Day 7 - Los Angeles lifts its vaccine mandate. A vax card is no longer required.
B and I strolled the Japanese Gardens today…
..then stopped at the Sepulveda Basin…
4/6/22. Wednesday
8:00-8:30 - I’m awake, but I lie in bed for transition time.
8:30-9:00 - I go downstairs to greet the animal but she’s still asleep, so I sit next to her on the couch and rub her tummy. Eventually, I cue her to go outside and she grabs her toy. Outside we go and I stand around and survey my plants while I wait for the dog to do her business. Return inside and coffee for me; cheese for her. I go upstairs.
9:00-10:00-I check email at College No 2. One of my students sent me the answers to a Chapter Review Quiz so I tabulate and post his grade. Then, I set up the Canvas shell for my class tomorrow. I also check email at College No. 1
10:00-11:00 - I upload a blog post; then
11:00-11:30 - make scrambled eggs and cheese, eat a few bites, and store the extra.
11:30-12:30-Shower. I sit in the shower, drink my coffee, and ice my eyes. Lotion. Light make-up. I put on “Athletic Housewife” attire: tank top; sports bra; yoga pants; tennis shoes.
12:30-1:30-B. arrives and we head to the Japanese Gardens, located in Lake Balboa. I booked this day/time last week with the hope that B. and I would be in time to see the cherry blossoms before they are out of bloom. The Japanese Gardens website is incredibly difficult to navigate and it’s not because I’m a luddite. When you click on “Reserve Time Slot”, you’re redirected to a calendar with the only option that says “Join Waiting List.” None of it makes any sense, but I clicked on the “Join” button and the 1:30 time slot is what I “won.” The upside is that tickets are free; the downside is it’s impossible to select the date/time that you prefer and every patron is only allowed ONE hour to explore the garden. I’m curious how this will be enforced…at 65 minutes, will Security arrive to forcibly remove us from the park?
1:30-2:30-B. and I arrive and imagine my surprise when I discover that the Japanese Gardens is actually the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant. Apparently, you can book a tour of the plant…or you could book a tour, before Covid. Tours are no longer available…it’s unclear why.
The landscape architecture is masterful. The water reclamation plant is an industrial building, set to the side and completely surrounded by Japanese gardens and sculpture. Make no mistake…this is a water reclamation plant. To ensure you understand what a water reclamation plant is, here is the definition: “A water reclamation plant effectively removes pollutants from sewage to produce recycled water”, but this is never discussed in the literature and handouts. Instead, the focus is on the Japanese Gardens themselves, with nothing said about shit and piss being turned into water and pumped into the surrounding residents’ homes. Does wastewater Covid testing also take place here?
The Japanese Gardens are heavily guarded. We can’t access/enter the driveway that leads to the Japanese Gardens without clearance from the security guard manning the gate. The security guard uses his radio to contact the front office to make sure B. and I are here at the appropriate time. After we enter and park the car, B. and I have to check in with the “park ranger” at the kiosk. He makes it clear that we only have ONE hour to walk the grounds and we must wear a mask in all indoor areas, such as the public restroom. It makes sense that security is tight. We’re talking about water, after all.
I needn’t have worried about the ONE hour time limit. You can walk these tiny gardens in about 15 minutes…BUT, they’re beautiful. Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms have largely died, although there is one lone tree blooming, so we missed the season. It is pushing 90 degrees today and really hot…I’m ready to leave after an hour anyway.
2:30-3:00-The Sepulveda Water Basin Reserve is right next door and was recommended by Awshook. He said it was a great place for birdwatching (water birds) because they don’t fly away…these birds like to hang out in the water. B. and I check it out and it reminds me of Echo Park [after the clean-up]. There’s a large lake, picnic tables, swan boats for rent, places for children to play… it’s a park and, yes, there are cranes and seagulls here. Several families are hanging out and having a good time.
Lest you not understand what I’m referencing when I mention the Sepulveda Water Basin Reserve, here’s a description: “While there is very little natural flow of water in the LA River throughout most of the year, reclaimed waste water now flows into the Los Angeles River via the Sepulveda Dam Basin from the Donald Tillman Water Reclamation facility. [Japanese Gardens]. This water is of a very high quality, though not potable.”
In other words, shit and piss flow through the Sepulveda Water Basin Reserve into the Tillman Water Reclamation facility, where it’s purified for Lake Balboa residents. B. and I leave.
3:00-4:00-Driving. We go to BJs and, this time, we go inside for Happy Hour - the prices are very reasonable.
4:00-6:00-Nobody is masking and by 4:30, the place is packed! I’m never coming here again - there are too many people breathing/coughing right next to me. I have two glasses of Prosecco and eat some of B.’s bottomless fries. We leave.
6:00-9:00-Happy Hour continues at my house and B. and I watch Phoenix Rising, the Marilyn Manson documentary. I like the documentary and L. and I eventually end up watching the movie in its entirety. B. leaves.
9:00-10:30-I’m starving so I heat up a salmon and rice dish that I made previously and decide to watch Master. I finish eating my fish and fall asleep in my chair, 20 minutes into the movie. When I wake up, the movie is over.
10:30-11:30-Kitchen duty and I ready my lunch bag and coffee while listening to True Crime Garage. I make sure all of my school supplies are ready for tomorrow.
11:30-12:15 - Nighttime routine. Bed