Day 4065

Janet and I got our first Covid shots today. After waiting a year, the whole experience was kind of anticlimactic. I was in and out in less than twenty minutes and that included the fifteen minute wait after the shot in case there was an adverse reaction. If you've got a choice, get vaccinated in a hostital instead of one of those huge community mega-sites. I'd heard horror stories about people waiting in their cars for hours at some of the Dallas mega-sites. Everything was so efficient at the hospital. There were no lines. There was plenty of parking near the facility. All our information was already in the computer when we arrived. The shot itself was quick and painless. There was even a guy playing the piano in the area where we waited to see if we were going to have an adverse reastion. I'm not easily impressed, but these guys were very impressive.

In three weeks we get our second dose of the vaccine and hopefully we'll be looking at Covid in the rear view mirror. It's been a long year and I'm ready to move on. There are rocket launches to see and observatories to visit. If Dawn wasn't terrified of riding in the car, we'd even consider taking her on a long car trip. Maybe it's a little early, but I've had no reaction to the vaccine so far. My arm isn't sore at all. Knock on wood. Usually shots don't bother me and I've been vaccinated for almost everything.

It was really cold today. Dawn had to wear her coat when we walked this afternoon and I wore two coats just to make sure I wouldn't get cold. Dawn was eager to return to the house after she finished her mile, but I continued walking as usual. My foot pain wasn't as bad today. I don't know whether my foot was better or if it was just too cold to feel the pain. I'm definitely familiar with cold weather. I just don't like it. I went to high school in Alaska. I lived in Aspen for a while. And one of my first jobs was in Idaho. I don't know why it took me so long to discover Texas. Texas was where I should have been all along.

It's supposed to start raining tonight and temperatures will be near freezing in the morning. This sounds like a recipe for sleet or freezing rain. Yuk. I'm glad I got the vaccine out of the way and have nowhere to go tomorrow. Tomorrow sound like a good day to curl up with your dog, except that Dawn doesn't like to curl up with me.  If I lie down next to her on the bed, she usually gets up and goes to the kitchen. I keep telling Dawn that she's running out of time to be friends with me. Janet is eager to travel again and sooner or later Dawn and I are going to be spending some quality time together. 

I'm a little disappointed that Sky & Telescope rejected my idea for an astrophotography article. It was the only idea I had. I guess the proposal didn't really get rejected. My editor said he'd put it in his "maybe" folder for next year. This wasn't good news for a person who's always looking for instant gratification though. I guess I'm going to have to wait until I can get out to an observatory again to come up with any more astronomy articles. There's nothing to see here in Dallas. I don't even like to go out after dark in Dallas these days. The city doesn't feel safe anymore.

I've discovered that I sleep better under a heavy blanket. I wonder why? It seems counterintuitive to me, but my Fitbit always says that I sleep better on very cold nights. I ought to sleep well tonight. It's definitely starting to feel like winter. Northerners probably think we're wimps here in Texas, but this weather doesn't feel natural. At least the furnace is running normally and both our cars are in good shape. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Maybe there'll be another new episode of The Expanse to watch.

Jazz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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