Coronavirus

So lots of excitement for me on Tuesday. China is the only place in the world where we have no way to get courier hand-offs planeside due to government hostility so we were in uncharted territory.

We were the last location so we were getting mixed messages from all the other places. Shenyang was able to leave with the freezer and be back in two hours, Beijing wasn't able to bring the freezer back until two days later so had to supplement constantly with dry ice deliveries. Shanghai was only two hours before us.

I was already worried about our cargo handler the day before because he kept asking questions we already answered. The night before he insisted we tell him immediately who our cargo handler was so there was an 11:30 PM call where DC told us it was none other than the man asking the question. <insert picture of Fred unmasking a ghost, second frame the ghost is actually Fred himself>.

The day of I went to the airport with my #2, so it was a relatively pleasant day. We actually got everything we wanted, planeside handoff, depart immediately with the freezer. The only problem is our expediter's English was not up to par and he told us literally the opposite of what we were going to do. We were sitting in the private plane terminal the whole time (except when we went to get tarmac access badges, one of which had my picture and my coworkers name, then vice versa) and when the plane was about to land we told him we needed to go now. He said we needed to drive to the terminal. After trying to convince him for a few minutes we gave up, and then just ended up going to a bus and going directly planeside. Took a while to unload the equipment (vaccine, emergency cooler, antibodies, UPS, full freezer) and they sprayed it down with a water/bleach solution. Then they told us they were going to take the stuff to Gate 6 for quarantine. Things actually got a little heated as we needed to get it back within four hours (already 1.5 hours at that point, possible 1.5 hours drive doesn't leave a lot of leeway). We insisted we at least take the vaccine immediately and I could stay for the freezer (willing to let it go till the next day). Then they just drove us to a gate and kicked us out. Day was a total cakewalk, just a lot of stress induced from the language barrier.

The health unit setup a shared spreadsheet and had people signup in five minute blocks. Caused some problems as over a hundred people were all vying for the same morning slot. Then he ended up taking everyone anyway including people passing by in the hall. Each shot only took a minute start to finish. Then if your office wasn't nearby you were asked to hang out in the cafeteria for fifteen minutes. Easy peasy. They did the VAMS registration for us using a spreadsheet and some bulk import method.

I think there are some holdouts. Some issues with people departing in less than three weeks. Overall the place is overwhelmingly pro-vaccine and going to get it. Even here there are enough knuckleheads.

My biggest problems are from sitting, drenched in my sweat for three hours having to wear full PPE for the entire hour planeside. Guangzhou is hot enough without that full getup. No chance to change clothes until I left work.

Now that we're both fully vaccinated, yesterday was the first time in over a year that I've hung out with my dad, drank coffee, and played a board game. We used to do so weekly, and man I gotta tell you it felt good to do again.

I got the second shot at noon on Saturday. Aside from a stop at the grocery store that afternoon, I had zero plans for the weekend, just in case. Felt pretty normal, aside from a bit of back pain in the evening, and got sleepier about an hour sooner than usual. Sunday, I woke up feeling like I helped someone move a houseful of furniture and then got drunk. So mild hangover symptoms plus general aches and pains. I also felt tired all day, so I took a couple of naps. Monday, I felt normal and went into work. By 11:00 AM, I felt queasy and exhausted, so they sent me home early. I felt that way for the rest of Monday, but woke up feeling normal today.

However, I might be grounded tonight anyway. The Chauvin verdict will be announced in one hour, and that may or may not trigger local riots. I suspect that the fast verdict reflects the way this case went in court. The prosecution put together a strong case, anticipating everything that the defense might offer. They even got several cops to testify against Chauvin, including the police chief and the cop who trained Chauvin. On top of that, there were plenty of eyewitnesses and video. So I assume that the jury reached fairly quick agreement that Chauvin is guilty of at least manslaughter and possibly murder.

Here in sunny Kuwait, I had my 2nd Pfizer jab a couple of weeks ago. Made me super tired such that I knew I was driving home but could not recognise any of the common landmarks. It was like some part of my memory was shot.
No problem within 24hrs though.

