Day 1-Monkey Pox is the new pandemic

Monkey Pox…our new pandemic.

Just as President Biden tests positive again for Covid 19 for the 6th day in a row, his Admin. decides to declare Monkey Pox “a national public health emergency” because the number of cases, nationwide, has passed 6,600. wow…6,600 cases. I guess this means we have a second pandemic on our hands…except this pandemic only afflicts gay men. In other words, if you’re not a gay man, you won’t get Monkey Pox. WTF are we doing? Over 1 million of my fellow Americans contracted Covid and died…in fact, people are still dying from Covid 19. And yet Monkey Pox has been elevated to “a national public health emergency?”

BTW, “Uncle Joe” is feeling better and his cough is improving…if you even give a shit.

At Valencia Meadows Park tonight, with my Striders group…

8/4/22. Thursday

9:00-10:30-The dog wakes me up so I take her downstairs to go potty. Then, I grab my coffee and lie in bed for the next hour because I have a headache and terrible cramps.

11:00-12:00-I’m up, but because I was in bed for so long, the day is largely shot to hell. I have a few bites of brownie and report to my office:

Life Admin

-I sign up for the last three Summer Stroll nights at the Huntington. Their registration website is not user friendly and it takes some time to book the event and access my tickets, even though they’re free.

-Still no email confirmation for the Lotus Land ticket I booked. I call the number and ask for my tickets; she emails them.

12:00-2:00-I continue working on my syllabus for my Specialty 1A Class. It’s slow going because this is the first time the Specialty 1A Class will be fully online. That means, I’m designing the syllabus from scratch. Due to the fact that this class is online, I’m providing the “run times” next to all of the assigned podcasts and documentaries listed on the syllabus. This takes some time, as I have to go online for every clip, check how long the podcast/documentary is, then post the minutes to the syllabus.

-I check email at College No. 1 and respond to a few students. Then, I check Canvas and post content in preparation for my F2F, Thursday night course. The semester starts on 8/14/22.

-I eat tuna and white beans for lunch.

2:30-4:00-The power goes out at 2:00. I wait a few minutes for the electricity to return, but it doesn’t, so I take this time to have some of my yogurt-apple-walnut concoction with another cup of coffee. I can’t do anything without electricity, so I give up, take a shower, and ice my eyes. Lotion. Light make-up. Athletic Housewife attire.

-The power comes back on at 3:00.

4:00-4:45-The tank tops I ordered from Target arrived. I try all of them on - some fit, some don’t. The tank tops that don’t fit go back in the bag for return. I immediately order multiples within my Curated Closet color scheme of the tank tops that DO fit because they look amazing and it’s incredibly difficult to find good, form fitting tank tops.

5:30-6:10-L. returns from The Club with devastating news. Tucker and Lauren told Maria, L.’s co-worker and friend, that they are going to lay off L. ( and possibly Maria) once Membership slows down. L. cried when she told me. L. outsells Tucker and Lauren and they are so threatened by her that they have to fire her. L. goes upstairs so she can call Colin Two-Hatchet and also engage in emotional eating by ingesting a huge piece of cherry pie she bought from somewhere. The piece of pie is bigger than her head.

I leave for my Striders group.

-6:30-7:30-tonight, we meet at the Valencia Meadows park. I walk by myself, mull over L.’s possible upcoming termination, and try to come up with solutions.

The last part of the walk, I catch up with Candy, the leader of the Striders group for the past 25 years, and mention that I saw her and her husband dancing at the outdoor Rockabilly concert two Fridays ago. Candy said that she and her husband were trying hard to get on the front page of The Signal, our local paper, and was certain a shot of the couple dancing would do it. Candy and her husband are so active in the community! She coordinates barbecues at her pastor’s home every summer for the congregation; she rents a shuttle van and coordinates trips for church members to see Dodger Games and the Hollywood Bowl; she sews costumes for some of the theater performances put on by her church; she runs this walking group every Tues and Thursday, etc. She’s 74, but looks 60-something! It’s impressive.

7:30-7:45-I’m stiff and my body hurts, but I still drive to Sprouts.

7:45-8:30-At Sprouts and I pick up a few items: eggs, dark chocolate covered pretzels, mini tomatoes, walnuts, grapes, basil for L., and a pack of 8 sashimi that retails for $13.

8:30-9:00-Home and I put everything away. L. Is at Trader Joes getting supplies for her famous rigatoni.

9:00-9:30-I eat the sashimi over the sink and give most of the rice to the dog. This ends up costing me a pound the next day. Spoiler Alert - I’m back at 97.

9:30-10:30-L. returns and we strategize over what to do about her possible upcoming termination, while she makes the rigatoni. L. finishes the meal and goes upstairs to talk to Colin Two-Hatchet again.

10:30-11:00-I take the dog for a walk.

11:00-1:00-I report to my office and continue working on the Specialty 1A syllabus, making sure the assignments align with the academic calendar. Really stiffening up right now. I accidentally fall asleep in my office, while listening to an episode of “True Murder” called Trailed. It features a young lesbian couple who are murdered while backpacking.

1:00-1:45-L. did most of the dishes (I’m shocked!) so I straighten the kitchen, pack my lunch bag, and ready my coffee.

1:45-2:30-Nighttime routine. Sunless tanning. I touch up my nails. Bed. I set my alarm for 6:30.