Day 1-CDC recommends all J&J patients get a booster within 2 months

The light panels are NOT installed the way I wanted…

10/21/21. Thursday

 8:00-8:30- My alarm goes off, but I lay in bed for 30 minutes of transition time.

8:30-9:00 – Up and I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal. She’s still asleep so I have to wake her up by sitting next to her and petting her tummy.  What a spoiled dog! It takes some doing, but finally she is ready to go outside. I give her a stuffed animal and we head to my backyard, where I check my plants quickly while she does her business. 

9:00-10:00 – Shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform. Light make-up.

10:15-12:00 – The electricians return so they can install the appropriate cable for the dimmer switch. I have to be accessible in case they have questions or, of course, ask to use my bathroom, so I sit on my barstool, at the counter, and read Digital Minimalism while they work. Although the same workers assured me the last time they were here that they could absolutely install a remote control device to the dimmer switch, it turns out they cannot.  

They install the dimmer switch and it does, in fact, work; however, since the electricians had every intention of installing a remote control that was never compatible with the dimmer cable, they wired the light panels to the outlet located in the furthest corner of the garage instead of directly to the right of the kitchen door leading into the garage, which would have made better sense, logistically. Instead, in order to turn on the light panels and adjust the output, L. and I have to walk 20 steps to the opposite side of the garage, flip the switch to on, then manually adjust the dimmer. 

I’m extremely irritated but after all this, I just want them to leave…and never come back. I’m asked for another payment of $250 for their oversight involving the cable AND a flawed design scheme.  I will gladly cut the check if it means I never have to see these contractors again. The saving grace…neither of them take a shit in my bathroom.  

Once they’re gone, I text “Chris”, their boss, and the man who came to my house and gave me the original bid on this project 6 weeks ago, after I told him I wanted two light panels installed on the wall, TO INCLUDE a dimmer switch and a remote control. I inform Chris that his electricians were unable to install a remote control to the dimmer.  Does Chris have any suggestions? A product I might purchase? Could he point me in the right direction? Note: I will not hear from Chris for the next four hours, at which point he returns my text and says a remote control is not compatible with the dimmer switch the electricians installed. 

1:00-2:30 – Last night, I scheduled an appointment with L. for this afternoon so she can make the edits for tonight’s audio lecture. L. is finally awake so I sit with her, in her bedroom, while she first splices the front and back of Audio Lecture – Chapter 8, then airdrops both the newly formatted lecture and the PSA into three Canvas shells. Quite frankly, this lecture should be completely scrapped because I reference the 2016 election when we are well into Biden’s first year as president. I make the executive decision to run this lecture for my online students, but I rewrite my script and lecture notes so they are on topic and current for my F2F students tonight. 

L. and I are going out of town this weekend, with the family. Unfortunately, the absolute last day to see Rogers Garden before the Halloween decorations are removed, is tomorrow, after taking both of our schedules into consideration. Although L. and I are expected in Ventura tomorrow, we propose an ambitious day wherein we will first go to the Rusty Pelican, in Newport Beach, for lunch, then take a 5-minute drive to Rogers Gardens and view the grounds, followed by the long, backwards loop to the Crowne Plaza in Ventura. The plan necessitates that we leave at 11:00 a.m. in order to arrive in Ventura at a reasonable hour. L. and I are both committed to eating at the Rusty Pelican and seeing Roger’s Garden, BUT I don’t think we’re capable of being packed and ready to go by 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.  Neither of us are morning people… we’ll see. 

2:30-3:30 – I have cheese, crackers, and some fruit off the cheese plate that L. made for her soiree on Monday and read a Money Diary. I throw a few more things into my suitcase. 

3:30-4:30 – I take my braids out, change into black pants and a professional blouse, and pack my netbook and speaker in my school bag.  

4:30-5:15 – I check email at College No. 1 and am pulled down the rabbit hole deeper and deeper, primarily by my SPED student who is sending email after incoherent email about some stupid shit that doesn’t make sense. I respond to five of her emails, which were sent in rapid succession and appear to say the same thing, before finally giving up and logging off. 

5:15-5:30 – I load my school bag and backpack in the car, then grab my lunch bag, and I’m off. 

5:30-7:00 – Driving.  As usual, it’s rush-hour traffic on the 14 and it’s horrible. I listen to the Political Gabfest and barely make it to class on time. 

7:00-10:00 - Tonight, lecture is 90 minutes long, but interspersed with 4 short clips and a 3-minute “short.” I lecture the full 90 minutes in my F2F class, then play a documentary the last 90 minutes. While it rolls, I take attendance for both sections and send emails to the online students who failed to sign in, informing them that they will be marked absent and will received 0s on today’s assignments.

10:00- 10:30-Class dismissed. I check the online students’ scores on the video quizzes and send stern emails to those students who received a D/F on said quizzes. Are they watching the documentary? 

10:30-11:15 – Driving home.  I listen to Citations Needed. 

11:15-12:00 – Home and it takes me 20 minutes to unload the car.  I start kitchen duty immediately and ready my coffee for tomorrow. 

12:00-1:00 – I go to work [enter my home office]. I have class tomorrow at 8:30 so I check course content and create a Discussion Board prompt, then respond to a few emails. I listen to Radio Rental while I’m working. Finally, it’s a wrap and I shut ‘er down for the night. 

1:00-1:30 – Finish packing as much as I am able. I’ll throw in more toiletries tomorrow morning. 

1:30-2:30 – Bullet journal

2:30-3:00 – Nighttime routine. Bed. I set my alarm for 8:00.