Day 7 - CDC recommends all J&J patients get a booster after 2 months

Another no-go at the dog park today…

10/27/21. Wednesday

6:00-L. leaves for her 18-hour day at Otis.

7:30-8:00 – I’m up early this morning to set up the Discussion Board and course content for my highschoolers. The dog is out of it even though L. must have woken her as she was leaving. I sit next to the dog and rub her tummy until she’s awake enough to go outside although she already pooped in the house near the front door (great). I cue the dog, she grabs her tennis ball, and we head outside. I scan the backyard to see how my plants are doing until she finishes going potty. Return inside and I make coffee for myself and give the dog cheese. Finally, I clean up the dog poop and go to work. 

8:00-12:00-Two highschoolers inform me they have a short day due to an assembly.  As a result, there is not enough time for them to take the quiz that’s assigned today.  I reconfigure the quiz deadline from this morning, at 10:05, to Friday.

-Two students missed last week’s chapter review quiz due to approved absences so I email them the quizzes. 

-I update the last two weeks of Attendance for my highschoolers; then 

-switch to my Asynchronous (online) class and update the last two weeks of Attendance for these students also. 

10:05 – Class dismissed, although technically it was dismissed at 9:30 today.  For those who haven’t figured it out yet, my highschoolers attend a private Catholic school and my class ended early today because the students had “adoration”, whatever that means.  I am constantly being told by the same two students, whom I trust btw, that class is ending early for this or that religious ceremony, rite, or assembly.  If I had to estimate, it’s possible that 10 to 20 hours were shaved off this class for the Fall 2021 semester. 

-I check email at College No. 2; then

-check email at College No. 1. I touch base with a few of my online students who failed to sign in on Monday’s Discussion Board, letting them know they were marked absent. I’m done with work for this morning and shut everything down. 

12:00-12:30 – I start a load of laundry and make some scrambled eggs with pepper-jack cheese.

12:30-1:30 – Shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform. Light make-up. 

1:30-2:00 – I straighten up the downstairs, open a few windows, and make sure my air purifier is working  just in time before; 

2:00-3:00 – the Home Security Alarm contractor arrives.  He’s masked and I’m masked. Recall that L. and I have been unable to set the alarm for weeks and there is no door chime for the front door.  I don’t subscribe to an actual alarm company so I’m hoping this vendor, whom B. found online, can diagnose the problem. 

-I sit at my counter and read Lady Parts while the contractor diagnoses the problem. He has several questions and I have to keep going into the living room to answer them, BUT he seems professional and competent.  

-The vendor is finished and pronounces the door sensor as “bad.” Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the part. What a surprise.  He will return on Friday.  Great. 

3:00-5:30 – I take a nap. 

5:30-6:00 – The pile of dishes from L.’s butternut squash soup dinner is still there, so I put a hurt on some of them before the dog and I leave for the dog park.   

6:00-7:00-Yet another unpleasant experience at the dog park.  The dog refuses to enter the “small dog section” because a lone Chihuahua won’t stop barking and growling at her as we approach the fence. The dog starts jumping on my leg, begging to be picked up – it’s obvious that she’s terrified. I abort the mission, put her back on leash, and she and I walk around the “park” – NOT the DOG park – instead. 

7:00-7:30 – I’m ready to go but the dog doesn’t want to leave and digs her heels in, literally, as we approach the car. I’ve really had enough so I scoop her up and we leave, stopping by the ATM on the way home. 

7:30-8:00 – I drop the dog off and leave for one of my guilty pleasures – a tall Peppermint Hot Chocolate with whipped cream, at Starbucks.  I need some motivation before I start working on tomorrow night’s class. 

8:00-10:00 – Return home and it’s back to work. I listen to my Chapter 11 Audio Lecture for inconsistencies and outdated material. L. will have to slice-and-dice a few minutes off the back end and I need her to change two images on the Google slides for this chapter. 

-I update course content and the Discussion Board prompt for my Friday morning class (the highschoolers). 

 – L. is home early tonight, if you can call 10:30 early, and graciously makes the above changes to my class even though she must be exhausted. She airdrops the new lecture into three Canvas shells and I’m good to go.  We talk about her day at school before she starts her nightly shower and I start my yardwork. 

10:00-12:30 – I rake leaves, sweep the patio, trim my plants, and water everything.  The plumber is coming tomorrow to assess a sketchy pipe affixed to my hot water heater and also look at a leaky faucet in the backyard.   

Backstory: the faucet in my backyard leaks continuously and the plumber who came out under my Home Warranty plan [$75 co-pay AND I pay $700 a year for this service] refused to fix the leak because he said it’s “normal” for outdoor faucets installed in the early ‘aughts’ [2000s] to leak. Really. [insert sarcastic emoji here]. It’s normal for this particular faucet to leak to the point of flooding the sidewalk/patio area where my trashcans and jasmine vines sit? I don’t think so.  Due to the fact that this plumber refused to fix it, I had to go outside my Home Warranty plan and call a private plumber, “Gil”, who is yet another referral from B.  In fact, B. will meet Gil at my house as B. has worked with him in the past. Overall, B.’s referrals have been 4 to 5-star material. Since Gil is coming to assess the hot water heater and the leaky faucet, I might as well have him look at every plumbing issue I have currently. The only problem is I will have to pay full price instead of just a $75 copay…

I can’t end this section without adding that the plumbing vendor under my Home Warranty plan is absolutely worthless, although he did fix the “T-bar” atop the hot water heater last month…BUT, he won’t do anything else other than unclog drains. 

12:30-1:30 – I read Lady Parts. This book is sooo good! 

1:30-2:15 – I do a 30-minute Insanity Max – Friday Fight, then grade 2 extra credit essays. 

2:15-3:00 – Kitchen duty and I finally finish the dishes from L.’s butternut squash soup! I fold my air mattress and sleeping bag and store in the closet. B. returned them to me because “tent time” season is over.  Too cold. 

-I print out a list of the plumbing repairs that should be addressed to ensure I don’t forget or miss anything. I also print out a list of products I need at CVS as I shore up my 2022 inventory.  B. happens to have a $10 coupon that he is willing to give me, but I’m only able to pass it in B.’s presence, so we are going to CVS tomorrow before the coupon expires. 

3:00-3:30 – Nighttime routine. Bed.