Day 18 - LA County enters Red Tier

I biked to the Santa Monica Pier today…

4/1/21. Thursday

9:30 – 10:30 - I had grandiose plans to wake up around 8:00, but it didn’t happen. I’m up and I go downstairs to say good morning to the animal. Her new haircut looks so nice and I think she knows that she’s a “pretty girl”, because now she’s more upbeat.  If you look good, you feel good, right?!  I rub her tummy three times, she grabs her ball, and we go outside.  Another beautiful day!  She does her business and we return inside – prosciutto for her treat; coffee for me.

Upstairs and I put on my biking uniform. Wash face. Contacts. Brush teeth.  I grab a sweatshirt and my parka (just in case), my lunch bag, Hydro, bike bag, and I leave for Santa Monica.

10:30-11:45 – Traffic is absolutely horrible.  Gridlock on the 405 has returned.  I thought this would all be avoided if I went on a Thursday, but no…  I think LA traffic is an indicator of the normal ebb and flow of life.  By all appearances, the pandemic is over and everyone has returned to work.  Did we forget everything we learned about WFH?  The ease and convenience of it?  I don’t want to return to “normal.”

I have apples and almond butter in the car and listen to The Daily.

11:45 – 12:15 – I find a parking spot on Ocean Avenue with a blinking parking meter, but I’m not sure how to pay because the parking meter slot is blocked.  I move to a different meter next to my parking space and put in my credit card, where I’m automatically charged the minimum $5.00.  Then, I move my car to that space instead.  Then, I realize that the meter I just loaded is for the space on the other side of the parking lot! I think the parking lot I’m in is actually free, which means I just forfeited $5.00. All of this is so confusing.  This is not going well at all and I see several transients walking around. It’s very crowded here – some people are masking, some aren’t.

I get out of my car and advance to the beach on foot to determine the best way to get to the bike path. I see more parking lots, with lots of empty spaces, directly on the beach.  One is for short-term parking; one is for long-term parking.  Back to my car and I drive down to the beach, to the parking attendant. I realize I accidentally picked the long-term parking lot.  He charges me $10!!  When I ask if there’s anything short-term, he instructs me to circle around his booth, exit this parking lot, and enter the adjoining parking lot. 

I can’t take it anymore.  I have no idea where to go and there are several empty spaces in this parking lot, which is helpful because I need space to pull my bike out of the back seat.  I bite the bullet and give him a $20 – he gives me $10 change and mocks me for not going to the short-term.  Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea. I’ve just lost $15.

I park in the back of the parking lot, with empty spaces on both sides, pull my bike out of the car and assemble the bike basket. It’s hot and I’m overdressed with regard to my bike pants – I make a mental note for next time – but I ride through the parking lot to the bike path and I’m doing it! I’m riding my bike on the Santa Monica bike path!  I successfully transported my bike to Santa Monica in my back seat!!!  This means I can, conceivably, take my bike anywhere in the United States.  It’s not like I’m going on a road trip, but still!!

12:15-1:15 – I ride to the Santa Monica pier then turn around and take the path to the start of Venice Beach.  As a general rule, I don’t like Venice, so I turn around and head back to the parking lot. I pass two beach cafes on the sand and also The Terrazza where L. and I ate at Casa Del Mar.  There’s another fancy hotel right next to it, with beachside dining – is this Shutters on the Beach? – and I consider loading my bike and then going on foot to this restaurant… but L. already gave me two options – Blue Acorn and Bru’s Whiffle – so I decide to scout out these restaurants instead. I listen to This American Life.

1:15 – 3:00 – I’m nervous about loading my bike in the car, but it goes smoothly, just like at home.  Traffic and pedestrians are heavy and the only parking on the street where Blue Acorn is located is underground, which I hate.  Abort and I head to Bru’s Whiffle.

-I find the location and parking is more manageable; however, this place looks like a hole-in-the-wall.  I don’t care what L. says.  I keep driving and head home. I eat blueberries and cucumbers, a few cashews and chocolate chips from my lunch bag.

Traffic is heavy, but tolerable.

3:00 –4:30 -  Home and L. is leaving for work.  Today is my “restaurant day” and I haven’t been to Lee’s Restaurant in years.  I ask L. if she can book a reservation for me through Open Table, but she says Lees has no online reservations and they open at 5:00.  My class starts at 6:00, so no.

-L. leaves.

