Day 19 of Governor Newsom’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy”

Campout Palooza…

Tuesday. 9/15/20

8:30 - I’m up so I make my bed and go downstairs. The dog is sleeping on the floor instead of her normal position on the couch, and starts wagging her tail when she sees me. I rub her tummy with my foot and we go outside. She goes potty. Inside and cheese.

9:00 - 11:30 - I’m using the “Eat That Frog” approach [look it up] today for some tasks I’ve been putting off. Ugh.

I prepare a letter of recommendation for one of my students.

I send an email blast to those students who have not completed the first 30 days of their Inquizitives for my Core Class. The deadline is rapidly approaching (9/17/20).

A student from yesterday’s class emails me complaining that he thought he had the entire semester to complete the video quiz that was due yesterday and upset that he was timed out. No.

I email the student, telling him I’m sorry he feels that way (sad face emoji) but I don’t understand how he formulated that impression when: 1) I told the students in the “Public Announcement” that they would be completing a video quiz in class today; 2) I sent an email blast to the students at 5:30 telling them to complete the quiz as I would be closing it soon; and 3) the Syllabus, which was previously emailed to all students and is posted to Canvas, states that an in class video quiz is scheduled for 9/14/20. “Attached is the Syllabus for your review.” I never hear from him again.

I have almond butter and apple slices for breakfast. I listen to Up First and Start Here.

L. is NOT on my health and dental insurance and my ex has to cancel his insurance since he moved to the Carolinas, so I prepared TWO draft letters - one for him to sign and one for me to sign - for his review. We need to contact CalPERS simultaneously to ensure that L. is moved from his insurance to my insurance so she can have coverage. I listen to The Daily and What a Day. I’m sick of dealing with this crap. Can L. or her Dad finally handle something without my involvement? I’m done.

L. continues to apply for credit so she asks me to pull and copy her SS card, CDL, and her W2 so she can send it to the credit company where she’s applying. I Listen to the Best of Both Worlds, for something light.

I check my personal email and respond to a few emails from B.

Wine.com is coming on Thursday.

Light banking as I transfer money from one account to another.

I practice logging into College No. 2 from an outside tab, similar to what I will have to do from B.’s house tomorrow morning. I need to ensure I can access Canvas tomorrow morning.

A Flex event is coming up on Thursday so I sign up. Spoiler Alert - I end up not going.

I read a few online news articles.

12:00-1:30 - I catch up on my blog entries.

1:30 - 3:00 - I have a salad and read Schuyler’s Monster.

3:00-4:30 - Shower. Covid-19 uniform. Make-up. I pack an overnight bag and start loading the car with my sleeping bag, the food I prepared, miscellaneous items. I listen to Today Explained; The New Corner Office; New Yorker - Politics and More; and This American Life.

6:00 - 1:00 am - I leave for B.’s house and arrive at 6:30. The tent is already set up and he has mats leading from the cement, across the grass, and into the tent, like a “red carpet.” It looks great!! The tent is so big you can stand up in it. B. bought a selfie stick, so he takes pictures of us sitting in front of the tent, as if we’re seasoned campers and not sleeping in his backyard. :-)

We have cocktails on the patio and then warm up my casserole so we can eat it with the salads I made. B. says he likes it.

More cocktails and then B. fires up the grill - I had no idea he had such a nice barbecue!!! We should have been grilling this entire summer - and we make S’mores with the items I brought over [graham crackers; marshmallows; Hershey bars; and my new stainless-steel skewers]. They turn out great - nice and gooey. B.’s barbecue is amazing, completely clean, and ready to go with propane and charcoal. He did ALOT of prep work for “Campout Palooza.” Much appreciated!

11:00 - I do a “set it and forget it” and publish my morning classes early so they’re ready in case I oversleep.

1:00 - we go to bed. B. laid a blanket down on the floor of the tent and I put my sleeping bag on top of the blanket and go to sleep. Meanwhile, B. is on a regular mattress with sheets and a blanket. I wanted to try “roughing it”, like a real camper, so opted to sleep in my new sleeping bag. It’s not bad. All of this is so fun!!!