Day 37-Los Angeles lifts its vaccine mandate. A vax card is no longer needed.

I got the booster today…very sick…

5/6/22. Friday

8:00-8:15-I’m up so I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal. She’s awake so we go outside straightaway and I wait for her to go potty. Return inside and cheese for her; coffee for me.

8:15-8:40-I report to my office and research “things to do in South Dakota” for my upcoming trip with B. I also text Mom and L. for ideas.

8:40-9:40-Upstairs and I sit in the shower, ice my eyes, and drink my coffee, while listening to The Daily. Lotion. I dress in “Athletic Housewife” attire: T-back tank top, leggings, and my Airwalks.

9:40-10:00-I drive to my therapy session and have some pear slices and part of a Lara bar for breakfast.

10:00-10:30-Therapy session. My therapist recently went to South Dakota so I ask her for suggestions about what sites to visit.

10:30-10:50-I drive home and listen to Marketplace Morning Report and Organize 365 en route.

10:50-11:15-Home and I immediately start boiling eggs, then make a batch of scrambled eggs and pepper jack cheese that I share with the dog. For snacks, I cut up pieces of pepper-jack cheese and mix with walnuts, and add leftover beans and a Lara bar to my lunch bag. I slice another pear.

-I change into cargo pants and hiking shoes and grab my hat.

11:15-1:00-B. arrives and we drive to the south side of Quigley Canyon-Open Space and hike the oil fields with their grasshopper drills scattered throughout the hills. We lose our sense of direction several times. By that I mean, we’re not completely lost but the constant questioning from both of us - “Do we take that trail to get back to the car?” “Did we come from that direction?” - is enough to make me anxious. It’s 88 degrees with a cool-alternating-hot breeze so we’re not going to die from heat stroke or dehydration, nor are we lost, per se, because we can see B’s car from our vantage point at the top of the mountain. But I’m still anxious.

1:00-2:00-B. and I are done hiking so we drive to ChiChis and order lunch to go. I get the chicken ravioli in a meatless sauce and it’s phenomenal! B has a coupon for a large pizza. The host is masking, as are several of the chefs, but none of the patrons mask. I don’t want to sit inside so we sit in the outdoor area while we wait for our food to be prepared.

2:00-3:00-B. and I take the food to his house and watch the first episode of the new Bosch series which I absolutely love!

3:00-4:00-I had the one-and-done J&J vaccine in April 2021 [which was recalled this month]. Then I contracted Omicron in January 2022 and this was verified by a Covid antibody blood draw. For the past three months, public health officials have said that previously contracting Omicron provides immunity from the BA2 and BA.2.12.1 variants. This is why I stopped masking in the classroom at College No. 1 and many other places - I’ve already had it and it was a relief to feel…invincible…untouchable…at least for a few months. I was absolutely certain I had 4 to 5 months of immunity from ANY Omicron variant.

But now I’m not so sure…

As the months have unfolded, I’m hearing more and more about “Omicron breakthrough infections.” People are contracting Omicron as many as 3 or 4 times, which means that “pre-ordained immunity” [my phrase] if you’ve already been infected is a f***ing lie.

I’ll be flying to South Dakota, a red state that doesn’t mask and never shut down, in a mere 8 days. I should probably get the booster. In fact, I’ve been holding off getting a booster until I started traveling again, because I wanted to save that last jab of protection for a really important occasion, i.e., flying, airports and airplanes, tours, traveling in general.

BUT, the timing has to be carefully considered because now, although it’s not widely reported, there are whisperings that a booster only has a shelf-life of just 3 to 4 months. After that, any protection it offered is gone. So, this means, from past experience and deliberate Covid misinformation (see Fauci), that a booster is probably only good for TWO months, max. According to the “research”, actually contracting Omicron supposedly provides a longer timeline of protection, but I contracted Omicron in January…I’m probably past the expiration date…

If a booster provides only 3 to 4 months of protection, why get it at all? I mean, as a society, we can’t keep getting the same Covid-19 injection (from two years ago) every three months. It doesn’t make sense and it could be harmful. Even the Flu vaccine that we’re encouraged to get every winter is a new concoction designed to work, hopefully, against the new Flu variant du jour. Not so with Covid. We’re still getting the same shit they injected us with at the end of 2020.

See, there’s no incentive for Big Pharma to make a new vaccine if they can keep peddling the old stuff - it’s too costly. And good ol’ USA doesn’t regulate the pharmaceutical industry because Big Pharma contributes the most money to the political campaigns of our dirty politicians [Dems and MAGAs alike]. There is no other country in the industrialized world, other than the US, that does NOT regulate their pharmaceutical companies to a certain degree. Drug commercials are against the law in the UK - in America, we’re inundated with them.