-I’m starving and also haven’t been to California Fish Grill in sometime – maybe 6 years - so I pull up their menu and order take-out: 1) parmesan crusted green beans for an appetizer; 2) and grilled mahi-mahi with zucchini and pinto beans for my entrée. It’s ready in 10, so I pick it up and drive home, where I eat al fresco at my patio table. The dog and I share the parmesan green beans which are absolutely out of this world! I’m full after eating them and will save my mahi-mahi for later.  This was an excellent appetizer.  Total for the entire meal is $18.00.

4:30-5:30 – I take a nap.

5:45-6:00 - Class is starting in 15 minutes so I go to work.

6:00-9:00 – Class begins.  Tonight, the students are listening to an AUDIO lecture, then a podcast, and finally taking a podcast quiz.

-I return the extra credit assignments, with my comments, to the students, via email.  They’re scanned and ready to go, but it takes some time to email them. One student responds, thanking me for my comments because she says they will improve her writing.  Nice to hear!

-L. returns from work and announces that she is going to make lemon ricotta pasta.  I’m trying to stay away from carbs, but how can I resist?

-I work on a blog post throughout most of the class.

7:30 – 8:00 - I post the link for the podcast, then take the dog for a walk.

8:00-8:30 – I take attendance and check emails from College No. 2 – nothing of significance.

8:30-9:00 – L. announces that “dinner is served” and brings a plate into my office.  Dinner is lemon-riocotta ravioli, with sliced sausage, smothered in marinara sauce.  It tastes incredible!

9:00 – 10:30 - Class ends and I email those students who did not sign in on the Discussion Board informing them that they were absent and received a score of 0 on the Podcast Quiz.  Then, I spend the next hour compiling an email to a student, wherein I inform him that I will drop him at this late date in the semester if he 1) fails to complete another Video Quiz; or 2) receives an F on another Video Quiz. 

At this point in the semester, we’ve had eight Video/Podcast Quizzes.  The student didn’t bother to complete four of them, which means he’s leaving class early and not listening to the video or podcast that’s assigned during class.  This is a synchronous class which means all of the students have to attend class from 6:00-9:00 every Thursday.  It’s not my fault College No. 1 refused to convert to Asynchronous.

I’ve spoken to the student about this before. The outcome? He started taking the video quizzes, but failed the next four, scoring 3s and 4s out of 10.  This also indicates that he did not watch the video because it is virtually impossible to fail each quiz consistently if you have actually watched the assigned documentary. So, again, he is leaving class early. You have to attend the class every Thursday, from 6:00-9:00.  These are the rules.  If you don’t, it’s not fair to the other students who suit up and show up every Thursday from 6:00-9:00.  It’s also not fair to me.

Tonight, I email the student and let him know that if any of the above happens again, I’m going to drop him. The student doesn’t bother to respond.

10:30-11:30 – Gardening.  I trim a few branches off the banks rose and add it to the  flower arrangement I created a couple days ago and placed in my kitchen.  Then, I sweep the patio and water all of my plants.

11:30-1:00 – So the kitchen looks like a ricotta pasta dish exploded.  Seriously, you know that Pompeii exhibit, where the victims are in various stages of their daily lives, like eating, drinking, and cooking, when a volcano explodes,  covering and preserving the people with lava for all eternity? The kitchen looks just like this.  There is a huge pan of sauce with a big spoon sticking out of it, still on the stove…a colander full of pasta in the sink…pots and pans stacked  on top of each other…it looks like some sort of disaster occurred and the “chef” was forced to leave abruptly leave the kitchen…except L. is simply upstairs.

It takes forever to clean the kitchen and put the food away.  I also sweep the floors and windex the mirror above the chess table.

1:30-2:30 – My Reeboks came today.  They’re not at all what I ordered – in fact, they’re pink! – but they’ll do. Upstairs and I put on my new shoes and do an Insanity workout.  This one is called Cardio and Resistance. I find that my shoes are too heavy and really drag me down – it feels like I have weights on my feet. I end up taking them off right away (darn).

I try really hard to “dig deep” like Sean T. says, but tonight’s workout is a struggle. I start fading and tap out the last seven minutes.

2:30-3:00 – Recover.  I have a glass of champagne and lay my clothes out for tomorrow.

3:00 – 3:30 – I missed a few sections of Les Mis and replay so I can clarify the names of the gangs in the movie for my Video presentation that’s due 4/12, but I keep falling asleep.

3:30-4:15 – Night time routine. Bed.  I listen to What a Day.