Day 25 - LA County moves into yellow tier

AFTER I hosed it down…

5/27/21. Thursday

8:00 – L. leaves for her Thursday training, in Montrose, on How to Teach Summer Camps at the art studio.

10:30 – 11:00 – I have a Zoom meeting at 1:00 so I’m up.  I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal and see that she pooped near the front door, then rubbed her poopy butt on the floor in two locations in the dining room, on the wood floor.  Great. We go outside and she runs around the yard, then goes potty. Return inside – salmon salad for her; coffee for me. I wipe up the mess and go upstairs.

11:00-12:00 – Shower. Wash hair. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform.  Light make-up. I listen to To Live and Die in LA.

12:00-1:00 – I braid my hair and read What We Carry.

1:00-3:00 – I Zoom into a meeting with College No. 2’s Dual Enrollment Coordinator, my Dean, and 18 other instructors. Although we’ve been assigned asynchronous classes this semester, which means there are no designated meeting times for the high school students, all of the instructors are discussing the Zoom meetings they’ve had with their kids throughout the semester!  Was I supposed to be conducting periodic Zoom meetings with the students this entire time?  I didn’t get the memo.

I’m here for this meeting to find out exactly two things:  Are we doing FTF (face to face) for Fall 2021?  Are we doing FTF for Spring 2022?

-L. returns from the training and we debrief. L. says the instructor went over 15 “camps’ in a 1-hour, rapid-fire session, telling everyone what NOT to do and what NOT to work on.  Why not send a memo to the studios with the same information instead of doing a data dump on these teachers? L. doesn’t bother to take notes – she says she’ll just wing it.  In general, I’ve found that, for me, note-taking is not that effective. I’m sure L. feels the same way.

There is nothing of consequence discussed at my Dual Enrollment meeting. Discussion of some sort of ‘form’ and how best to convert it to online Adobe takes 45 minutes alone.

L. is overwhelmed with Finals week, so I offer to write a speech for her Communications class.  I get started on the template, which is part of her assignment, while the Zoom meeting drones on.  This is a persuasive speech in favor of school uniforms.

I alternate between writing her speech and working on blog posts.

The meeting is still running when I make the executive decision to sign off at 2:45 [it was supposed to end at 2:30]. The verdict: we are NOT back in the classroom for Fall 2021.  Nobody knows what the hell is going on for Spring 2022.

Blog posts are done; L.’s speech is a work in progress, but at least I started the outline.

-L. leaves for work.

3:00-4:00 – More salmon salad and I read What We Carry.

4:00-4:45 – I take the dog for a walk.  I bring along my tape measure and stop by one of the vines in my community to see how far apart the HOA gardeners placed the screws for the wire trellis’ that they installed long ago along the community walls.

4:45-6:45 – The paint is dry on the left side of the garage. I’ve cleared the entire garage, except for our bikes and one shelving unit – the smallest of the bunch – which I need for my gardening supplies and tool kit.  Picture a metal bookcase with 5 shelves and a few items on the shelves – that’s all that’s left in the garage.  Oh, there are two wire racks placed very high near the ceiling – Halloween and Xmas decorations are stored on those. That’s it.

Now, it’s time to move the heavy, metal “bookcase” to the left side of the garage.  This is where our few belongings are stored and where ONE car will be parked.  L.’s art studio will be on the right side of the garage. This particular shelving unit has been on the right side of the garage for 12 years.

I double-mask, glove up, wear safety goggles, and open the garage door for proper ventilation. I remove ALL the items from the shelves, then drag the shelving unit to the center of the garage and hose it down. I hose down the right garage wall as well. It is FILTHY-DIRTY in here; the shelving unit is DISGUSTING!!! and there are spider webs and carcasses from dead bugs where the shelving unit used to be.  I also spray down my gardening tools and two folding chairs. This is so gross!! I listen to the Political Gabfest.

I’m done hosing down the shelving unit, so I go outside and mark the areas of the wall with nail polish, where I want B. to place the screws tomorrow.

