Correspondence on Vaccine Day Cancellation
A person took the day off for vaccine side effects that did not arrive, and has produced correspondence documenting what they did with the unexpected free afternoon instead.
Field Notes: Correspondence on Vaccine Day Cancellation Submitted for the Record, December 2021
Background
The person received a vaccine on a Tuesday. They had blocked Wednesday on their calendar as a recovery day, having been advised by colleagues and online accounts that side effects were common and could include fatigue, arm soreness, chills, and a general incapacitation lasting eight to twenty-four hours.
They declined two meetings on Wednesday. They notified their manager. They arranged for a colleague to cover one asynchronous task.
What Happened
Wednesday arrived. The side effects did not.
By 9am the person felt normal. By 10am they felt more normal than usual, in the way that a person feels more normal when they have arranged not to have obligations and the obligations have therefore not arrived. By noon they had watched the first half of a documentary they had saved four months earlier, eaten breakfast at a time that was closer to lunch, and spent thirty minutes on a task they had been avoiding that turned out not to require thirty minutes.
Consequences
Consequence 1: The person attended neither of the two meetings they had declined. The meetings had been declined. Attending them after declining due to illness would have required an explanation the person was not prepared to provide.
Consequence 2: The asynchronous task was completed by the colleague who had been asked to cover it. Both the person and the colleague completed the task. This was discovered on Thursday. One version was used.
Consequence 3: The meeting that could not be attended because of vaccine side effects was attended, and the side effects arrived the following morning, when no absence had been arranged. The person attended a 9am call with a headache and a temperature of 99.4 degrees, which is not the temperature at which one calls in sick but is not the temperature at which one is fully present.
What They Did With Wednesday
By 3pm, the person had reorganized one drawer, watched half of a documentary, and eaten lunch at a time that is not usually lunch time. They had also done no work, which was the correct outcome given the calendar block, and which they did not feel entirely settled about, given that the reason for the block had not materialized.
Governing Absurdity
The calendar block was accurate. A recovery day was warranted. The recovery day and the day requiring recovery did not align on the calendar.
Contradiction
The person arranged for a colleague to cover their responsibilities so they could be sick. They were not sick. The day they used for not being sick was the most unstructured afternoon they had in the second half of 2021.
This is a satisfactory outcome by any measure the person can apply. It does not feel like one.