Day 18-LA County Dept. of Health urges masking indoors
Finished this book today…
7/16/21. Friday.
8:30-9:00 – I went to bed so early last night that I’m up around 8:00 today. I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal. She really seems happy that L. and I are back – maybe that’s why she shit next to the front door? God – when will this ever end? Same routine - the dog rolls over on her back, I rub her tummy three times, and then we go outside. She goes potty and we return inside – coffee for me, cheese for her. After all of the wonderful food I experienced in Vegas, I weigh in at only 99 pounds.
9:00-10:00 – I slice an apple and grab a packet of almond butter so I can eat my breakfast upstairs and read Widowish.
10:00-11:30 – I take a break from reading and ‘publish’ today’s class content for my summer class. Then, I check my email account at College No. 2. It’s been a few days since I checked the admin. emails although I’ve been checking my Canvas email and responding to the students daily. There’s around 60 admin emails and I wade through them.
For the first time since I started at College No. 2, I receive a Class Preference form to fill out for Spring Semester 2022. This is noteworthy in that for my last 18 months of employment, my Dean has told me when/what class I’ll be teaching. The Class Preference form means I’m actually able to request classes and times that work for me. It doesn’t mean I’ll get them, but I’m now able to offer an opinion. It’s a big step. I complete the form and scan it to the Dean’s secretary.
11:30-12:00 – I finish Widowish.
This is a sad memoir detailing the 12-year marriage of a couple in their late 30s/early 40s who have a 9-year-old daughter. However, the book actually starts around year 9 of their marriage when Jeff is suddenly afflicted by a disease affecting his legs, but which eventually turns out to be MS.
The next three years chronicles his horrible decline – he can barely walk and is in terrible pain – until one day, when he contracts a strange virus. Melissa takes Jeff to the hospital and it is all downhill from here, with Jeff being admitted to the ICU and slipping into a coma. Tests and more tests are conducted, but none of the doctors can provide a diagnosis (typical). Meanwhile, Jeff’s body shuts down, organ failure occurs, and he is unable to breathe on his own. Oh yeah – right around the time Jeff is dying, the doctors finally figure out he has West Nile virus. He liked gardening and was out in the yard a lot – sadly, a mosquito did him in, and Jeff is removed from life support.
The rest of the book goes on to detail Melissa’s life without her husband. She is now the sole parent, responsible for everything, and raising a teenager. This section of the book is interesting. It is unclear where her main source of income is coming from – for most of her daughter’s life, she was a stay-at-home Mom, on occasion submitting scripts to TV producers for some pocket change. She doesn’t appear to have taken her career seriously after her daughter was born.
What I didn’t like about the book is that, just 6 months later, she has a new beau…Marcos, who could be Jeff’s clone [google their pictures - it’s creepy]. As it turns out, Marcos and Jeff were friends and Marcos is a music teacher for most of the kids in Melissa’s neighborhood (Marcos teaches guitar). Although Melissa wails about how conflicted she is to be dating this soon and hides Marcos from her daughter, she’s really not that conflicted because she and Marcos enter into a hot and heavy relationship from the moment he officially asks her out. Then, she has a party at her house and introduces him to all of her friends and Jeff’s friends. I hate to judge – who knows how I would feel after losing a long-term partner - but it’s absolutely appalling. 6 months??!!
The last third of the book details Melissa’s budding relationship with Marcos and, for me, goes downhill from here. I fight the good fight and valiantly make it across the finish line, even though I wanted to put the book down 100 pages ago. I’m on the fence with this recommendation.
-L. leaves for work in a bad mood because she is assigned to teach the last day of an Art Camp. Typically, the same teacher is assigned to the Art Camp for the entire week, but L. is coming in on Day 5 and will be responsible for touching up/fixing the students’ mistakes. I say to L., What can I do for you to make this a better day? and she says Money. Nope, try again. L. asks me to pick up some sparkling Elderberry at World Market – she says that will make her feel better. L. will return around 7:00.
12:00-12:30 – One of my students had difficulty enrolling in summer session and missed the first week of assignments so I promised her that I would email the quizzes to her. Ordinarily, I would not let a student make these up but she said Administration and Records told her it would be okay. I don’t need any trouble, so I send her four quizzes to be completed ASAP. Spoiler Alert – I never hear from the student again.
1:00-2:00 – I microwave a frozen fish dinner with rice that I made months ago and listen To Live and Die in LA.
2:00-4:00 – It’s so hot…I’m feeling lethargic so I listen to Martinis and your Money, then take a nap.
4:00-5:00 – Shower. Lotion. I wash and condition my hair. Covid-19 uniform. I listen to Fresh Air.
5:00-6:00 – I braid my hair and listen to the Political Gabfest.
6:00-7:00 – I need to hurry if I’m going to pick up the Elderberry before L. gets home from work. I stop by World Market but am unclear which flavor to get, so I buy three different flavors. Spoiler Alert – the next day, L. will tell me that she doesn’t like the Elderberry Cordial and I will have to return it as it retails for $10.00. No good deed goes unpunished.
7:00-9:00 – My backyard needs a lot of attention. I sweep the patio and spend most of my time cleaning out the red-rock bed and picking up the blue/green glass pebbles so I can wash them. I also create a trellis out of green wire for one of my climbing vine sections. I listen to The Weeds, Today Explained, and Planet Money while I’m gardening. All of these episodes address the sky-rocketing inflation that’s currently hitting our economy right now and I’m trying to get a handle on that.
9:00-9:30 – I break and take the dog for a walk. I listen to What Next.
9:30-11:00 – Back to the yard and I water all of my plants and then clean my patio table with dish washing soap. I listen to AirTalk Film Week while I work.
11:00-11:45 – Kitchen duty – I straighten the kitchen and have a few potato chips. I listen to By the Book.
11:45-1:00 – I go upstairs and eat a few walnuts and cheese cubes, while I read a Money Diary. I rest my eyes briefly. Uh oh.
1:15-1:30 – Awake and I do a 15-minute Insanity – Cardio Abs workout, followed by;
1:45-2:45 – a 1-hour Insanity Core Recovery. I run out of steam the last 10 minutes – this is a little late to be working out, even for me…
2:45-3:30 – Blog posts
3:30-4:30 – Nighttime routine. Bed. I set my alarm and listen to the most recent episode of The Turning.