
Putting this here because I think this is something I will want to remember in Future Times, and I feel MUCH more confident about Dreamwidth not going anywhere than, say Tumblr.
So on Tuesday, I got a call from one of the supervisory-types I know with the sub-agency of the USDA that I work for. He's doing volunteer wrangling for the mass vaccination site(s?) in Portland, OR, and saw my name on the list of people who'd signed up last month when the new Biden administration decided to make it an "all hands on deck" sort of situation.
He asked if I'd be willing to come out for a month, and, once he was able to verify that it wouldn't eff up my own vaccination schedule since I'm due to get my 2nd Moderna dose on April 2nd, I said yes! Cue most of yesterday being spent tying up loose ends, getting done with a quick closeout inspection for a lab that's no longer working with regulated organisms, and frantically getting my plane, hotel, and rental car reservations squared away. Also putting my mail and Sunday paper delivery (yes, I get an actual newspaper on Sundays. Shut up.) on hold and praying the Star Tribune won't eff it up like the last time I was out of town this long and came back to three papers piled up in front of my apartment door (oddly, they did go ahead and cancel my subscription charge for those three weeks, so I got 3 free outdated papers).
Also, packing. Probably overpacking, because we were told we might be working indoors, might be working outdoors, and weather here this time of year can range from 30s in the morning to 60s in the afternoon, and maybe rain. All. Day. So I have multiple options in short sleeve and long sleeve and flannel and fleece and what the heck, I'll just wear my winter jacket and bring a hat and my glomitts just in case. And I had to try on everything to make sure it still fit decently because hi there, quarantine weight gain.
Woke up at 5 this morning, got done packing a couple last-minute things (thank goodness I got into the habit of keeping on hand 2 of most toiletries back when I was travelling frequently for fumigations, often on only a couple hours notice), watered my plants one last time (thankfully they're all succulents or cacti that won't be too worse for the wear), took out the trash and recycling, and hopped into a Lyft for the first time in a year and a half. My driver was super pumped when I told her why I was travelling.
The airport was chaos. Unclear where to check in, since the line went on and on and on, with only the barest nod to social distancing, and things were roped off weirdly in I guess an attempt to keep people from crowding the check-in machines. Security again, aside from the masks and the face shields perched on the foreheads of the TSA agents herding us, occasional plexiglass wall, and how we had to scan our own licenses and boarding passes showed no sign that there was a pandemic raging. My carry-ons were pulled aside, and I waited and waited and waited, and finally they got to them, and the TSA agent said, "Well, they didn't even scan at all, it's just blank, so they have to go through again." Wait some more. Someday I'll manage to get through security without a problem, but today wasn't that day.
Then I was off. Stores and eateries were about 1/3 to 1/2 closed past security, but people were actually keeping their distance in lines now that there was room to do so and the mood was much more relaxed. One guy at the gate while I was waiting was sitting there with an American flag neck gaiter pulled up to right under his nose. He made an exasperated noise and rolled his eyes when the announcement went out that you'd be allowed on the plane with a neck gaiter only if you doubled it up so it was 2 layers. He reached into his carry-on, pulled out another, identical neck gaiter, and nestled it around his neck. Fortunately, he did eventually pull up both gaiters properly when he had to board the plane. Boarding was back-to-front, only a few rows at a time, spaced out enough that the jetway could totally clear between each — SO much more efficient. I hope they keep doing this after the pandemic. A flight attendant offered us individually wrapped Purell wipes as we boarded.
I got a whole row to myself — Delta is still leaving middle seats open unless you're all in one party. Beverage/snack service consisted of ziploc baggies, each containing another individually packaged Purell wipe, one of those cocktail napkins, a tiny bottle of water, a packet of Delta branded biscoff cookies, and a packet of salted almonds.
I had a bit of a layover in Seattle and took the opportunity to get myself a coffee and a danish since I felt that being in Seattle and not getting coffee was a tragedy, plus I usually have a caffeine boost around lunchtime, which it was...in Central Time Zone anyway. And I was peckish since, again, lunchtime, but I'd had Plane Snack as well as a granola bar earlier, bites stolen with my mask off momentarily to get food in my mouth.
It was really good coffee. And they had the tables VERY widely spaced, so probably minimizing the risk as much as you can for enforced indoor dining. Also, I saw a gal go by on a skateboard (again, this is in the middle of an airline terminal) while having my coffee.
Flight 2 was on a puddle-jumper of a plane, and although I had the misfortune of a seat with a poorly aligned window, the view was INCREDIBLE. Definitely made up for how very narrow and crammed together the seats were, though I suspect I might've felt different if I'd had someone in the seat beside me.
Got to Portland, got my rental car (BRIGHT blue, thank goodness, because this way I can actually find it), and had some downtime before hotel checkin would open, so I went to a Fred Meyer for the first time in over a decade (I spent a summer living in southeast Idaho) to pick up stuff for breakfasts and lunches, as well as some snacks, tea, seltzer, and local beer. Fortunately, I have an in-room microwave and very mini fridge (if I'm staying somewhere for a month, especially when indoor dining is a risk I don't want to take if I don't absolutely have to, I will 100% pick out a hotel with them. Would've like a proper stove burner or two, too, but that wasn't an option given price limits and geographic limits).
Got to the hotel to check in and — oh. Breakfast coupons. This hotel doesn't normally have free breakfast, but I guess arrangements were made for us to have it from their restaurant. Very nice, but now I have a tub of granola and yogurt. Oops. Whelp, granola and yogurt and a clementine or two for dinner it is. Also beer. Mmmm, cocoa stout. Also, mmm, Nancy's yogurt. I love it, and it's so hard to find back home.
Anyway, tomorrow I find out allllll the details that I don't have yet, which are many, including my work schedule. Should be an adventure, and I'm glad to be doing my part! Out of all the things I've done in my over a decade as a public servant, I'd say this is probably gonna be by far the greatest service to the public.