---
I have to admit that I still have an urge to go out and do things in the evening, even though that ebbs and flows. The main thing I want to do is go to the gym and work out, because damn, I am fat. It also would get me out of this rut of taking naps in the evening, which I should blog post about in the future. Having said that, and having said what I'm about to say before on WAF (at least I think), staying home has meant that I am saving money at a rate I have never done before and in fact could not even imagine before the pandemic hit. Normally I would be hemorrhaging money hand over fist going to coffeeshops and stripper parties. That is not happening, and although I am bored as hell, I am very, very happy at the money I am saving.
---
The plans seem half-ass, and following through on them looks to very difficult right now. But a couple weeks ago, the state finally rolled out a plan to start vaccinating old people regardless of co-morbidities -- a cohort that includes my parents. Last Tuesday they were told by the Minnesota Department of Health to sign up for a vaccination online (or over the phone) starting at noon -- first-come, first-served. And of course the damn website crashed. I came home from work and Mother ushered me to her laptop, where the MDH website told her she was in a virtual waiting room and that she should send information about what my parents want (uh ... a shot?) in an e-mail. I sent photos of their identification and insurance (even though insurance is not necessary) after some trouble (my fault, not of that of the website) and the department e-mailed them saying they've been waitlisted.
As fair as that may theoretically sound, the shitstorm in the wake of hundreds of thousands seeing that same webpage forced MDH to change their system to a lottery one, whereby everyone who signs up between 5 a.m. yesterday (Tuesday) and 5 a.m. today (Wednesday) will be eligible to get a shot which will be determined and then announced to the winners later today -- and, unlike last week, at a location of their choosing. (There was one story where a person who lived just outstate but came to stay with relatives in my town in anticipation of trying to get a vaccine receiving a slot way up north. She and a relative drove up there to get it.) MDH said that is people were waitlisted last week, like my parents, they were already entered into this pool. I think they signed up anyway. Good choice, because you never know if that is really true. Wish them luck!
---
My folks getting the vaccine is the light at the end of the tunnel. I have heard that even if we all get the shots, things cannot markedly change. We should still wear masks and stay away from each other, etc. But I'll be honest: If I get the shot, and everyone I love get a shot, and after that there are strangers around me who refuse to get a shot, what the fuck do I care? I'm as immune as can be! If they refuse to get something that will prevent them from possibly succumbing to this disease, why should I care about their well-being? I'm ready to rip off my mask, cough in front of people and, in fact, frot total strangers a week after my second shot. Because things will be back to normal! And if I pass along the virus to another person and they get sick ... shit, it's their fault! That's truly how I feel.
---
Even though vaccines might not be coming along as quickly as we all hope, there are some supplies that seem to be fine now. I remember back in the early days of the pandemic where everybody was freaking out because everybody bought antibacterial wipes, hand sanitizer and toilet paper. The first two I get; toilet paper, to this day, is a thing I don't understand why people felt the need to hoard. I once was told by my parents to get a bag of toilet paper from a Menards because it was on sale, even though we had plenty because they bogarted a whole shipment months prior.
The supply chains for those three items seem to have righted themselves in the past several months. I see as much toilet paper as we need since the fall. And since some time in the winter it seems as though there are now plenty of hand sanitizer and wipes. For a while, I had been making semi-regular trips to Target to see if I could find both items, and I couldn't. But then, I began seeing sanitizer more regularly, and then some weeks later, the shelves for wipes have been completely and consistently stocked. I used to worry, in particular, that I wouldn't have enough wipes for work. Now, I have several cans of them in my closet, and if I need to buy more, I think I can just swing by Target to get them whenever I want. There are no shortages of those items, and really anything, anymore.
---
I have swung back to being an ascetic when it comes to screwing around, partly because I feel as though I can hold out a little longer while my parents are close to beginning their shot regimens, partly because these new variants, which they say may be more contagious, is scaring the shit out of me.
I haven't been with someone in a couple weeks, when I got that impromptu massage from ******a when I got cut early from work. And I haven't had full-blown sexual activity in at least a couple months. I have gotten used to it. My libido isn't as raring as it used to be. I figured that I would be, well, itching to rock out with my cock out after not doing it in so long. But while I rub one off from time to time, I really think that not seeing naked women do shit to me has dampened my sex drive to the point where I can't mentally and physically get it up. Again, I think that's a good thing to prevent me from catching the virus. But I think that once this is all over, I assumed I could just resume my fucking around, and the way it looks and feels now, I'm not sure that I need it anymore. Is that growing up, or growing old?
---
Back when all this began, experts said we would be in this at least a year, and most likely 18 months. Experts now are pushing that timeline to the fall, if not the end of the year. But I want to hope that the Biden administration is going to hammer a coherent, competent national vaccine plan together.
For that reason, I am going to remain somewhat optimistic that things will (largely) get back to normal in that 18-month prognostication. In fact, I'll make a prediction. For the symbolism itself, I will say that the United States will largely get out of this pandemic by the Fourth of July. And if you want a stretch goal, why not shoot for Memorial Weekend? Maybe I'm being too rosy, but could the vast majority of adults get their shots in the spring? I really can't see why not -- if we want that to happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment