Day 25 - Los Angeles lifts its vaccine mandate. A vax card is no longer required.

L.’s new car! In this era of Covid supply-chain semi-conductor and car shortages, somehow, by the grace of God, L. and her Dad find and purchase a HYBRID….for $10,000 over market value (and we were happy to pay it, too). Rarely does life work out for L. and I in this way…and yet…today is a success.

4/24/22. Sunday

8:00-10:30-I need to finish grading the papers from my Specialty 1B class TODAY because they need to be returned tomorrow. I wake up at 8:00 and immediately report to my chair so I can grade a paper from one of the worst writers/students I have ever read/had. I’ve been dreading this task but I take the “eat that frog approach” (look it up). It’s one of the longest papers of the bunch and yet… still says nothing. I finish reading the student’s paper and I definitely need a break, it was such a horrible experience.

10:30-11:00 - M. calls to tell me that he is hopping from dealer to dealer trying desperately to find a hybrid for L. Since Covid, there has been a shortage of semi-conductors which are apparently needed to make cars run, as well as a shortage of cars in general, especially electric cars, even though Tesla is churning them out daily. M. is confident that he and L. will find a car when she gets off work. I’m not so sure. I text L. that her Dad is planning to take her to a dealership the second she gets off work.

11:00-11:30-I take the dog out and microwave my coffee.

11:30-1:00-I post an Announcement to the Home Page and email my students in the Online class at College No. 2 that the Chapter Review Quiz and Video Quiz are due by midnight, tonight.

-I check email at College No. 2 and find that more students want Add Codes so they can pick up my class. l think it’s too late, but I email them the codes anyway and tell them good luck.

-I update course content for tomorrow’s afternoon class at College No. 1, make sure everything is posted and accessible, and revise the Discussion Board. I check lecture times and note when I’ll deploy course content.

-I update course content for Specialty Class 1B and revise the Discussion Board.

-I pack my lecture notes for all classes in my Filofax folder.

-I post an Announcement to the Home Page for tomorrow’s afternoon class reminding the students that the Final is next week.

-I review the Final and make sure the Final Review coincides with the Final itself.

-I check email at College No. 1 and send an email to my chair asking why Dr. R. and San Francisco are still assigned fully Online classes.

-1:00-2:15 - I grade another paper. While I’m grading the paper I feel a terrific stabbing pain in my right eye, as if a knife is spearing it. This lasts for three full seconds before finally subsiding. I check my eye and it’s getting redder by the minute. It looks like a blood vessel popped or maybe I’m just having a stroke.

I finish grading the paper and jump in the shower because the shower is my reward for grading the paper.

-2:15-3:30-I hear L. return from The Club.

-I’m dressed and out of the shower, but when I check in with L., she’s in her bedroom asleep. I ask if she and her Dad are going to look at cars, but L. says her Dad told her there are no cars available right now.

3:30-5:00-I have my leftover baked potato soup and salad from Outback, then grade another paper. My reward is a dog walk if you can call it a reward.

5:00-6:00-I walk the dog.

-L. And M. abruptly leave for a Noho Dealer because there is a car sighting!!

6:00-6:30-I make more coffee. En route, M. calls to harangue me for the fact that L. only has “temporary” title to her current car [Nissan Altima] because the actual DMV title has not yet arrived in the mail. I doubt that the temporary title that I FINALLY procured from the DMV, after numerous attempts, is going to prevent L. from purchasing a car. Spoiler Alert:  It doesn’t.

On occasion, I’m reminded why L.’s Dad and I are divorced…

6:30-7:30-I start grading another paper and break for one of the cornchip chocolates from the box that M. gave L. and I. My eye is throbbing and getting steadily worse. I take some old steroid drops I have lying around and listen to Dateline podcasts.

8:00-8:30-I start grading another paper. M. calls to relay that he and L. are in negotiations for a car purchase. It’s happening!!

8:30-9:30-I finish grading the paper.

9:30-10:30- I take a break from grading papers and go through my Digital Minimalism book for my bookclub tomorrow. I read the book a few months ago, but my personal copy arrived today so I skim through 250 pages and highlight pertinent pages.

10:30-11:30 - L. and M. return with a brand new Toyota Corolla hybrid and a brand new… car payment. It is absolutely amazing that L. and M. were able to buy a Hybrid when hundreds of people, EVERY DAY, are either priced out of the Hybrid/Electric car market or discover that there are no hybrids in the dealership’s inventory. This car is a thing of beauty. As a family, we were totally price gauged and took it up the ass, but I know that the price of these cars is increasing by the hour and we had to act now. Pricing will be much worse in just 24 hours because there is no inventory nationwide. Spoiler Alert: I’m right. M. and I front the down payment for L. and pony up $2000 each for a total of $4000. L. and M. discuss the car purchase experience and I write M. the check. As I said, L.’s car is beautiful. Did I mention that MY Toyota Corolla has 200,000 miles?

11:30-12:30-I have some of L’s Trader Joe’s Pirates Booty then grade another paper.

-I’m finished grading papers for the night.

12:30-2:30-I make turkey meatballs. I mix chopped celery, onion, and seasoning with ground turkey, then top with tomato paste. In between, I unload the dishwasher and do dishes from yesterday and today. I also chop up celery stalks for snacks, pack my lunch bag, ready my coffee, and take the dog out. I bake the meatballs for approximately 20-30 minutes, pull them out of the oven, and store.

2:30-3:15 - Nighttime routine. Bed. We got the car!