Day 57-Governor Newsom reinstates the mask mandate in California

At Guelaguetza for Bookclub Brunch today…

2/10/22. Thursday

8:00 –8:30 - My alarm goes off.  I have a headache and my body feels stiff so I take two Advil and lie in bed for another 30 minutes.

8:30 -9:00 – I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal.  She pooped next to the front door and, I find out later, in two other places on the patio. The dog is asleep in her little bed on the loveseat, so I sit next to her and rub her tummy until she’s ready to go outside. I show her a tennis ball, she grabs it, and we head to the backyard. I wait for her to go potty and we return inside: coffee for me; cheese for her.

-The carpet is dry [L. steam-cleaned it yesterday], so I return my furniture to my office and replace the carpet runners. I go upstairs.

9:00-10:00 – Shower. I sit in the shower, lean my head against the tiles, and ice my eyes. Lotion. Light make-up. I put on jeans, a silk-screen T-shirt, and a button-up cardigan.

-L. leaves for Honu Coffee.

10:00-10:30 – L. finally arrives with a coffee for me. My Mom arrives, too, with a pink sweater and a cute jean jacket that she found in her closet.  I put on the jean jacket immediately – it looks great!

10:30-11:30 – L., my Mom, and I drive to Korea Town for Bookclub Brunch at Guelaguetza, a Mexican restaurant we found in the LA 100 Best Restaurants magazine.  

The City of Los Angeles has a vaccine mandate and this is my first time showing my Vax Card before entering a restaurant as I rarely go to LA because LA is dirty and full of crime and homeless people. The hostess is rude – L. says it’s because we’re white. She stares at our cards, says nothing, then turns around and starts walking away rapidly.  I guess we’re supposed to follow?  

I have to say I don’t understand the “proof of vaccination” mandate. If you’re vaxed, like me, L., and my Mom, you can STILL transmit or contract Omicron…so what does it matter if you’re vaxed? Of course, proof of vaccination makes sense if the Covid vaccine was similar to previous vaccines we received when we were kids, like polio, measles, mumps, etc. By that I mean, once you’re vaccinated for Measles, Mumps, or Rubella (MMR), you won’t contract OR transmit those viruses so, yes, of course it makes sense to have a room filled solely with MMR vaccinated people because it represents a stronghold against the MMR virus or the Polio virus or TB or whatever.

HOWEVER, we’re treating the Covid vaccines the same way we treat MMR and Polio, BUT they’re NOT the same. The Covid vaccine’s only “superpower” is the prevention of death (and hospitalization in most cases). That’s it. 

So why do businesses bother asking if we’ve been vaccinated for Covid 19?  A room full of 100 vaccinated people will result in a room full of 80 to 100 people who will contract Omicron within the hour [please see the Dutch outbreak that was chronicled at the beginning of the Omicron surge – every  party-goer was vaxed and almost every party-goer contracted Omicron.]  The goal of “mandated vaccines” is to prevent the spread of the disease in question, BUT Covid vaccines do NOT prevent the spread of the disease!! Since the Covid vaccines don’t work the way they’re supposed to, wouldn’t it be more advantageous to make every customer present proof of a negative PCR test instead of showing a Vax Card, in order to truly “flatten the curve”? That is, if you can get a PCR test…and if it’s an accurate one. 

This restaurant doesn’t carry champagne so I order a margarita on the rocks.  It’s the worst margarita I’ve EVER had.  It’s so bad that I’m actually afraid the bartender slipped some sort of poison into the drink.  I tell L. and my Mom in case they need to call an ambulance. The standard “basket of chips at the table” doesn’t come with salsa. Instead, the chips arrive with this restaurant’s infamous “red mole sauce” which tastes terrible. We order quesadillas for an appetizer and the quesadillas are very good. At my Mon’s urging, I order a white wine, but they don’t have Pinot Grigio…just Chardonay. I order taquitos for my entrée, but they are lackluster at best…I’ve had better taquitos at my own local restaurant, Margaritas, and they’re not even featured in LA’s Top 100 Restaurants! The waiter is great and tries hard to make me happy. 

The book under discussion is Lady Parts, but L. didn’t bother to read it.  Out of all of our Bookclub Brunches, this is the only book that L. did not read.  Ironically, it happens to be my favorite. At the end of the meal, Mom and L. order flan and proclaim that it’s the best flan they’ve ever had. I hate flan so I pass. We leave and Mom pays. Thanks Mom!  Lexi leaves a horrible review on Yelp for this sketchy, janky restaurant. 

12:30-1:30 – Driving. L. is behind the wheel.

1:30-2:00 – Home and Mom says goodbye.

2:30-3:30 – I read Floating Feathers.

3:30-4:30 – I’m exhausted over, technically, doing nothing. Long Covid? I take a nap.

5:00-6:00 – I have two of my leftover taquitos and get ready for my Dual Enrollment meeting at 6:00. I Zoom in for what I think is a meeting that will contain important information about my Inglewood Highschool class, but after 15 minutes, nothing is going on so I log out.

-I check email at College No. 1 and 2, while listening to Audio lecture – Chapter 8 – Part 2 – for Specialty Class 1B. A lot of splicing is needed for this lecture.

-I continue purging papers from my filing cabinet and hole-punching home and health invoices for my binders in accordance with The Paper Solution.

6:00-6:30 – I leave for Striders, my night walking group.

6:30-7:00 – I cannot find the location.  Aaargh!! This group leaves promptly at 6:30 so by 6:40 I know it’s a lost cause.  I drive home, utterly pissed at myself! I normally scope out the meeting places a day or so earlier, but didn’t feel like doing that this week because I thought I knew where it was.

7:00-8:00 - Let the punishment begin. I use chores and activities I dislike to start MY disciplinary process. I take the dog for a walk.  She does not want to come in and we’re out there for a long time.  I listen to the New York Times Book Review.

8:00-8:15 – I change into workout attire.

8:15-8:30 – I do a 15-minute Insanity-Ab workout.

8:45-9:15 – I do a 30-minute Insanity Max – Cardio Challenge workout.

9:15-10:15 – I water my plants

-I glue a bracket on the back of the New Mexico tile that B. gave me because I’m going to hang it in my yard.

10:15-10:30 – Kitchen duty and I ready my coffee.

10:30-11:30 – I color my hair and listen to Wild Boys. While the color sets, I try on more pants in accordance with my Curated Closet project and discard.

11:30-12:30 – Shower and I rinse out the color. Spa Day. Lotion. I paint my toe nails.

1:00-3:00 – I braid most of my hair, but accidentally fall asleep…

3:00-3:45 – I finish brading my hair and lay my clothes out for tomorrow. I notice that my right eye is red. Pink eye?  Bed. I set my alarm for 8:00.