Day 4 - All CA students must be vaccinated
Two of these panels - 6’ x 4’ - were hung on my garage wall today. Unfortunately, the electrician still has to return to wire them up…
10/4/21. Monday
7:30-8:00 – I’m awake because “Frank” the carpenter-contractor, is scheduled to return between 7:30-8:00, to determine how he will frame out and mount the light panels that I purchased for the wall of the garage/art studio. I go downstairs to say good morning to the dog, but she’s still sleeping. When she hears me come downstairs, the dog rolls over on her back so I can rub her tummy. I sit on the couch and pet her while giving her the prompt, “Let’s go potty!” several times. She’s not ready for awhile, but at some point, she slowly rolls over and grabs her toy. Outside we go and I water a few of my plants while I wait for her to finish. Return inside and cheese for her; coffee for me.
8:00-8:30 – I go upstairs and quickly get dressed, then return to my bed so I can lie down.
8:30-9:30 – I text my gate code to the contractor in an attempt to gauge when he’ll be here and he responds that he’s running late. Great. I stay in bed, sipping my coffee.
-L. comes into my room, crying. She overslept for her college class on a day when a very important critique of her work is supposed to occur and doesn’t know what to do. I advise L. to text her friends and her professor with the age-old excuse of “car problems” – this lie never goes out of style and is readily believed, especially in light of her actual car, which is always breaking down. She takes my advice, texts all parties involved, and leaves around 9:30. Spoiler Alert: Everything works out and her professor is incredibly kind, thanking L. for bothering to come at all in light of her car problems.
-I try to go back to sleep, but I can’t because I have no idea when “Frank” is actually going to show.
9:30-10:00 – I stagger out of bed and take a shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform. Light make-up.
10:00-10:30 – Frank and one of his employees arrive and Frank has no knowledge of my project or what I want even though his employee was here on 9/25/21, in lieu of Frank, took photos of the wall, and allegedly explained [to Frank] what the project entailed. I suspected as much…the employee who came on 9/25 was using a stalling technique in order to avoid, for as long as possible, actually working on the project. Neither Frank nor his employee are masked.
This happens time and time again for various projects concerning the garage conversion, where the contractor in question schedules an appointment with me under the auspices of beginning the project, only so he can tell me, on the day he arrives, “Oh, I’m just here for the specs.”
It appears that Frank has intentions of actually working today. I explain, all over again, what I want – two ceiling light panels mounted as fake windows on the garage wall, which is exactly what I told his employee on 9/25/21.
10:30-11:30 – Frank and this employee leave so they can get supplies at Home Depot. But shouldn’t the supplies have already been purchased? I told his other employee exactly what I wanted on 9/25/21. What was the point of that visit? What a waste of my time.
I’m exhausted. I could have slept in much later this morning. Frank told me he was coming at 8:00 a.m…but ultimately showed up at 10:00. I eat the fish and veges I made yesterday for breakfast.
11:30–12:30 – Frank’s employee returns, sans Frank, with the supplies and starts mounting the frames. Within minutes, I hear repeated knocking coming from the garage door to the kitchen. I run downstairs, unlock the door, and say, “Were you knocking…?” I’m irritated - what could he possibly want? He can’t speak English, but manages to say, “Bathroom?” Of course. I have to let yet another dirty contractor into my house so he can defile my bathroom and infect my air space. This guy just spent the last hour at Home Depot – why didn’t he use their bathroom? I have to secure the dog and place her outside before letting him in. Then, I open several windows for air flow, put my mask on, and show him where the bathroom is.
12:30-1:00 – I have class in two hours so I review the Midterm one last time to make sure the questions and answers coincide with the chapter review quizzes. Then, I check email at College No. 1.
-I grab my pre-packed lunch bag, my school bag containing my netbook and Beets speaker, and my Filoflex folder and head for my car, after letting the dog in and locking up everything. Frank’s employee is still working in the garage, but I don’t want him to see me leaving because he might stop working – any excuse will do for these people. My car is parked at the curb, near the mail boxes, so I stealthily load up, jump in the car, and exit the other way, so as not to drive by my house and the open garage.
1:15-2:30 – Driving. I listen to Citations Needed.
2:30-5:30 – Class is in session. It’s a light day - Midterm, followed by lecture, and ending with a documentary.
-Frank calls and asks me to come outside to view the finished project. He sounds proud of himself and his work. I break the news that I left hours ago so he sends me screen shots of his handiwork, which I can’t make out on my phone. I ask what I owe him and he quotes me “$500”, to which I say, “Wow – that’s really high!” He immediately caves and drops the price to $350. I say I’ll Zelle him the money when I get home from college.
5:30 – Class dismissed.
5:45-6:45 – Driving. I see numerous lightening storms along the way. Beautiful.
6:45-8:30 – It’s raining when I get home. I move my outdoor pillows to the patio table, under the awning. L.’s drafting table finally arrived and is sitting outside in a huge cardboard box, leaning against my front door, and getting wet. I estimate that the table weighs around 200 pounds. Somehow, by the grace of God, I’m able to slide, drag, and push it through my living room, into the kitchen, and out the garage door, into the garage, where I can store it. That was incredibly difficult!
I survey “Frank and friend’s” work. The light panels are framed and mounted on the wall…exactly what I wanted. I’m pleasantly surprised, especially since my expectations were so low on account of Frank’s repeated unprofessionalism. The work is…sound. Would I use him again? Doubtful. They left a mess in the garage, so I take the time to break down the cardboard boxes that the light panels came in and throw them in the recycling.
8:30-9:30 – I’m exhausted. I make a bowl of mixed vegetables and read Work Won’t Love You Back.
9:30-10:15 – I do a 30-minute workout with my new Insanity Max program. I really love this DVD set and am so glad I purchased it.
10:15-11:00 – I try on a few outfits and complete the last of the packing for my upcoming Vegas trip.
11:00-11:30 – L. surfaces. She had school and then attended the Van Gogh Immersion Experience with her friend, N. Thankfully, there was no conflict concerning the tickets that L. and I swapped. L. liked the exhibit but was also struck by the commercialism of it all. She and N. went for “drinks” afterward, although L. only drinks “mocktails” since she’s not 21 yet.
11:30-12:15 – L. catches me up on Otis gossip and tells me that her friend, M., slept with F., and that it was not a positive experience for M…I feel bad for M…
12:15-1:15 – I continue packing.
1:15-1:30 – I cut up some carrots for my lunch bag tomorrow and cheese for the dog, then bag B.’s birthday gifts so they’re ready for him to unwrap after we return from Vegas.
1:30-2:00 – I check email at College No. 2
2:00-2:30 – Shockingly, L. surfaces again to thank me for being a good cook. What?! Since birth, L. has NEVER told me this. Apparently, what precipitated this odd compliment is a shrimp scampi dinner that M.’s Mom cooked for L. and M. the other day, complete with mashed potatoes. L. said it was like eating cardboard and the family doesn’t use salt – L. was too polite to ask for it. L. told me she never realized I was a good cook because she didn’t have any context…when compared to M.’s Mom, I guess I shine. It’s a backhanded compliment…but I’ll take it.
2:30-3:30 – I lay my clothes out for tomorrow, along with the toiletries that I still need to pack. Nighttime routine. Bed. I set my alarm for 7:00.