Day 4 - Mask mandate REINSTATED by the LA County Dept. of Health

I finally finished my closet purge…now it’s onto the next step in the process…

Omicron, the sequel, [BA2] is on the rise and is 50% more transmissible then the current Omicron. How is that possible when the current Omicron can travel through masks [unless you’re wearing a N95] and walk through walls? Does that mean we can absorb it through our skin? In countries like Denmark, where’s there a high rate of BA2, more younger people are hospitalized and by younger I mean 12-to-15-year-olds. Currently, 98% of Denmark’s infections are BA2…and yet, the Biden Administration did NOT place a travel ban on Netherlands’ citizens like they did on South Africans after South African researchers identified the Omicron variant. Hmmm.  I wonder why.  Can we say racism? 

In order to prepare for the BA2 variant, the following states have…rescinded their mask mandates. Yes, we are finally at the point in the pandemic where we are all in collective denial that there is no pandemic.  Say ‘Hello” to Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington. You can finally see their faces. 

What will the Conservative nuts use now to create divisiveness?  For years,  it was the simple act of masking in school that caused Republicans to issue death threats against public health officials and scream obscenities at school board meetings.  The surgical mask was turned into a symbol of rage and oppression and used to create partisan dissent and tribal politics. Whatcha gonna do now, bitches?  Masking has gone by the wayside…what is left to scream about? Critical race theory?  Guess what? In most red states, teachers are banned from teaching CRT.  No masks…CRT on the decline…’Stop the Steal’ and Trump in the rear view mirror...   Can all of you finally shut your f—king mouths?  I’m so tired of this Conservative, alt-right, partisan bullshit, with these conspiracy theorists/right-wingers deliberately coughing on people who want to wear masks, while at the same time spewing death threats and white supremacism…the rest of the country is sick of it, too. BTW…there are NO microchips in the vaccines, you f—king morons.

 2/19/22. Saturday

It’s a beautiful day today! Spoiler Alert: I end up spending it inside. 

8:00 – L. leaves for work at the Art Studio.

8:30-9:00 – I’m up so I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal, but she’s already awake and running around.  I think L. just took her out, but we continue with the routine and head to the backyard so she can go potty.  The sprinklers came on this morning, meaning I must have fixed the breaker issue. The dog does her business and we return inside: coffee for me, cheese for her. I go upstairs.

9:00-10:00 –I thaw 3 cubes of my Mom’s banana bread and read 60 pages of Professional Troublemaker in preparation for Book Club. I don’t like this book.

10:00-10:30 – bullet journal

10:30-1:00 – blog posts.

1:00-4:00 – I finish trying on the rest of my clothes in accordance with the Curated Closet project and listen to Maintenance Phase. Although it took weeks, I have finally finished trying on EVERY item in my closet, saved some items, but discarded most.  

Part of the project involves coming up with a tag phrase that describes your sense of style and activities. Last night, L. looked at the clothes that were left hanging in my closet and listened to me relay the activities I’m involved in. She then proclaims that my style is “Athletic Housewife.” Because I’m still technically working AND teaching, I can’t just wear Lulu Lemon all day.  I think for a minute and add “meets sexy Librarian.”  L. touches a few items hanging in my closet and concurs…”this does look like what a librarian would wear.”  Hey, I said sexy librarian.  My tag phrase is a bit sexist, but it has a nice ring: “Athletic Housewife meets Sexy Librarian.” I found it!  That’s my style! 

When all is said and done, I purged the following items from my closet:

1 party dress

1 piece of lingerie and cover-up

Athletic wear: 3 shirts, 1 pair of yoga pants, 1 hoodie, 1 pair of leggings, 1 zip-up sweatshirt

2 cardigans

2 sweaters

3 sweatshirts

5 pairs of pants and a pantsuit

1 pair of corduroys

5 blazers (L. took one of the blazers)

7 dresses

1 maxi dress

11 work skirts

6 casual T-shirts and 1 long-sleeved shirt

10 blouses

4 pairs of shoes

7 bikini tops and 2 bikini bottoms

***But I threw away almost as many items. 

4:00-4:30 – I wash my face, brush my teeth and hair, and put on my “Athletic Housewife” uniform: gray, reptile print leggings, turquoise and gray short-sleeved athletic top, black zip-up jacket with white stripes down the arms, and a gray beanie.

4:30-5:00 – I take pictures of two outfits I wore last week in accordance with the Curated Closet project, throw away a pile of old clothes and trash, and tidy my room.

-L. returns from work and we talk for awhile. L. spent the night at her boyfriend’s house and woke up congested, with a stuffy nose. She tells me this at the end of our conversation, after having exposed me to a potentially lethal virus (BA2)…again.

T. arrives and L. and T. leave for his sister’s birthday party.

5:00-5:30 – I walk the dog and listen to Film Week.

5:30-6:30 – My favorite champagne is on sale at BevMo for $8.99 a bottle.  I drive to BevMo and buy four bottles. I eat the last of L.’s bag of chips along the way, but I’m really only eating crumbs. I listen to Martinis and Your Money.

6:30-9:30 – Kitchen duty and I clean out and wipe down the refrigerator.  I spend the rest of this time meal prepping salads for the coming days.  I also boil the last of the eggs and peel, chop, and prep around 20 carrots for snacks and steamed vegetables.  We’re out of groceries and I don’t want to go to the store before the end of the month because inflation is through the roof.  I need to make do with what I have, which turns out to be virtually nothing. I listen to Spooked.

-I ready my coffee and fill the dog food dispenser.

9:30-12:00 – I eat one of the spinach salads I just prepped – spinach, carrots, tomatoes, cheese, boiled eggs, EVOO, and lemon pepper. I know it’s past the time I should be eating, but it’s just a salad.

-Blog posts to include two book reviews.

12:00-3:30 – I upload and edit blog posts while listening to Specialty Class 1B AUDIO lectures for Chapters 10 and 11. L. will have to splice-and-dice this material, but the edits are minimal. I have finally finished listening to all 25 lectures contained in both my Core Class and Specialty Class 1B!! Once L. splices the content of these last two lectures, the AUDIO lecture project is complete.

-I read a few of my previous blog posts for old times’ sake.

-I really need to get a workout in but I’m too tired and get ready for bed instead. Before contracting Omicron, I used to force myself to work out whenever I felt too tired. Now, if I’m exhausted…well, I guess I’m exhausted, so I table an Insanity workout for another day. Do I have Long Covid?  Or am I simply using Long Covid as an excuse not to work out? Whatever the reason, I NEVER let more than 2 days go by without an Insanity workout. 

Upon closer inspection, perhaps I’m a little hard on myself. My favorite podcaster says frequently, “Give yourself grace.” A review of my exercise activity over the past week is as follows: Sun – I did a 15-minute Insanity Max – Ab workout and a 30-minute Insanity Max workout before I went to a Super Bowl party. The next day, Mon., I went on a 1-hour, moderate-level hike with friends. On Tues, I did another 30-minute Insanity workout. Thursday was my speed walking group, followed by a 10-minute Insanity Max-Ab workout and a 30-minute Insanity Max workout. I took Friday and Saturday off, but did manage to walk the dog for 30 minutes, although that hardly counts. Is my exercise regimen so bad?

3:30-4:30 – Nighttime routine. Bed.