Day 12 - California Reopening Plan - Phase 2

8:45-9:00 - The dog doesn’t bark, so I come downstairs. She did poop, however, near the front door. I take her out and marvel at my backyard - it looks so beautiful. I drink my Hydroflask. We come inside and I give her cheese.

9:00-9:30 - I go to E-trade and buy shares of stocks in Michaels and Southwest Airlines. Although my focus is/was on ethically sourced products, I’ve decided to purchase stock in companies whose products/customer service I’ve enjoyed or appreciated. I drink my coffee.

9:30-10:30 - I shower and dress in my Covid-19 uniform then leave for my therapy session.

11:00-11:30 - Therapy: I discuss what happened with L. yesterday. My therapist thinks midnight is an appropriate “curfew” if you want to call it that. To me, it’s more about consideration.

11:30-1:00-I report to the bank and cash out the $500 evidence fund (in exchange for a cashier’s check) I received when I was Acting Supervisor in July 2019. I need to send the cashier’s check to Headquarters. Customers aren’t allowed in the bank without a mask - there’s a sign on the door. I’m actually glad. When did wearing a mask become politicized among party lines? I think we can all agree that a face covering of some sort is helpful, whether you’re a Democrat or Republican. A fat, stupid, hick, comes in wearing a makeshift mask, pulled under his nose. I have the distinct impression that this is his way of complying, yet defying, the masking request by the bank. I mean, by this time in the pandemic, we all know how to wear a mask. If you don’t you’re a complete moron.

-I pick up my repaired pillow covering from the dry-cleaners. It was $16 for a basic zipper repair, but I gladly pay it - I hope it helps him.

-I really want to buy three plants/flowers for a few containers I have so I stop by Home Depot to see how busy it is. The parking lot is packed and the line is quite long to get in the store. While in the parking lot, I drive by the gardening section, where I used to wander and look at plants. I see that the gardening entrance is blocked; customers are only allowed to exit from what used to be an entrance. All of this seems overwhelming to me and I drive away, depressed. I think about buying seeds online, but would rather have the instant gratification of blooming flowers. I don’t think this is going to happen.

1:00-3:30 - I binge watch Bosch and have some of L.’s leftovers from Dave’s Hot Chicken. I hope she doesn’t mind (she’s still asleep).

3:30-5:30 - Still trying to register for French 102 at my local community college. It appears that auditing is out, so I’m willing to pay for the class, but my enrollment status is blocked because Admissions and Records failed to post my transcript from a different community college showing that I took French 101 last year. Even though I personally spoke with a counselor in January 2020 and proffered my transcript, as well as scanned my transcript to Admissions at a later date. These wranglings have to be completed through email, because the employees at my local community college refuse to speak on the phone. The website actually states this; that they will not take phone calls. This is hard to understand. I mean US-based corporations have Bangladeshian phone banks. Can’t the college employees take calls from their home?

-I’m close to aborting the online glasses project. Today, I finally find the perfect pair, but Glassesusa.com doesn’t take my VSP insurance and I can’t afford to pay out of pocket. I think I’m going to be stuck with my current glasses for awhile.

-I have a past due notice from my AAA life insurance, stating that I have not submitted payment, when I mailed it on 5/1/20. I check my account and it hasn’t cleared so I call AAA - they’re closed.

5:30-6:30 - I check email from my state job and handle a few tasks. Then, I check email from my college - the students are silent. I think I can finally post semester grades, even though they’re not due until 6/2/20.

L. , N., and J., leave for Crispy Creme, in Burbank. They are offering free donuts to all students wearing their cap-and-gown.

6:30-7:30 p.m. - I’m a bit behind on my budgetary spreadsheets - so much happened since Covid-19 and all of the shelter-in-place orders - so I update my February expenditures and log them in the appropriate columns on the spreadsheet. It takes longer than I thought.

7:30-9:00 - I prep the $30-pork chops and stuff them with a mashed potato/corn/onion/bell pepper mixture.. Although they are over-priced, I note that they are excellent cuts of meat. I put them in the crock pot (they need to cook for 4 1/2 hours) and clean the kitchen.

9:00-12:00 a.m. - I get a few texts from L. stating that the Crispy Creme line is 2 hours - by 12:00 a.m., she’s still not home. I go upstairs and start working on tomorrow’s French presentation. I hear the garage door at 12:30, so L. is home.

12:00-1:30 - I watch the last episode of Married at First Sight, alone. I can’t keep track of L.’s schedule anymore and never know when she’ll return. This episode’s a nail-biter!

1:30-3:00 -I go downstairs to turn off the crock pot. I see that L. has turned it OFF, when she got home, although it is unclear why - I would have texted her to turn off the crock pot if this was necessary. The meat didn’t cook fully and the pork is ruined - the only thing salvageable is the vegetable mixture that I used to stuff the pork chops. I am absolutely furious. The pork was overpriced and now we can’t even eat it. Oddly, L. turned the crock pot off as she must have assumed I was asleep, but then failed to set the house alarm - a true problem as the last person who enters the house has to set it so it will be armed while we’re sleeping.

I return to my room and have difficulty falling asleep. Spoiler Alert: The next day L. will tell me that she turned off the Crock Pot because it was overflowing onto the floor. Sounds like a legitimate reason to me.