B. is a Costco member and he says that ANYONE can get a booster at the Costco Pharmacy. We make the executive decision to go to Costco…now. I don’t want to get the booster today because I know I’m going to get sick [Greek chorus - “That just means the vaccine is working”] and I’m afraid I won’t be able to go to birdwatching tomorrow OR attend my Mother’s Day dinner with B. and L. on Sunday. HOWEVER, B. and I are leaving for South Dakota on Thursday and my therapist recommended I give myself a WEEK to recover from a booster jab so this is really the only time I have available.

Although I’m NOT a Costco member, I don’t need an appointment - they take walk-ins. CVS, my own pharmacy, won’t treat me unless I’ve scheduled an online appointment 48 hours in advance. All of my research indicates that Moderna, as opposed to Pfizer, provides the best protection when used in conjunction with J&J. Costco has Moderna so B. and I drive to Costco.

Arrive at Costco and I fill out paperwork and list my insurance, then wait for 15 minutes. As luck would have it, another couple is waiting and B. and I end up speaking to an editor for the Bosch series! After a short time, the female pharmacist, who looks like she’s 12-years-old, injects me with the Moderna booster and warns that I’m going to experience some side effects. Note she doesn’t say “may” experience side effects. She’s direct and tells me I will, under no uncertain terms, get sick. I’ve read all about “Moderna Arm” so I’m aware. The pharmacist says by later this evening and/or tomorrow, my arm is going to hurt and I’m going to feel feverish and ill. I’m skeptical. How bad can it be? B. and I make our way across town to my house.

4:00-6:00-B. and I stop by the mall -there is absolutely no place to park-and get Rose Freezes at Pressed Juicery with the works. I pick up the tab and we eat outside. After, I stop at one of the stores and get a battery for my watch, which takes 5 minutes.

6:00-6:30-B. and I drive to my house. Still not sick…so far so good.

6:30-7:15-Cocktail Hour - The plan is to watch the next Bosch episode, but my WiFi isn’t working. I try everything, then text L. She tries to troubleshoot but to no avail. L. says she’ll be home at 7:50 so B. and I decide to wait it out.

7:50-8:15-At 7:50 on the dot, L. arrives and fixes everything! She shares with us a rude encounter that she had with a white-male asshole. L also relays that earlier today, she and K. (one of L.’s many friends), went to a spin cycle class at The Club, but tapped out after 30 minutes because it was so intense. L. left the bike in the middle of the class, moved to the lobby, and actually laid down on the tile floor. It took her an hour to recover and Kira had to buy L. a smoothie before she could stand up and walk out of the lobby. Then, L. drove home and “crashed”, sleeping for 2 hours before returning to work her shift in the afternoon. T. (boyfriend) tells L. that maybe she shouldn’t have started with cardio (insert smile emoji here).

8:15-10:00 - B. and I watch the next two episodes of Bosch. This is one of my favorite series and I’m getting no class prep done. Also my arm is f—king killing me and it’s swollen. I officially have Moderna Arm. B. Leaves

10:00-12:00-By 10:00, I’m feeling feverish and exhausted so I take a nap. L. was supposed to splice-and-dice a lecture for me at 8:00 but I was watching Bosch and now I don’t feel well.

12:00-12:30-I’m up. I must have the flu because I. am. so. sick. I don’t think I’m going to make birdwatching tomorrow…but am I just using the booster as an excuse not to wake up at 6:00 a.m.? If I pushed myself, maybe I really could go? My arm is throbbing - it’s about a 5-6 on the pain scale.

I ask L. If she’s up for making the edits to my AUDIO lecture and she agrees so we go downstairs. She edits the content for Chapter 15 and formats a google slide.

12:30-12:45-Return upstairs and I lie down and work on my bullet journal.

12:45-1:30- L. stops by my room and runs down the cast of characters and “spills the tea” at The Club - there’s Ma, Am, and Mar…it’s hard to concentrate and keep these people straight because I don’t feel well and my arm hurts.

1:30-2:30-I continue with my bullet journal, but I’m feeling really out of it. I take out my contacts, wash my face, and change into pajamas.

2:30-3:30-I tidy my room, head downstairs for kitchen duty - there are a lot of dishes today - and ready my coffee for tomorrow. I straighten the couch, take out the trash, and then the dog and I go outside.

3:30-4:30 -back upstairs and I finish getting ready for bed and try to resume writing in my bullet journal, but my arm hurts. I’m burning up and feverish. I’m not going to make birdwatching tomorrow. It’s not an excuse-I feel terrible.

4:30-6:00- I fall asleep, but 90 minutes later I wake up with a terrible headache and arm pain. I take 2 Advil, put on a podcast, and go back to sleep.