Day 2 - Mask mandate RESCINDED; we do NOT need to mask indoors

Birdwatching today…I identified a Nuttall Woodpecker…

3/5/22. Saturday 

6:00-6:30 – My alarm goes off and I wake up almost totally incapacitated by period cramps.  For a few minutes, I can. not. move. Not an inch, the cramps are so bad.  On a pain scale of 1-10, I shock myself by rating my cramps a 10. I have NEVER in my life rated any pain or condition I’m experiencing as a 10, because I’ve always left a buffer, believing the pain could always be worse. I reach for my Advil and practice shallow breathing, as recommended for labor, blowing in and out rapidly.

6:30-6:45 – I stagger out of bed and walk down the stairs, one at a time, doubled over and holding onto the banister. Strangely, the dog is awake – maybe she senses something? – and we go straight to the backyard.  I’m doubled over a patio chair while I wait for her to go potty and resume shallow breathing, blowing in and out. Return inside and cheese for her. I heat up my coffee while crouching on the floor because I can’t stand up straight.

6:45-7:00 – I make it upstairs and I have terrible diarrhea (Sorry TMI) and I almost vomit, but I keep it down.

7:00 – 7:20 - I sit in the shower, drink my coffee, ice my eyes and wait for the Advil to kick in so I can feel like a human being again.  It takes 47 minutes.  I know because I timed it years ago. Not sure if I’m going to make bird watching today. I listen to Happier.

7:20-7:40 -  Advil is amazing!  The pain is still there – I can still feel my organs and insides cramping and convulsing – but my pain receptors are blocked and now the only pain that’s registered is a dull ache.  Advil wears off for me in exactly 4 hours.  I will almost forget that I have excruciating cramps until at the exact 4-hour mark, when it feels like someone is stabbing me from the inside and my legs will slightly buckle.  I try to take Advil consistently during the first few days of my period to keep this from happening.

“Upright and caffeinated”, I tell myself weakly.

7:40-8:00 – I leave for Placerita Canyon and apply mascara in the car. I have no appetite whatsoever but since I’ll be birdwatching in the canyon, I need to eat something so I let a Girl Scout - Thin Mint cookie dissolve in my mouth.

8:00-9:30 – Birdwatching.  For the first time ever, I see, hear, and actually identify a bird.  It’s the Nuttal Woodpecker!  I see it’s little red head and confirm it in my pamphlet. My dad’s binoculars are amazing!  There are  two Nuttals in the tree and I’ve identified them – the visual is so crisp. We also see a dark-eyed Junco, a Bushtit, a Spotted Towhee (what’s new), a Scrub Jay, a CA quail, a  Bewicks Wren,  and an Anna’s hummingbird. Hummingbirds are quite nasty and aggressive and like to buzz other birds. 

Awshook is here, but Cliff isn’t.  Awshook said Cliff couldn’t make it because his son is in the marching band.  Cliff’s son plays the trombone and Cliff’s wife is a concert pianist. When I ask Awshook if he has children, he says “Unfortunately, no.”  I reply, “Well, maybe it’s actually fortunately?” Awshook says, “I used to think so but not anymore.” I’ve never heard anyone respond this way before, so I don’t know what to say.  The only thing that comes to mind is “Well what are you gonna do? Shit happens.”  Awshook starts laughing.  When I run this exchange by B., he says I should have said ‘Don’t worry…you’ve escaped years of misery and financial ruin.” Pretty funny. 

Awshook tells an anecdote about his female friend.  She is running a home for “retarded” children.  Awshook actually says the word “retarded” and adds, “I’m sure there’s a better word for that”, but makes no attempt to provide one [insert smile emoji here].  He asks his friend if she likes it and she says every morning the children call her Mom.  Awshook, genuinely touched, tells her, “That’s your compensation, right there.” I immediately reflect back on one of my recent reads, Work Wont Love You Back.  What does his friend actually make for doing this shitty job?  Just because a bunch of mentally challenged kids call her Mom doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be paid a living wage.  Of course, I say nothing.  If I spoke my true opinion, I’d alienate most people immediately. 

9:30-10:00 – I don’t like Part II of birdwatching ordinarily, where we leave the canyon and walk on this janky sidewalk called The Oak of the Golden Dream. It’s a miracle I made it here at all, so I give myself permission to leave. I leave Placerita Nature Center and spend some time driving around looking for more hiking areas under the Santa Clarita “Open Spaces” program until I come across Quigley Canyon. This might be a potential hiking location for B. and I, now that I’m unable to attend my Tuesday hiking group regularly due to my Tuesday high school class. I eat my yogurt in the car.

