Day 13 - Governor Newsom rescinds restrictions. Outdoor dining reinstated!

A disturbing read…

1/6/21. Saturday.

8:00–8:15-L. is up early because she has to work at the studio.  She takes the dog out then leaves for work. I go back to sleep.

10:30 –11:00 - I go downstairs and the dog is taking a nap.  Even though L. took her out this morning, we still follow the routine.  I rub her tummy three times, she grabs her toy, and out we go. What a beautiful day! The weather is great! She does her business and we go inside: coffee for me, chicken for her.

11:00-12:30 – I read Inferno then stop to have some of the yogurt, apple, walnut yogurt I prepared 6 days ago. Continue reading.

12:30-2:00 – Blog post.

-L. returns from work, acting self-righteous because she woke up early today and I didn’t.  I’m still in my pajamas, but I’m reading and writing.  It’s not like I’m not doing anything.  L. says to me, sarcastically, “Good Morning!”  She woke up early ONCE and now she’s a morning person. Go figure.

2:00-2:30 - L. said she would help me stream the “Prism” opera from the computer to our big TV at 2:00. I am patiently waiting but L. says this is not going to happen at 2:00 because she is still in the middle of her online Final.  This task that I asked L. to help me with on Thursday will take 10 minutes.

-Wash face. Contacts. Dressed. Bike uniform.

2:30-3:00 – I take the dog for a walk.  It’s warm enough for a tank top.

3:00 – 3:30 - L. is finally available and irritated at me for some reason.  She is able to stream the opera from the computer to the TV, but the picture is very jerky and starts and stops.  The music does not coincide with their mouths. Just as I thought, this task took 10 minutes.

L. leaves for R.’s house.

3:30-4:30 – I go on a bike ride.  Still a beautiful day!

4:30 – 6:00 – Yard work. I pick the dog poop off the astroturf, then rake all the leaves out of the beds surrounding the astroturf.  I trim dead leaves from all of my plants then water everything.

Back inside and the dog vomited on the couch.  Great.

6:30-9:00 – Dinner is a salad with pieces of the mustard-bake chicken added in.

-I finish Inferno.  What a book!  This is a memoir written by a woman who suffered from post-partum psychosis.  She literally had a psychotic break 90 days after she gave birth. What is most fascinating about the text is that she is able to recall the majority of the psychosis and what she was thinking at the exact moment she is departing from reality.  There is a sick twisted logic concerning her actions during this 7-day descent into madness (she actually ends up in a psych ward).

For example, her son’s eyes turn into red devil eyes, so, of course, she thinks she’s in hell and surrounded by demons. Alice in Wonderland was able to eat cake and drink something in order to escape her alterreality, so the author begins looking for the item that will transport her out of hell – she tries to eat her glasses and a plastic protector at the bottom of a chair leg. The medical staff in the ER keep transforming into demons so, of course, she thinks they are trying to kill her and reacts accordingly. As I said above, it is fascinating that she is able to write about it.  She provides a play-by-play of what she was experiencing and the logic behind her reactions…but, after the fact, of course.  Because she’s in the middle of a psychotic break, she is powerless to return to reality.  Her husband, parents, and in-laws watch her transformation in shock.

I don’t like to victim-blame but shortly after the baby is born, the author suggests to her husband that they travel around the country, with the baby, to see their friends and family, while they are both on maternity/paternity leave.  The husband, although skeptical, agrees and off they go…traveling here, there, taking planes, no consistent sleep schedule, constant breast feeding.  Honestly, it’s ridiculous and I kept thinking, at each stop, “What are they doing?!”  The baby is only two months old!  At the very last stop – a visit with her in-laws, which can make anyone crack, even under the best of circumstances – she actually goes insane. It appears to be triggered by a lack of sleep and her nutty in-laws, although the actual diagnosis is “postpartum psychosis.”  Disturbing book.  Highly recommend.

9:00-2:00 a.m. – I go to work.  I research the Israel/Palestine conflict and prepare a script and accompanying slides.  Then, I match the slides to the Chapter 5 review Quiz and select audio clips for everything.

-L returns from R.’s house.

 -I record Part I of the Chapter 5 Lecture.

2:00-2:45 – The kitchen is a mess.  L. did a financial analysis of her spending on take-out items and deemed it excessive.  Instead of buying to-go food all the time, L. signed up with Daily Harvest for a total of $177 per month, which is much less than what she spent on to-go food in December.  The food is delivered to our door and L. gets “3 squares” a day. There is light preparation involved, but L. says it’s easy and the food tastes good. Unfortunately, a lot of dishes and pans are used for the food prep. and end up in the sink.

2:45-3:15 – Night time routine. Bed.