by I got my second shot of Astra Zeneca on Wednesday morning. There were far fewer people there than the first time around. I think a lot of people became skittish about Astra Zeneca in March and April, and now Romanians who have taken Pfizer outnumber the AZ takers by eight to one. Because it was so quiet, I was done and dusted in no time. I entered the building at eight, the needle was in my arm at 8:10 – a young man administered my jab this time – and then at 8:25 my name was called and I could go. It’s always a bit funny having my distinctly English name called among all the Ciobanus and Popescus. They also called me by my middle name rather than my first name; that happens quite often and I don’t mind it – I like my middle name.
I was vaccinated in the youth centre, which is right next to the stadium where Poli Timișoara (the local football team) play, and just across the road from the main hospital. It’s also right next to the outdoor market which is full of local produce and is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so that was convenient. In the same area is a sports centre with several clay tennis courts, and next to that is an abandoned piece of land which was supposed to be a university building but never happened. I know this because there’s an old peeling sign there, dated February 2000 (I was in my second year of university then). They got as far as putting in the steel rods, but then they presumably ran out of money. Now it’s a wild area, full of trees and birds and the intermittent ribbit of frogs.
After my first jab I didn’t feel any side effects apart from a bit of a sore arm. This time was different. On Wednesday night I shivered in bed so I put on an extra duvet and of course I was soon sweating. I didn’t sleep well. Yesterday evening I had a slight temperature again and suddenly felt very tired. Thankfully I had a good sleep last night and now everything is back to normal. My symptoms were all pretty standard and a good indication that the vaccine was doing its job.
Four more poker tournaments since I last wrote, with little success. On Tuesday I made good starts to all three but could only scrape a min cash in the PLO8. Last night I managed to bust out of the fixed badugi after just 30 hands without winning any of them. That’s a new record. My laptop crashed in the middle, so I didn’t want to rebuy just in case it happened again. My bankroll is $699.
I was able to play last night because my 19-year-old student has decided to give up his lessons with me. Honestly I’m OK with that – he was never the easiest to teach – but I have lost a few people lately and it might be hard to get replacements with summer on the horizon.