10:00-10:45 – I’m driving home when and I’m suddenly hit with stabling pains in my lower abdomen.  The Advil wore off! I take two Advil ASAP.  I never leave home without it.

10:45-11:00 – Home and I get out of the car, doubled over, and practice shallow breathing as I walk into the house.  I take the dog out and go upstairs.

11:00-11:15 – I feel like vomiting. More diarrhea, instead (Sorry, TMI).

11:15-12:00 – I sit in my chair with the heating pad and wait for the Advil to take effect.

-I get a text from Wayfair  about the table!  This is so exciting! The text is informing me that the table was delivered yesterday…[insert needle scratch on record player here].  Uh…the table was NOT delivered.  I was home the entire time and it was NEVER delivered.

12:00-12:30 – I take the dog for a walk and call Wayfair Customer Service while we’re walking. Wayfair can’t account for the discrepancy and calls Fed Ex while I’m on the phone. After a 3-way conversation, it appears that the table is lost in transit yet again. I file a claim and Fed Ex assures both me and the Wayfair rep. that they will investigate the missing table. Uh-huh…sure. In the interim, Wayfair documents the fact that the table was never delivered and re-orders it – the delivery date is scheduled for March but this isn’t my first rodeo and I know the delivery date will be arbitrarily changed by months in a matter of days.

12:30-1:00 – The dog and I walk around the block one last time and then I trick her by quickly scooping her up and putting her in my car.  We drive to the Vet Clinic where they take walk-in vaccinations. Last week, I was going through the paperwork in  my filing cabinet in accordance with my Paper Solution project and I discovered that the dog’s vaccines expired a year ago. I’ve been going to the same clinic since I purchased the dog and nobody bothered to notify me – in the past, I’ve always received a postcard reminder.

The clinic takes walk-ins from 10:00-1:00 and I get there at 12:40. The dog is terrified but nobody is there, thank god. The staff are masking. Her vaccination takes about 30 seconds and now I know she won’t contract rabies. If you get the Covid-19 vaccine, however, you WILL contract Omicron…you just won’t die.  Imagine if the rabies vaccine operated in the same way?  i.e., under the Covid 19 model, a rabies vaccine would NOT prevent dogs from contracting rabies and transmitting it to animals and humans.  Rest assured, though, if the rabies vaccine acted in the same way as the Covid 19 vaccine, dogs would contract rabies and recover… the rest of us would die from a rabies infection.

1:00-1:30 – Home and I take the dog off leash and we go outside so she can go potty. Then, I move the pallet that B. gave me from the backyard to the garage, along with my patio pillows, because it’s starting to sprinkle. I pick up dog poop, clean out the fountain, and add water.

1:30-2:30 – I have potato chips and zucchini slices with hummus. I consider making turkey burgers but when I check the ground turkey I purchased about 5 days ago, I see that it’s grey.  The expiration date is 2/26. Damn!! I bought it on 2/26 but didn’t bother checking the expiration date. I throw away the turkey and I’m very upset about it.

-I heat up some boxed soup and read Clarity.

2:30-4:30 – Blog posts. The heating pad is on my lap.

4:30-5:30 – It’s been a rough day.  I fall asleep in my chair.

5:30-8:00 – bullet journal.  I was behind by 4 days and it took some time to catch up. I credit Cal Newport’s book, Deep Work, when it comes to my writing productivity.

8:00-9:00 – I resume writing my next blog post.

9:00-10:00 – The cramps are setting in again and I’m not feeling well. TBH, I’ve always felt a little uncomfortable taking Advil so consistently and I routinely try to ride out the pain.  I listen to Convicted and close my eyes, with my heating pad on my lap.

10:30-11:30 – I continue listening to Conviction and finish my last blog post.

12:00-3:00 – I report to my office so I can work on Life Administration.

-I sign up for the spring Striders group through the City.

I sign up for the spring Hiking group through the City.

I make Beach Cycle reservations for L. and I.

I upload my blog posts.

I compile a list of podcasts for B. and email to him.

I plan my activities for March.

3:00-3:30 – Nighttime routine. Bed.