection so will still need to be careful. I also still think I will be careful even with the vaccine. Not going to stop wearing masks when I go out and all that.

I love Fridays. I got some things done at work and went out a bit today. Went out in the morning to the bagel place in Oakland, House of Bagels and bought some bagels for the weekend. Got some cream cheese too. Also stopped at Colonial Donuts which is right up the street and had me a donut. So good. So that was fun. Then this afternoon, I went out to Lakeshore in Oakland with my friend, J**** and we looked in store windows and got a hotdog at Top Dog. We have been talking about Top Dog for months and finally got one. It was delicious. I got a bratwurst. Yum. Are you finding the pandemic is all about the food? Today was about food for me? I wanted to eat what I really wanted today. Some days are like that and today was like that.

So tomorrow. Very exciting and will report on those side effects. I guess that is different for everyone. Will see how I do.

Hope all is well with you and they say those stimulus payments might hit this weekend. Who knows?

Today is International Women's Day. I did not do anything for that. I did note it in my mind and saw that there were speeches in DC. I am reading on women's issues right now. I am reading a very interesting book on misogyny called - Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny by Kate Manne. It is a philosophy book so I have to keep looking up things while I read it but the author uses examples from politics and major crimes to make her points. Things I remember. So it is interesting from that stand point. Not an easy read but very worthwhile. I do recommend it with warning - it is disturbing to read about this stuff and the examples are stark. I am looking forward to the climax of the book where she dissects the 2016 election and all of that. Should be really interesting to read that. 

Monday was a Monday. I got work done - got derailed a little bit by the Harry and Meghan interview from last night - and reading about the reactions to that. I have a little bit of a fascination with the royalty thing and what goes on there. I remember how I felt when I heard that they had left the royal family. Honestly I thought - good for them. I know we are getting this all second hand and who knows what is true. But they don't have to stay there and deal with that. Harry is the spare - not really in line for the throne so why not? If his wife is unhappy - why stay? And don't get me started with how brutal the UK press was on her. Brutal. My opinion - they did not have to stay so they didn't.  Not going to do a blow by blow on the interview. Just my two cents on that. 

I am doing some family work - my parents need some help so I am researching home health care providers in their area - NH. Looking at help that they can get in their home. They are pretty independent but could use some visits during the week to get some support. So seeing what there is. They are in a good area for it - so lots of options. I have created a spreadsheet that I am sharing with the siblings. I love spreadsheets. I am not the decision maker so it is not up to me. I think it is a group decision. So we all have access to the info. Love google sheets. 

This week - Saturday - I get my second dose of the vaccine. Very excited about that. A little worried I won't feel well from it but will see what happens with that. Some people have no effects from it. Hope I am in that category. I am going to prepare some meals so I am ready for that. And see how I do. That is about all I have - hope you are well and take good care. 

So earlier in the week - I think it was Tuesday or Wednesday - a friend of mine who shall remain J*** texted me to remind me to check MY TURN which is the California site for signing up for the covid19 vaccine. She is much more on things than I am and we had been checking daily and this day was the winner - appointments were available in our area for the vaccine. Jumped on that and got my appointment for today for the first vaccine and for March 13 for my second dose. Since I work in education - I am eligible.

I was nervous today going in for the vaccine - our vaccine site is the Oakland Coliseum - which is a big sporting event and concert place by the Oakland Airport. I left early for my 10:00 am appointment and drove down the 880. I had mapped out the directions, step by step, since I was not exactly sure how to get into the place. I did not really need my directions. There was tons of signage and directionals to get in there - it was clearly marked. So even I - who get lost - did not get lost.

Everything was marked by cones and there were lots of National Guard troops telling us how to drive in. This is a drive through site. I drove up to the first person - showed them my appointment email and they let me in. I got to the second checkpoint and had to show my appointment email and my driver's license and then they waved me through - telling me to drive slowly and careful. Basically, I just followed the car in front of me. I drove around all these cones and finally under a tent where they administered the vaccine. They asked me some screening questions - did I feel sick, had I had a vaccine in the last two weeks or any vaccines - was I allergic to anything - stuff like that. Then I got the jab and he told me my arm would be sore for a few days and they had me drive to a waiting area where a FEMA person watched you to see if you had any reaction to the vaccine. I had to wait 15 minutes before I could drive off home. I did not have any reaction in that time nor have I since. My arm is sore so they were right about that. They told me to move it a lot to keep it from getting stiff so I am doing that. I did feel a bit tired later so I took a short nap in the afternoon.

The whole experience was somewhat surreal and it really brought it home to me that the pandemic was a major thing since we have a site that large to administer the vaccine here - and there are sites like it all over the country. It was like being in a pandemic movie or something. The scale was just so large and they are vaccinating a lot of people. Surreal it was but I am glad they are doing it. It is going to take this kind of effort all over the country and the world to beat back covid19.

I got an email this week from my legislative rep that we got a bunch of vaccine in the East Bay, CA and that there should be appointments available so that happened in conjunction with me getting my appointment. So they are getting the word out and things seem to be moving.

I know that vaccine access is not the same all over the world but I hope it is getting better. I feel that vaccine access should be equitable. I hope that my government is working on that and helping with that. I would like them to.

Anyway. That is my vaccine report - Pfizer Dose 1 done.