Day 10 - Mask mandate REINSTATED by LA County Dept. of Health

Errand Day…

2/25/22. Friday. Errand Day 

8:00 -8:15 – I have to get out of bed to turn off my alarm clock…but then I return to bed for transition time.

8:15-8:30 – I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal.  Although she’s still asleep on the couch, at some point she made the decision to poop next to the front door…this keeps happening. I rub her tummy three times, then she grabs her toy and outside we go, where I stand around waiting for her to go potty. Return inside and cheese for her and I make a cup of coffee.

8:30-9:30 – I sit in the shower, drink my coffee, and ice my eyes. Lotion. I put on my “Sexy Librarian” attire: crocheted sweater with a tank top underneath and jeans. Light makeup. I listen to The Daily.

9:30-10:00 –  Driving.  I listen to What a Day.

10:00-10:30 – Therapy. I check in with my therapist regarding my socialization project and whether or not I should add additional socialization activities.  What I really want to do is turn this blog into a book…or several books…as my writing is multi-faceted. 

For example, I’m writing as a single mother during the pandemic. As an Adjunct instructor during the pandemic. Here’s another topic - “What I Read During the Pandemic” – since I wrote a book review for every book I read during Covid/Delta/Omicron/BA2, etc...  Recall that I frequently open my blog posts with my thoughts on the Covid headline of the day, which usually consists of me, a typical American citizen, trying to make sense of the current policy and then railing against “the science”, or the public health officials who are applying the science. They don’t know what they’re doing.

Perhaps a book of essays could come out of those opening paragraphs…maybe call it “The Covid Chronicles?” There’s also a time management/organization slant to my posts (I accomplished a shit-ton of goals during the pandemic and tracked my time throughout)  which might be of interest to the “productivity community” and the “productivity community” is huuggee – books, blogs, podcasts, You Tube – these venues are always discussing the best way to manage time.  

Ultimately, I share with my therapist that I’m spending too much time on a “blog” that nobody reads, except my Mom [Thanks Mom!], although I like doing it. This is an important, horrible, time in our country  and I feel a compulsion and a sense of duty to “bear witness.” Plus, I like journaling. It crystallizes my thoughts and helps me decompress…but it’s kind of a waste of time. If you compile my hours spent on this blog project, based on a review of my daily time tracking entries [writing blog posts, i.e., my journal, and keeping a secondary “bullet” journal so I don’t forget the events of the day as I’m perpetually behind], these activities take around 20 hours a week. Shouldn’t I have a more thoughtful, mindful approach to this block of time? Wouldn’t these 20 hours be better spent doing a more constructive activity?  

My therapist says no. She encourages me to continue journaling, blogging, etc., because it’s meaningful to me.  Besides, she says, you’re already involved in several socialization activities, so I’ve checked that box. However, I’ve stalled on taking any steps towards publication of my blog, which is a goal of mine. It’s not monetary, though.  I don’t care about a book contract. Rather, I have something to say and I want people to read it…I want to get my message out.  Maybe this is hubris…but when a white, male author has the same sentiment, nobody criticizes him for having it. I mean was Hemingway really that good? Is writing like a 5-year-old when you’re an adult [subject, verb, six-word sentences] that inventive?  Faulkner sucked.  Charles Dickens?  Pass. 

My therapist gives me a few homework assignments geared towards getting this book project, such as it is, off the ground and I’m to report back to her in two weeks. 

10:30-11:00 – I drive to Goodwill to drop off the clothes that Runway won’t take.; then

11:00-11:30 – I stop by the ATM so I can have cash on hand. Russia and Ukraine are at war and I’m afraid of cyberattacks and power outages. So now I sound like a conspiracy theorist.

11:00-11:30- I drop one bag of clothes off at Runway. I have three bags, but I’m spacing them out, per L.’s instructions.  This is my best bag and I’m hoping to recoup around $20-$30.

