Day 16 - CDC recommends all J&J patients get a booster after 2 months

I finished the ivy project today…

11/5/21. Friday 

8:00-8:30 – I have an extra credit essay that needs to be graded because the student emailed me and asked, “When will I get a grade for my extra credit assignment?” I don’t need any trouble so I’m up, out of bed, and in my chair, grading this student’s essay before I do anything else.  It needs to be graded and scanned this morning before class ends. 

8:30-9:00 – I finish grading the essay and then go downstairs to say good morning to the animal. She heard me moving around and is sitting at the foot of the stairs, looking up expectantly when I come down. The dog grabs her toy and starts moving to the backyard immediately. I’m right behind her and I scan my plants while she goes potty. I don’t have a lot of time today. Class is already up and running and I like to check in at least 30 minutes from the start time. Coffee for me; cheese for her. I go to work. 

9:00-9:40 -I log into Canvas and one of my trustworthy students emailed me to say that class is over at 9:40 because they have [insert religious ceremony here]. I have a small stack of graded extra credit assignments to return to the students, so I post their grades to the online gradebook, then scan and return their papers, with my edits, via email. 

9:40-10:30 – Class dismissed and I take a shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform. I grab my cosmetic bag and what’s left of my coffee and leave. I listen to The Daily. 

10:40-11:00 – Driving. 

11:00-11:30 – Therapy session. We discuss my ‘socialization experiment’ at length and I come up with some more ideas regarding group settings. 

11:30-12:00 – I drive to Home Depot to pick up an electrical plug and a spray nozzle for my garden hose, then walk around the store for inspiration regarding the garage reno. Everyone is masked, but there’s always those few lone assholes – all men – who don’t bother. I listen to What a Day. 

12:00-12:30 – I get gas ($20); then 

12:30-1:00 – I drive home. L. ordered these chocolate-covered, peanut butter, cookie dough balls from Sugarfina and I can’t stop eating them! 

1:00-2:00- I have two boxes of books waiting to be read, so I go through the boxes and select my next five books. This way, I won’t be tempted to tell myself, “I’m between books right now so I think I’ll read a Money Diary until I figure out what I’m reading next.” The end of the year is fast approaching and last month’s book total was pitiful.  I need to buckle down and knock out some books before year end if I want to increase 2021’s book count. If it sounds as if I’m reading solely to achieve a goal, don’t worry...I love reading for reading’s sake.  BUT, if I’m not intentional, it’s easy for me to slip into the fallacy of, “I don’t have enough time today…I’ll read tomorrow”, and then I don’t, and I have the same excuse the next day, etc., and then I realize I haven’t read anything for weeks. I love reading and I feel better after I’ve made time to read…sometimes, I have to remind myself of this fact. 

-I have a spinach salad with tomatoes, zucchini, and cheese, that I prepared yesterday, and start My Caesarean.  

2:00-2:45 – I take the dog for a walk and listen to Film Week on Air Talk. 

2:45-6:00 – L. has a first date scheduled tonight and it’s likely he will see the garage conversion at some point, so I create an artificial deadline for myself to help me finish hanging the last of the fake ivy.  L.’s date is picking her up at 6:00 so I work steadily, with some urgency – I’m up and down on the ladder.  By 5:45, I have hammered all of the ivy panels in place except one.  I’m also able to frame and hang two of L.’s pieces. Crunch time and I vacuum two spiders, leaf-blow the entire garage, and sweep pieces of the plastic ivy that came loose during my hammering. I listen to Through the Cracks. 

6:00-7:00 – I read My Caesarean.  

7:30-11:00 – Life Administration. 

-I finish logging all of my receipts and expenditures for 2021 [I still need to track and log my online expenditures, though], with the exception of this month and, of course, December.  After reviewing the toiletries I purchased for 2020 AND 2021, I compile my 2022 inventory spreadsheet [also includes dog food and cleaning products like laundry detergent, paper towels, toilet paper, Simple Green for the yard, etc.], then place my annual order at Walmart for the remaining items [recall that I already purchased several 2022 inventory items at CVS last month]. 

-I check Tablecloths.com to see if my credit posted for the wrong ivy order that I returned – it did. 

-There’s a few books that I’ve wanted to read for 2021, but we’re at the end of the year and they’re still not available at my local library, so I make the decision to add them to my toiletries order because shipping is free.  I know I’ll tear through them, once they arrive, because I’ve wanted to read them all year; they’ll also help increase my 2021 book count. I order:

1) The Lazy Genius

2) Organization is a Learned Skill

3) The Paper Solution

-L. needs containers for her art supplies, yet refuses to: a) give me any idea of what she needs; OR b)  email me links of containers that will work for her paints.   

It’s the same with the storage racks I ordered – I had no idea what L. needed and she absolutely refused to go online and look up options, so I had to figure it out myself. I don’t get it. Of course, I have no idea what L. needs because…I’m NOT an artist…SHE is. I have no idea what is needed in an art studio, but I did think the storage racks should have wheels so L. could move them around if needed. I sent L. a few links with examples of potential storage racks I was considering, but L. refused to open the links for several weeks until I went in her room, sat down next to her, and demanded that she open her email, right now, and tell me which rack she was interested in. Only then did L. review the links and give me her seal of approval on the rack she wanted. I waited two weeks for L.’s decision – it took her 5 minutes to choose. 

-Like I said, I have no idea what kind of containers L. needs for her art supplies, so I go online to The Container Store and flag a few options. I’ve taken to adding this message to the heading of any email I send L. when I need a decision from her. TOTAL REVIEW TIME: 20 seconds [or 2 minutes, or 5 minutes, etc.]. This is ridiculous. I’m paying for these items so what’s the problem? I will never understand…why won’t L. review items that I’ve vetted for HER studio? 

-I need a divider of sorts for the garage conversion and I’m considering hanging a partial bead curtain at one end of the garage. I send L. a few links, adding the heading, TOTAL REVIEW TIME: 1 minute. 

-I pay my credit card bill. 

-I add two more books to my inventory order that I plan to give as Xmas presents. 

-I grade my last two extra credit essays, then scan and return them to the students, via email. 

-I place a Wine.com order. 

-I order two books from the library:

1) Deep Work

2) The Defining Decade – this one’s for L. It was recommended by a college student [the daughter of one of my favorite authors, Gretchen Rubin] and I thought L. might like it. I listen to episodes of The Productive Woman as I handle these tasks. 

11:00-12:00 – L. returns home from her first date with T. They went to dinner at a Japanese restaurant, followed by the World of Illusions Museum, in Burbank. They had a good time and T. did, in fact, end up seeing the garage so I’m glad I finished nailing up the ivy panels.  L. reported that T. said, “The garage looks pretty dope.” [insert smile emoji here]. 

12:00-1:00 – I take a quick nap. 

1:00-1:45 – I do a 30-minute Insanity Max – Tabata Strength workout. 

2:00-3:30 – I have some ground turkey that’s about to turn so I make turkey chili from scratch, clean the entire kitchen, then ready my coffee and lunch bag.  I eat several spoonfuls of the chili while I’m making it. I continue listening to Through the Cracks. 

3:30-4:00 – Nighttime routine. Bed.