This morning I woke up in a lot of pain. I recently hurt my back doing low-weight goblet squats and the middle, right side of my back got really fucked 
up. I'm not sure what I did. I think my mistake was trying to go too low during the exercise. But whatever I did, I really messed it up good. It hurts to 
breathe and sleep has been a struggle with the pain and the spasms for the last few days. Taking ibuprofen has helped immensely, and I think I'm on the 
mend. 

This afternoon I received my first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. I arrived at the hospital for my appointment and was informed the staff was 
running behind. I ended up waiting about 30 minutes outside with a bunch of other people wearing masks. It was then I realized what a beautiful day it 
was. It was warm, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and there was a great view of the snow-dusted mountains surrounding us. When my appointment time was 
called I checked in with a nurse. They asked for an insurance card, and then they gave me a form to sign acknowledging that the vaccine had only been 
approved for emergency use, that there could be side effects, etc.

Then I was called into another hallway and room where other people were sitting down. Another nurse greeted me and asked what arm I wanted the shot in and 
if I had any allergies. I asked her how things were going, and she said they were going well. They were busy. They had been giving out 200 doses a day 
and now starting today they were doing 300, she said. Then a guy dressed in a flight suit that said "Flight for Life" came in and asked the nurse if she 
had more doses. She said no, and that someone else had to go get more from a specific place. I'm guessing the helicopter pilot was transporting doses to 
rural areas of the state, and the hospital was where they could be kept cold in the freezers.

"Do you want me to tell you when, or just go ahead and do it?" asked the nurse.

"Just go ahead and do it," I said.

After that they set up my next appointment in three weeks to get the second dose, and they told me I could wait in my car for 15 minutes to make sure 
there were no immediate reactions. If there were, I was supposed to honk and someone would come out. I waited and then drove back to my place to work. My 
arm is a little sore, but nothing terrible. It seems so surreal to think I got the shot. The whole last year was surreal. The whole planet has just 
lived--and is still living--through a staggering, collective trauma. And I find myself wondering about all the different ways we're going to look back and 
cope.