Day 6 - California Reopening Plan - Phase 2.5 for LA County
My favorite podcast…
Sunday.
6:00 - I wake up and take two Advil for cramps, then go back to bed.
8:00-the dog starts barking. I take her out and give her cheese then go back to bed. I don’t want to get up. I don’t want to do anything.
12:00 – 1:00 - L. wakes me up and says she’s going to coffee with R. I figure it’s time to get out of bed. I read a Money Diary and the HELOC paperwork that I received via mail yesterday so I can be as informed as possible. The HELOC paperwork is boring. I drink my Hydroflask of water.
1:00-3:30 – I prepare for my work week and check email at my state job, then get all of my paperwork ready and create a to-do list. I have to go in tomorrow as I have a subject interview. There is no way around it.
I check email for both colleges: I see that I’m scheduled to attend a convocation for a student from my International Relations course via Zoom on Wednesday in the evening. I send an email blast to my high school students congratulating them for going the distance with their college class and reminding them that the Final is on Tuesday - nobody responds.. I also check my personal email. I drink my coffee.
3:30-5:00 – I try to do a cardio workout through blu-ray on the downstairs TV, but it doesn’t work. I’m so frustrated. I text L. and tell her how frustrated I am. She returns home with coffee from Starbucks for me (how nice!) and we call her Dad (my ex) and ask him to fix the TV. It goes poorly for some time until they fix it!!! I am so happy.
5:00-5:30 – I place my weekly order through Walmart.com for non-perishables. I purchase razor refills and a picnic blanket for my solo park tours.
5:30-6:00 – I have a couple bites of yogurt mixed with apples, walnuts, and honey then do the cardio workout. Not hungry today. Curfew starts at 6:00 p.m. tonight on account of the riots.
6:15-6:45 – I have the rest of the “cheesy chicken pasta” I cooked the other day then take the dog for a walk, in violation of the city curfew. Fuck it.
The host of one of my favorite podcasts, Shannon McClay - Martinis and your Money - said in her most recent podcast - more specifically, the Happy Hour episode with her three friends that she holds the last Friday of every month - that she is struck by the “sameness of it all.” She lives in New York and, prior to Covid-19, traveled extensively for her business, the Financial Gym. When she wasn’t traveling, she passed the time going to and fro between her home and her boyfriend’s home (he’s 70, she’s in her early 40s), until he got Covid-19, suffered a stroke, and is now in a rehabilitative facility, aka nursing home, recovering. In light of the New York quarantine, during the past three months, she has gone nowhere save the grocery store. She spends her days cooking three squares for her 15-year-old [she and her ex have joint custody] and that’s about it. Some days she doesn’t get out of bed, although those days mostly occur when her son is with her ex as she tries to keep it together during the weeks she has custody.
The reason I take time out of this blog to mention the host of a favorite podcast is because I feel like that, too, even though I actually go places and I’m still working. Life is starting to look pretty colorless. Maybe it took longer for it to hit me than it did other people because I genuinely like my home and I’m an introvert. But, I think I’ve arrived.
One of the women on the Happy Hour episode noted the number of dishes she is constantly washing…I’ve noticed that, too. The drudgery of every day is particularly acute right now. I hate my state job, but is this what retirement will be like for me? Things seem especially bleak during the summer, when I have no college classes to occupy my time. At the same time, it is hard to get motivated to do much of anything.
7:30-9:00 – I have a phone conversation with B.
9:30-11:30 – I clean the kitchen, then cook the salmon I bought yesterday for the salmon- tomato-avocado, salad for L. I graze and have a few bites of salmon and a few slivers of avocado. I have champagne. I make overnight oats for breakfast tomorrow, which I’ll eat at work, and pack my lunch: spring salad with tomatoes, boiled eggs, and pieces of the chicken I cooked the other day. I add an orange-infused dark chocolate bar. I clean up everything and take the dog out. Then, I buy two tickets for B. and I for the Descanso Gardens on Wednesday.
11:30 – 12:15 - I color my hair. L. helps a little. While the color sits, L and I watch Married at First Sight. We find out that, although Luke tells Kate he doesn’t like her “excessive” drinking (which is a complete lie), the other night, he got wasted and didn’t come home. When he finally did arrive, it was 3:00 am and he was so drunk, he vomited on the floor. What a hypocrite.
12:15-12:45 – We break so I can wash my hair and take a shower.
1:00-1:15 – we finish the episode of Married.
1:15 – 2:30 - I braid my hair and get ready for bed. As usual, it takes forever.