Song of the day:
Video of the day (this one’s in honor of Amy and Julie):
Black History Month
On this day in…
1811, Reformer and educator, Bishop Daniel A. Payne, was born. Payne is most known for bringing more order to the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME.)
1864, Rebecca Lee Crumpler becomes the first black woman to receive an M.D. degree. She graduated from the New England Female Medical College.
1999, Singer, songwriter, rapper, producer and actress Lauryn Hill won five Grammy's for her one and only solo studio album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The Fugees singer became the first woman to win that many Grammy's in one night.
2020, Katherine G. Johnson died. Katherine was the NASA mathematician who played a key role in helping America win the space race; her story was featured in the 2016 film Hidden Figures.
Yesterday was as normal a day as I’ve had since March of last year. I went to campus and worked in my office all day (since PG&E was turning my power off during the day for some kind of equipment replacement). I talked to people in their offices and had a socially distanced outdoor lunch with a colleague. It was…a lot.
Being in my office all day was weird. I’d forgotten how cold it gets and how dark it is without a window. I’d forgotten how far it is from my desk to the bathroom. I’d forgotten just how many stairs there are from the first to the third floor. I’d forgotten how awful the parking garage is. I’d forgotten how comfortable my desk chair is and how nice it is to just stand in someone’s office to talk (socially distanced with masks of course). I still don’t have any desire to go back full time but I think I could get to the point of doing some kind of hybrid schedule at some point this year. Maybe.
Going out to lunch with a colleague was nice, but I still don’t want to do it every day. We wore masks until it was time to eat, and the table was large so we weren’t too close to each other. The tables were also spread out quite a bit, so I didn’t feel like we were too close to other diners. But I thought about everything…about how many things the server touched, about how many things I touched, and how I still didn’t know where anyone else had been or if they’d been exposed to the virus. It was nice, though, to actually see someone’s full face when we talked, and to laugh and get refills of my tea (which I drank with my visor on - see photo below). So maybe that was a first step. Maybe I’ll try it again in a few weeks.
In other news from yesterday I made my appointment to get the first dose of the vaccine. Since I work in education, I ended up in Tier IB, which begins at the end of this month. So on March 8 I’ll be taking myself to Levi Stadium and getting my shot. I’m weirdly excited about it. I assume the second shot will be 30 days later in the same location so by mid-April I will be fully vaccinated. I honestly never expected that to happen this year. I thought for sure I wouldn’t get the vaccine until 2022. Thank you, President Biden.
I think that’s it for today. Hope you are all able to get your vaccine soon. Have a great Wednesday!
How cool that you get to go to the 49ers Stadium for your vaccine dose! I hope I get to go to Wrigley or Soldier Field!