Wife had AZ jab last week and now has to wait 3 months for the 2nd as Kuwait realise increasing the gap between the jabs immeasurably helps the logistics of delivering 1st jabs to as many as possible. No choices on brands here but wtf it's free.

Currently suffering a lockdown from 7pm to 5am which will continue to the end of Eid. This is an attempt to stop Kuwaitis and others constantly going to other peoples houses in the evening for Iftar meals and spreading the infection.

Kuwait is targeting schools to open in September but I think that unlikely. We have been closed now for 14 months. Owner will not open school until ALL teachers have been vaccinated and, even when it does open, it will be blended learning (half online - half face to face) due to kids spreading the infection and then infecting their older relatives at home.

Currently expats are only allowed to leave the country and not enter. Another reason why schools will fail to open unless that is addressed in the near future.

Take up of vaccine is very poor amongst Kuwaitis due to bs fake news that they are happy to believe in. Conspiracy theories were a big thing in this part of the world, long before social media.

Chauvin was found guilty on all counts, so it seems Minneapolis will survive for now. We'll see when it comes to sentencing.

I have been feeling completely run-down the last two days. “Helped someone move furniture and then got drunk” is pretty apt. I’ve only had my first shot (a week ago) so I dunno what’s going on. Maybe I have the COVID? Every couple hours I’ve been pouring myself a slug of bourbon and sniffing at it to make sure I still have my sense of smell.

Due to record numbers here a few provinces have lowered the age to get AZ to 40+ (as opposed to 55+) Looking to get the jab asap as my cohort was originally scheduled for June.

I forgot to mention that I have also had slightly stuffy sinuses since Sunday morning, including this afternoon. And I have had a mildly upset stomach this afternoon. Hopefully I will feel normal tomorrow.

Nothing past my normal overweight guy symptoms from dose #1. Not even better WiFi, alas.

My BIL is a flake and refused to show his insurance card like some kind of psycho, so he missed his chance. Pretty pissed about it.

My entire family essentially cruised through this and we have had no suspicions of prior infection. So that's another data point.

My brother in law has had a theory that a bad reaction is an indication of the level of reaction you would have to the disease itself. No clue if that's true, but it's something that can make you feel better if you have a rough day after the shot.

I just got my first shot yesterday and aside from my left arm feeling like it was hit with several paintballs in the same place, I feel totally fine. My parents recently got their second shot, and neither of them had a particularly bad reaction, even though they had Covid in November.

Anyway, I'm thankful to be back in the US where I can easily be vaccinated, and thankful that I was able to get into open vaccinations the day after PA opened them to everyone.

After Moderna #2’s flu symptoms went away, I still had aches in my shoulder and neck muscles that lasted a few more days.

I think the shots give you three spins on Wheel of Symptoms. My wife got “sore arm”, “swollen lymph node”, and “skin hurts”. I got “sore arm”, “sore neck”, and the big winner, “miserable flu”. I’m surprised we haven’t seen “simple chronic halitosis” or “painful rectal itch” turn up yet.

ubarose wrote: ...feeling like you drank Tequila all night and got into a barroom brawl that you can't remember.

Finally, things are starting to get back to normal!

Got my second shot this morning. Happy Cinco de Mayo MFers. Might drink tequila to knock myself out if I start feeling bad.

Got my second shot on April 17th, and expected to reach maximum efficacy by May 1st. This week has been the beginning of return to normalcy. Went to the gym for the first time since March of last year. Had face to face lunch with a co-worker today without masks. A close friend is back in town this weekend and we are planning to play some board games.

On the other hand, my girlfriend is still in limbo. As a cancer survivor, she can hope for about 39% efficacy from a covid vaccine, so she feels the need to continue her social distancing. In theory, she should feel safe enough around me, but she isn't there yet psychologically. Also, it is possible that she put on some weight in the last year and wants to get back into shape before seeing me again.