Day 14-LA County Dept. of Health urges masking indoors

Enterprise Rental Car has NO rental cars!!!…

7/12/21. Monday

8:30 – 9:00 - Up and moving quickly.  I need to set the trash cans out before Waste Management comes so I get dressed because I don’t want my neighbors to see me in my pajamas. Downstairs and I say good morning to the dog and rub her tummy three times.  I’m rushing our routine slightly as I have to get the cans out.  I missed last week because the 4th was a holiday and I was out of town - a lot of trash piled up.

The dog grabs her toy and we head outside but she won’t go potty – she’s distracted and seems to have picked up a scent – it’s probably that rat.  Come on!  I have to get these cans out. OMG.  She finally does her business and back inside we go: cheese for her, coffee for me.

I take the cans out.

9:00-11:00 – I really need to work on my class. I have not taken a valid attendance since summer session began so I go back to the 7/6/21 Discussion Board and see who signed in so I can take the first week of attendance. Four assignments were due yesterday, at midnight, so I use those assignments as markers for the second week of attendance.  Then, I send personal emails to those students who missed any  assignments last week. Things seem to be going well – there are only a few students who missed assignments.

One student responded that he was at a Methodone clinic and was really sick over the weekend. When I say he can have extra time on two assignments that were due yesterday, he replies, “Just drop me.”  Uh, okay.

11:00-1:00 – I spend a lot of time gardening today.  N. is unavailable to dog-sit, so this time two of L.’s friends [T. and A.] will split the duty.  They’ll be taking the dog outside over the course of three days, while we’re in Vegas, and I really want the yard to look good – I hope her friends are impressed. I sweep the patio and trim dead leaves and branches.

I water my plants and hose down the Astroturf.

L. leaves for the Malibu beach house where she and 12 other people will be staying for the next three days, although L. will return early tomorrow because we’re leaving for Vegas in the morning.

1:00- 2:00 – I have a few potato chips that L. brought home last week – I can’t help myself because I love potato chips – and add some cheese. I read a Money Diary.

2:00 – 2:30 – I pack a few more items – I’m basically finished packing.

2:30-4:00 – I do a 15-minute Kathy Smith Ab Routine. I revisit the Insanity Plyo workout as Saturday was so lackluster. This time I do much better. - I go the distance with very few breaks in between.

4:00-5:00 - Shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform.

5:00-5:30 – I drive to Enterprise to make sure I will have a rental car for tomorrow.  I reserved it a month ago, but because of Covid-19, “the supply chain is disrupted” [I’ve been hearing this stupid s—t for months and it is unclear exactly how Covid-19 broke the links in the chain, to continue with this dumb metaphor]. Here’s another comment that keeps floating around: “there are no semi-conducters which means there are no cars.” Uh, what? 

This is actually what happened in the rental-car industry: The pandemic hit and the country went on lock down – traveling dried up. Then, after the first lock down was lifted, most people were too afraid to travel anyway. The airlines took a major hit and asked the government to bail them out. They didn’t actually say it, but implied that “they were too big fail.” Yeah, right. The American people have already been to that rodeo (2008) and the Trump administration basically told the airlines to f—k off.  But I digress.

If nobody’s flying [or traveling], that means nobody’s renting cars so the rental car companies sold off 30% of their fleet so employees could eat.  For some rental companies, it still wasn’t enough and Hertz went under. Flash forward 18 months and 60% of Americans are vaccinated and itching to travel.  The rental-car companies were caught with their pants down. They sold most of their product so they could make rent and now they have no cars, which leads us to today and the million dollar question: Will I get a rental car tomorrow?  L.’s car and my car are so unreliable, we cannot drive them to Vegas. I’ll take anything.

5:30-6:00 – I talk to the Enterprise employee and he tells me that, at this time, they have no “luxury” cars available even though I reserved one a month ago and need it tomorrow. That was the category I picked because it typically means a “4-door.” When I “show my hand” and tell the employee I’ll take anything, he offers me a 2-door mustang. My Mom will be riding with us and the mustang looks too cramped for three people and our luggage…but what I can I do?  I need a reliable car. I’m disappointed, but it’s not the employee’s fault.  He says he’ll hold the mustang for me.

6:00-6:45 – I have a Staples coupon that’s going to expire while I’m gone so I swing by Staples and buy two reams of paper.  I also give them my ink cartridges for recycling.

6:45-7:10 – Driving.

7:10 – 8:00 – Return home and I take the dog for a walk.

8:00-9:00 – I drive to Whole Foods to pick up a few snacks for the Vegas trip. I grab prosecco-in-a-can and some champagne due to the fact that my Wine.com order never arrived. Is it the Covid-19 supply chain? That’s what every vendor says when there’s a problem. “Oh, sorry…Covid…”

9:00-10:00 – Home and I put away my groceries, then sanitize the Astroturf with Simple Green.

10:00-11:00 – I bring in my trash cans. After, I have a few sushi rolls that I purchased from Whole Foods for dinner and read a Money Diary.

11:00-12:00 – Kitchen duty. I prepare snacks for the Vegas trip and ready my coffee for the morning.

12:00-1:00 – Nighttime routine. Bed. I set my alarm for 6:30 a.m.