11:30-12:00-To Home Depot for potting soil, one plant, and more Velcro for my neverending stair-runner repair. I listen to Martinis and your Money.

12:00-12:30 – I top off my tank.  Inflation is out of control and gas prices keep climbing.

12:30-2:00 – I go to the Starbucks drive thru and order an egg sandwich and a coffee.  Then, I sit in the parking lot and work on my bullet journal.

2:00-2:30 – Driving home and I listen to The Double Shift.

2:30-3:00 – I eat a pear on my patio and enjoy the sun. L. texts me that Orlando, the claims agent, said that he would call Gerber Automotive and schedule the car repairs and she doesn’t know what to do. 

Recall that Gerber gave us a quote of $2100 for repairs, BUT Liberty Mutual takes $1000 off the top…so what repairs, exactly? Even if we were going to sink money into the car, I’m short $1000.  Also, why is this asshole so presumptuous? Maybe I have a friend who does bondo work and I want to have it repaired on the cheap. This is none of Orlando’s business! Listen, I’ve had my share of accidents (I’m not proud of it) and I’ve never had a claims adjustor say, “Oh, I’ll go ahead and schedule those repairs for you.” Just send the check!  

I text L. to tell Orlando we can’t afford to repair the vehicle and to tell him to send the check. 

3:00-4:00 – I pot three plants, add potting soil to some of my other pots, then sweep the patio.

-A second text comes in from L.  The only reason I’m documenting these texts at all is because L. never texts me and she hates when I text her, which means we can go days without speaking to each other, due to our conflicting schedules, even though we live in the same house.

-This time, L. asks me for advice on how to ask the owner of the Art Studio where she works y what their upcoming meeting will entail. I wrote about this managerial tactic extensively in my Wednesday post, if you want to revisit it. I text L. a few sentences she can throw down and hope they work. L. doesn’t respond. Typical.

-I go upstairs, clean my toilet, and dust all the pictures on my stair landing.

4:30-5:15 – I take the dog for a walk.

5:30-10:30 – I go to work.

-I check email at Colleges No. 1 and 2

-I submit my Fall 2022 classload Preference Sheet to College No. 2

-After finally curating ALL of my AUDIO lectures the other day, I discovered that I was missing six lectures. I email L. and ask if she happens to have them stored on her phone.

-L. finished transcribing the Chapter 10 AUDIO lecture, so I print it out. As stated before, this lecture is defunct and needs to be updated and I have a ready-made script, which should make recording that much easier when I make the changes.

-I prepare course content for my Monday afternoon Core Class, edit the Discussion Board, and prepare a Midterm Announcement. I set the Announcement to automatically post at 3:30.

-I also prepare course content for Specialty Class 1B [Monday evening]. Their Socratic Seminar essays are due, as well as the participatory component of this assignment, which involves responding to a Discussion Board prompt. 

-I prepare a Midterm Announcement for this class, then set the Announcement to automatically post at 7:30.

-I check course content for my highschoolers and pack the lectures I’ll be using next week.

-I respond to an email from B.

-I forgot to eat, but it’s too late now.  L. has a leftover, gourmet, deviled egg that she said I could have so I eat that for dinner.

-L. returns from the Art Studio and we discuss her day and a piece of art that she’s been working on at Otis. We go to the garage and she shows me a work in progress – L. has a unique style that I refer to as “Feminist Glam Pop Art” and this is a Technicolor painting of a woman, in tones of blue, crying. It looks like it was pulled right out of a comic book! L. poured walnut oil over the painting to create a “tears” effect and it looks amazing.

-An hour later, L. is gone, having left with T. for their Mission Inn hotel reservations.

10:30-12:00-Blog posts

Oops –I accidentally fall asleep.

1:00-2:00 – Blog posts

2:00-2:30 – I go downstairs to take the dog out and lock up, but she doesn’t want to go outside.

2:30-3:30-bullet journal

3:30-4:00 – Nighttime routine. Bed.