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I got the first dose of a Pfizer vaccine today. It feels a bit unreal! I purposefully wore a shirt that said, “Enjoy this beautiful day” in hopes it would help spread some good vibes to those I knew I’d interact with. It proved to be such a great way to connect even briefly leading to lots of waves, smiles in the eyes, laughs, and comments. I entered just after what I’m assuming were two frat boys based on their shirts repping their fraternities. I loved thinking about these two college aged kids trying to be responsible and safe when fraternities aren’t quite known for that kind of thinking.

Being shuttled through the convention center felt like riding a bike — the sensation of humans guiding us along, markers on the floor, brain turning off, etc felt reminiscent of some strange combination of a theme park and an airport. As I passed each guide put in place to keep us moving despite there not being too many people in the building, they said their rehearsed lines but genuinely were excited. Thinking about it more, it felt like what they were saying would fit better in an airport line (“Follow this line until you see a person in a green vest”) but how they were saying it felt like a theme park (“The moment you’ve been waiting for is just around the corner”). I deeply appreciated the enthusiasm and excitement they mustered despite likely being the billionth person they had said the same thing to. I wish I had that kind of patience and presence of mind.

While I waited for 15 minutes, I texted a few friends and family members but then put my phone down and just looked around. One person pulled his shirt up to have his partner look at the location of his shot. Most stared at their phones. Some tapped along to the music playing. It felt so nice to people watch again without a growing sense of panic.

As I left, I looked at my vaccine card a bit more intensely and smirked thinking about how bad the handwriting was of the person who filled my in. Serves me right to get someone with equally poor handwriting as my own!