Day 10-LA County Dept. of Health MANDATES indoor masking
No, this is not a painting…it’s a set, containing real people at the Pageant of the Masters! Isn’t this incredible?
“Washington Crossing Delaware” - real people!!
This is not a sculpture…it’s a real person!
A real person…NOT a sculpture.!
A real person…
7/26/21. Monday
7:30-8:00 – I had all these grandiose dreams of waking up early and leaving at 6:00, so I could arrive at Laguna Beach for a seaside breakfast before my 11:00 reservation at the Laguna Beach Art Museum, but that didn’t happen. I go downstairs to say good morning to the dog, but she doesn’t want to get up – too early. I sit beside her on the couch, rub her tummy, and coax her to go outside with me. Eventually, she rolls over, jumps off the couch, and we exit to the backyard. She goes potty while I water my potted jasmine vines and the vinca. Return inside. Coffee for me; cheese for her. I go upstairs.
8:00-8:45 – Shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform. I listen to The Daily, then put my hair in a pony tail, grab my make-up, and go downstairs.
8:45-9:30 – I publish today’s content for my summer class and check my personal email. There’s an email from L.! South Carolina is 3 hours ahead of us and she recounts her day with the family – her Dad picked her up from the airport around 5:00 p.m. and she has already spent some time with them. Her comments are super funny. I take the time to respond at length, then print out a MapQuest to the Laguna Beach Art Museum in case my Garmin acts up.
9:30-11:00 – It’s a cloudy day and it sprinkles a little throughout the drive. Traffic is great! Maybe I should rethink traveling on Mondays – maybe employees are working four 10-hour days and taking Mondays off in conjunction with the weekend. I have a few dark chocolate kisses while I drive and listen to a feminist podcast called The Waves.
11:00 – 12:30 – I see a huge billboard advertising: Laguna Beach: Home of the Festival of Arts and the Pageant of the Masters. Pageant of the Masters? Is that golf? I arrive at the museum on time and find a lone parking spot. Across the street is a restaurant that I think I might go to for lunch, so I buy 3 hours on the meter [$6]. This turns out to be a mistake.
The Laguna Beach Art Museum is a very clean, 3-story building, with stark white walls. Nobody is masking – not the receptionist, nor any of the docents. There are only two patrons in the museum and they’re also NOT masking. I put on my mask, but I feel kind of stupid. Eventually, a family of 4 enters – 2 parents and their little kids – and all of them are masking so I don’t feel so uncomfortable.
On the first floor is a massive clown-drawing exhibit. A clown with his hair on fire; a clown on the floor with a huge lion on top of him; a sad clown; a clown evaporating…I like the exhibit, although I find it somewhat disturbing. The real reason I’m here, however, is for the Art People exhibit, which is in the basement. It’s incredible!
Ok, so let me explain [I watched a 20-minute video in the basement]. Every year, the Laguna Beach art community asks for volunteers to participate in the Pageant of the Masters. The “Masters” refer to the greatest artists of our time, like Monet, DaVinci, Dega, Rembrandt, etc. Famous paintings from these artists are replicated as a set, on stage [the Pageant], and the volunteers are transformed into the people depicted in the paintings through the power of make-up artists, body paint, clothes, etc. Then, they assume their positions on stage inside the set, motionless. Every year, the pageant ends with a replication of The Last Supper. The volunteers assume the position of Jesus and his disciples on stage for the grand finale.
The Art People exhibit consists of 10-foot tall photographs of the various volunteers, in full regalia, who participated in the Pageant. They look just like sculptures – the only way you can tell they’re actually human is by looking at their eyes. I posted a few pictures of the Art People exhibit at the top of the blog.
12:30 – 3:00 - I leave and walk to my car, but when I look across the street at the restaurant, there’s a line of people waiting to get in. No. I drive away and head to the beach restaurant L. recommended, but discover that it is inside a hotel and the line for Valet is out to the street. No thank you. Traffic in Laguna Beach is horrendous – everything is packed so close together. I’m ready to leave and find a “suburban sprawl” community, hopefully with parking.
A mere 10 miles away, near the University of Irvine, I find Bistango, a 5-star restaurant. En route to Bistango.
Arrive and I’m seated indoors, even though they have an outdoor patio. Nobody is seated outside, however. Additionally, nobody is masking other than ONE hostess. I’m seated at a small table that I realize, later, with horror, is right in the middle of the ‘foot traffic flow’ – customers being seated and customers leaving. All are walking past my table.
I’m concerned because this morning I listened to The Daily and they reported that “breakout” cases are on the rise among the vaccinated since the Delta variant is 1000 times more contagious than the first Covid-19 variant. Also, the tiniest amount of the Delta variant is equivalent to being dosed with a huge, viral load. Sure, you won’t die [IF you’re vaccinated], BUT people are laid up for as long as 5 days, and some are describing it as the worst “flu” they’ve ever had. They’re completely incapacitated for the period of time that they’re infected. The CDC doesn’t bother to track “breakout” cases because…they’re stupid.
This week, there are whisperings that the Pfizer vaccine expires after 6 months…the Biden administration [i.e., Faucci] is now saying that imuno-compromised Americans and everyone over 65 should get “the booster”, when they just got through saying, LAST WEEK, that NOBODY needs a booster; however, the booster hasn’t been created yet. And what about those people who are younger than 65? When do they get the booster? Also, I got the J&J vaccine…does anybody know when the J&J will expire? Crickets.
Note: Tomorrow, the CDC will reverse their masking guidelines and advise that EVERYONE – vaccinated and unvaccinated - should mask indoors. This is a mere month after issuing the statement that vaccinated people do NOT need to mask anywhere. Does anyone pay attention to this agency? I stopped listening to them about 14 months ago. The CDC is a joke – it’s embarrassing.
Be that as it may, I have a wonderful glass of Prosecco and the Penne Chicken Pasta. The waiter also brings me a complimentary bread roll. Is there anything less nutritious with more empty calories than pasta? I doubt it, but pasta tastes so good – it’s my weakness. Of note, the chicken in this dish tastes like sausage. I really marvel at this…how did they prepare it so that it has the consistency of sausage? It is sooo good. I have tons leftover and take it home. Great meal!
3:00-5:00 – I drive home. Traffic is somewhat thick the last stretch of the way. I listen to The Slow Home Podcast.
5:00-6:30 – Home and I watch Bosch, but accidentally fall asleep midway into the episode.
7:00-7:30 – I take the dog for a walk.
7:30-9:30 – Blog posts
9:30-10:00 – I continue with my “deleting personal emails” project and note that Victor responded to my Docusign contract and is now requesting a 10% down payment, which I pay. They’ll start the staining process on 8/2/21!
BofA automatically deducts my monthly HOA fee from my checking account, but for the first time in 12 years, it appears that my HOA didn’t get the payment because I got a late notice from them. I review my checking account and $236 was, in fact, withdrawn. I email HOA-Accounting and ask them to look into this.
10:00- 11:30 - I read a Money Diary, then do a 40-minute, Insanity-Pure Cardio workout.
11:30-12:30 – I vacuum my bedroom, closet, bathroom, laundry room and the stair landing. Then, I clean my toilet.
12:30-1:00 – I ready my coffee for tomorrow morning and take the dog out. L. isn’t here so there are no dishes in the sink…i.e., no kitchen duty.
1:00-2:00 – Nighttime routine. Bed