Day 2 of rollback - California Covid spike - governor shuts us down
At work today…
Tuesday. 7/14/20
6:30 - 8:00 - I had nightmares last night, probably because I have to go into work today. I listen to Air Talk, then go downstairs and take the dog out. She pooped in front of the door again. Cheese. I grab my coffee and head upstairs. I think a sore throat is coming on so I’m scared, but I don’t actually have a sore throat. Then again, there’s horrific passages in Notes on a Silencing about herpes lesions that have erupted inside the narrator’s throat - the imagery is awful, although wonderfully written.
Perhaps I’m internalizing… How do you know the difference between being a hypochondriac or being legitimately sick?
8:00-10:00 - I un-braid my hair. Shower. Dressed. Full make-up. I have to move my personal vehicle to the other side of the street in order to pull my state vehicle out of the garage. I won’t miss this constant car shuffling.
My ex calls me (sigh) to talk about L.’s health insurance.
10:00-10:45 - Drive to work. Light traffic. I listen to Best of Both Worlds.
L. and R. plan to spend today binging on Life After Lockup. R. is back at work, servicing disgusting Starbucks customers. I open several windows before I leave and ask L. to bring her fan downstairs to oscillate the air. In another week, new science will come out and I’ll probably learn that blowing the germ cloud around is the worse thing I can do.
11:00 - 5:30 - At work, and I’m there for 6 hours, praying I’m not subjected to a viral load. There’s only 4 staff members here. Maybe my supervisor has implemented staggered shifts - I’m not sure as I rarely go into the office - but I mask the entire time, for 6 hours. I go as far as I can on investigative tasks that are needed on my cases and ready the files for my fellow colleagues, to include logging all pertinent updates in my reports, scanning various Attachments to the G-Drive, updating the markers in BrEZe (our database), etc. At the end of the day, six cases remain; five of them are completely done and awaiting the last step, which is Expert review and the Expert’s Report. In other words, five cases are sitting with the Expert while I wait for his/her Report. A little more work is needed on that sixth case, but only because the subject’s lawyer kept stalling - the delay is not a reflection on me.
I break to eat my salad then jump back into the fray.
I haul all of my equipment upstairs and store in my cubicle, ready to be inventoried. I also download the retirement forms that I couldn’t open on my home computer. I turn in two cases and email my supervisor - we agree that I will process out on Tuesday (7/21/20) which means I will turn in everything on that day. I remove the last remaining items from my cubicle, desk, and drawers so it’s ready for the next person. In state service, we are completely dispensable, one warm body after another….in six months to a year, nobody will remember my name. I’m not upset about it - that’s just how it is. In turn, I never want to see these people again.
6:00-6:30 - Drive home. Light traffic for this time of day - incredible.
7:00-9:00 - Home and I am absolutely exhausted. Just 5 to 6 months ago, I worked a 6 to 8-hour shift, every day, and was on the road 3 hours, to and fro, usually reporting for work at 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. every day. Today, I woke up at a reasonable hour, traffic was light, and I only worked a little under 6 hours, and yet, I want to collapse. Maybe I do have the Covid, although I definitely do NOT have a sore throat.
I take the dog out. She pooped in three different places, outside on the patio.
R. brought me a vente coffee (very nice) from Starbucks - he was forced to return to work - and I drink most of it because I must. work. out.! I go upstairs and sit in my chair, staring at nothing, while I drink my coffee.
I do a 40 minutes Pilates and yoga app. Exercise achieved.
9:00-9:45 - I talk to B.
9:45 - 10:30 - I eat the tuna macaroni I made yesterday while L. and I watch Love After Lockup.
10:30-11:30 - Night time ritual. Bed.