First of all, this post has nothing to do with quitting smoking. But I thought, since this is day 2255 of my quit, I would log on to EX to let you all know what's going on in my (happily) non-smoking life.
I've been unemployed for exactly a year as of March 20, 2021. That's the longest period I haven't worked in over 50 years. I've stayed at home at least for 300 of the 349 days between 3/20/20 and today. I've gotten used to it. I signed up on my state registry for the vaccine, but hadn't gotten an appointment yet. On Tuesday afternoon I got an email from the rector of my church which was sent to all of her parishioners over 65 telling us there were appointments the very next day at VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University, the biggest school in Richmond)! Right away I clicked the link and got signed up for an appointment yesterday (3//3/21). I was surprised at how elated I felt about getting my first shot.
When I arrived there was a pretty good sized line outside the facility, but it was a beautiful day and I talked to a number of socially-distanced fellow over-65 vaccine seekers, so it was quite pleasant. Eventually they called for the group in my time slot and we were processed in the building. (The people working the site were all VCU students, and they were outstanding.) The process is extremely security-focused, so we went through numerous checkpoints where they asked for pretty similar information. Finally I got to the last checkpoint, before getting the actual shot, to set my appointment for the second shot. The young man asked me a bunch of questions, and one of them was "have you ever had an allergic reaction to food, pets or medication." Responding honestly, I said that about 35 to 40 years ago I had an allergic reaction to a medication called Compazine. He asked what my reaction was and I told him that my tongue swelled. He said he would have to check with his supervisor about that, and after being gone for several minutes he returned to say that I wouldn't be getting a shot at that time. The bottom line is that I now have to go to the VCU hospital on March 20 where the vaccine will be given to "high risk" individuals. I SO wish I hadn't mentioned that one incident in the distant past. I've never had a bad reaction to anything since, and I simply note my allergy to Compazine when I go to the doctor. But the die is cast, and I will get my vaccination in a couple of weeks and be grateful for it.
Other than that, it's been quiet around here. I hope you all are doing well and that NOPE is working for all!