6:45 – I need to let the shelving unit dry before I move it, so I take a break and have apple slices and almond butter while I watch Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, recommended by L.  The series sucks – it’s just a remake of 8 Forensic Files’ episodes that I’ve already seen. Pass.

Oh shit…I forgot that I’m supposed to replace the “yellow” ink cartridge in my printer so L. can work on an art project after she gets off work!

6:45-7:30 – I drop everything, run to Staples, and purchase the cartridge.  Then, I stop by Starbucks and buy a coffee. I listen to True Crime Garage.

-L. returns from work. “Did you get the yellow ink cartridge?”, she asks. “Of course!”, I reply.

7:30 – 9:15 - I knew today was going to involve dirt and filth and dust so I arranged my schedule to “batch-task” similar activities. I stay double-masked throughout – I don’t want to inhale this crap.  I change the air-conditioning filter and it is foul! Plus, I have difficulty inserting the new one. Sometimes I get tired of doing everything myself, but it’s too expensive to contract out…

-The exterior light near my trashcans is out and the fixture is full of dead bugs.  I pull it down and there is a strange, black residue around the rim.  Good thing I’m wearing gloves AND I’m still double masked. The ‘globe’ needs to be cleaned so I spend some time rinsing it out – this is so disgusting! I change the light bulb and it works again.  Much cleaner, too. I listen to Culture Gabfest.

9:15-10:15 – L. tells me the Cyan and Yellow cartridges need to be replaced, so I do it.  This takes some time, as the printer’s undercarriage won’t move – I don’t have access.  It’s very frustrating.  I replace the cartridges and L. prints one page for her art project, at which point we get a warning message from the printer – “Magenta cartridge low.”  Oh no!  I don’t have a spare Magenta cartridge! I didn’t know it was low and I was just at Staples. This is ridiculous.  L. says she’ll go to Fed-Ex/Kinkos tomorrow and print her art project stuff there, instead.

10:15-11:45 – The shelving unit is dry, so I drag it over to the left side of the garage and re-shelve the items.  The right side of the garage, L.’s future art studio, is now completely clear.  Just last week, it was filled with shelving units and junk. I listen to Best of Both Worlds.

11:45 – 1:00 - I grab a few chips then report to my office.

I missed a French Cinema assignment, through no fault of my own.  Unbeknownst to me, my teacher posted that the French Club would be interviewing the director of COLCA, via Zoom, and we were all invited to attend. I knew nothing about this and I also didn’t realize I was supposed to post a prospective question for him on the Discussion Board for 10 points. Unfortunately, the Discussion Board was locked three days ago and the interview is over.  I post a question to the Discussion Board, acknowledging that I’m late. Maybe she’ll give me the 10 points?

Yet, another homework assignment I missed concerning the same activity…I’m supposed to post my opinion of the interview, i.e., What did I Learn, for another 10 points.  This means I have to listen to the interview – it was recorded and the link is ready for me. I click on the link, watch the video, and take notes.

As the interview drones on, I work on L.’s speech a little then compile a grocery list for a few missing items on two dinners I had planned to cook this month.

I update my Home Depot list concerning the garage project.

I think I have enough to answer the question, What Did I Learn, so I formulate my thoughts, then post to the Discussion Board.

1:00-2:00 – Kitchen duty. Ready my coffee for tomorrow. Take the dog out. She absolutely refuses to go potty, so I call on L. to take her out.  As soon as L. goes outside, she goes potty. Clearly, the dog is mad at me.

2:00-2:30 - I peel and slice two Persian cucumbers (very tiny) and eat the slices with hummus, in preparation for my workout. I read What We Carry.

2:30-3:15 – Same workout: Insanity – Cardio Core and Recovery. According to “Sean T.” [creator of Insanity], my body is “recovering” in preparation for the upcoming, more difficult 30-day schedule, which is why the workouts have been the same this week. Can’t wait (sarcasm).

3:15-4:00 – Nighttime routine. Bed.