Day 9 - the WHO names Omicron a “variant of concern”
I installed the pink lights on the ivy wall tonight…project complete.
12/3/21. Friday
8:00-8:30 – The course content is ready and on a timer so I get to sleep in a little. Up and I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal. She’s asleep on the couch so I sit next to her and rub her tummy for a few minutes – then it’s time for the backyard. Outside and she chases after a bird before finally settling in and going potty. Return inside and cheese for her while I make a cup of coffee. I go to work.
8:30-10:05 – The highschoolers are listening to lecture and watching the first 30 minutes of a documentary. A Video Quiz for the documentary they watched on Wednesday was due by 8:45 a.m. today (Friday), which means the students had 48 hours to complete the quiz. By 8:45 a.m., all of the students but ONE have taken the quiz and scored a 10 out of 10. The lone student emails me, asking for an extension because “everyone” had WiFi issues while they were watching the video on Wednesday. I don’t think so. Not one student emailed me that they were having internet issues and everybody got a 10…except this student…he scored a 3.
-Because my salary is solely based on actual teaching time, it’s advantageous for me to work when I’m actually getting paid, so I start compiling semester grades for my Thursday class at College No. 1.
-I check email at College No. 2.
9:45-10:30 – I break to take a shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform. I listen to What Next.
10:40-11:00 – Driving. I put my make-up on in the car. I listen to Today Explained.
11:00-11:30 – Therapy. I discuss my socialization project with my therapist. I have some major scheduling conflicts with some of the activities I’m considering joining so I ask my therapist to put on her Life Coach hat so we can problem-solve. Below are the following “word problems.”:
-I’m assigned to another high school class, beginning in February, but the high school is in Inglewood and meets every Tuesday and Thursday, from 8:00-9:30 a.m. These are the same days the Docent Naturalist training program meets [T/Th – 9:00-12:00], which is something I really want to do. Then, there’s also the 6-week hiking class that meets every Tuesday, from 8:45-10:00 a.m., sponsored by the City of Santa Clarita. I’ve been looking for a reputable, safe, hiking group for years. Finally, there’s a walking group called Striders, also through the City of Santa Clarita, that meets on Thursday nights. I’m skeptical about this class…where will we be walking if it meets at night?
I bounce all of the above off my therapist and she suggests that I contact the high school liaison and see if they can change the days…maybe Mon/Wed instead of Tues/Thurs… In the meantime, she recommends I join the Thursday evening Striders club, continue bird watching the first two Saturdays of the month, and take the dog to the dog park once a week.
11:30-1:00 – I drive to Kohls and complete a few bullet journals in the parking lot before I go in. I have a few pieces of dark chocolate that I dip in almond butter.
1:00-1:30 – This month, I continue to manipulate my Kohls cash and coupons. I have another 25% coupon that expires today, so I combine it with my Kohl’s cash and buy socks. I listen to The New Yorker - Politics and More.
1:30-2:00 – L. is on my dental plan and went to the dentist two weeks ago. I just received an invoice informing me that I owe $60 for a missed appointment that I blew off and L. owes $75 for…something?? I stop by the dentist and dispute the bill. The $60 missed appointment fee is removed when I reschedule my appointment and the fee I was billed for L.’s appointment was actually covered by Delta Dental. The end result is I owe nothing! Rarely do things work out like this.
2:00-2:30 – I drive to Home Depot and pick up the two metal saw horses I ordered.
2:30-3:00 – Home and I put away my socks and set up the saw horses in the garage.
3:00-3:30 – L. picked up an order of tacos from a taco truck in Newhall yesterday, so I have three tacos and read Deep Work.
3:30-4:15 – I give the dog a bath, then put her outside and wait for her to dry off.
4:30-5:00 – I take the dog to the dog park, but it’s late and starting to get dark. As soon as I arrive, everyone leaves. It’s poor planning on my part – we should have come earlier.
5:00-6:00 – We hang around inside the dog park because nobody is there and the dog likes being off-leash. Then, I put her back on leash and we walk around the actual park. I listen to Happier. A Trump supporter in a huge truck enters the parking lot at full speed, screaming out the window about something, with his barking dog in the bed of the truck. The dog and I leave.
6:00-6:30 – Driving. I listen to Happier.
6:30-7:00 – I set up the two sawhorses and put the piece of glass I had lying around on top to form a table. I listen to The Waves.
7:00-7:30 – I start putting together the artificial white Xmas tree that I bought for this space in anticipation of the Xmas dinner that I’m hosting.
7:30-8:30 – L. returns from work and actually asks me if I need help. I can’t believe it! We finish putting the tree together – everything goes so much faster when there are two people splitting the work – and then I make an adjustment to her easel since I have another set of hands to hold it up. L. moves her stereo to the sawhorse table and it looks great. I set up the space heaters and L. and I test them out. I think I need ONE more – three space heaters should be enough to warm the room during Xmas dinner.
8:30-10:30 – L. and I brainstorm about workbenches and seating with regard to “Xmas in the Garage.” She pulls up a few options and emails them to me, before heading upstairs to get ready for bed.
I stay behind and hang the 6 strands of pink lights on the ivy wall. I listen to Air talk and Film Week.
11:00-11:45 – Kitchen duty and I pack my lunch bag and ready my coffee. I listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour.
12:00 – 1:00 – I read Deep Work, but accidentally fall asleep.
1:30-2:00 – Nighttime routine. Bed. I set my alarm for 6:00 a.m.