Day 24 - Governor Newsom rescinds restrictions. Outdoor dining reinstated!

Recording a video of myself for my DE class…

2/17/21. Wednesday

8:00 – 8:30 - I set my alarm because I have a lot going on today. B. is coming over at 10:30 for coffee and to drill a hole in my stucco, for one nail/screw, so I can hang a tiny mirror housed in a cute macramé holder in my backyard.  The mirror originally hung in L.’s bathroom, but she no longer wants it.

Also, today is the day that I’m going to shoot a mock “Welcome” video for my DE class so of course I have to go ‘glam’, which means a shit-ton of make-up, professional shirt, blazer,  jewelry, etc.  L. has to work at 2:00 so I want to be ready to start filming whenever she’s available so I don’t impact her schedule.

I go downstairs and say good morning to the dog.  She’s totally out of it because this is way too early for her and outside of her routine.  This is a household of girls who like to get up at noon, dog included, although I typically draw the line for myself at 10:30. Eventually, she rolls off the couch, grabs her toy, and we go outside so she can do her business.  More bird chasing then she goes potty and we return inside: rotten chicken for her, coffee for me.

8:30-10:30 – I shower, do my hair and make-up, and change into a professional outfit [yoga pants on the bottom].  I go downstairs and ready the office as best I can because I really don’t know how to set anything up since I don’t know how the microphone works. L. is still asleep.

11:00 – 12:00 - B. arrives with coffee.  It is sooo windy today that we sit inside.  B. said he returned to Magic Mountain for Dose #2 of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday and the entire process went smoothly.  Other than feeling a bit fatigued and some “brain fog”, he experienced no symptoms. 

12:30-I’m not sure what’s going on with L., but I do know she has work at 2:00 and the time for her to leave is starting to creep up.  I knock on her bedroom door and when she answers I ask when she would like to do the video.  L. replies, “What video?”  We just discussed this last night, before she went to bed! 

I’m incredibly patient because I need her help in order to complete this DE course.  In fact, I can’t do it without her and, unfortunately, this course has become incredibly important for furthering my career and enabling me to teach from home.  Without it I’m back in the classroom at College No. 2 with 100% certainty; With it, there’s a good chance I’m teaching online for at least some of the classes, if not all.

As a 19-year-old, of course L. doesn’t understand what’s at stake with these Modules I have to complete.  In her mind, I’m sure they’re just bothersome, stupid tasks. For context, I’m at Module #7 – there are 16 Modules in my DE course and each one is locked until I receive the Anonymous Grader’s blessing. The Anonymous Grader is probably a 19-year-old TA like L.

1:00 – 2:30 - B. says he’ll start on the ‘project’ [drilling ONE nail into the stucco] while L. helps me record the video.  L. comes into my office and shows me how to prop up my Ipad and how to hook up the microphone then abruptly leaves.  When I ask if she’s going to help me, she tells me to let her know when I’m done recording and she’ll load it for me.

-It’s harder than you think to record a video of yourself.  I work on it for an hour, recording cut after cut, and I’m not satisfied with any of the clips.  I look bad and sound dumb. Time is of the essence because L. has to go to work and eventually I just have to go with the best of the worst.

-I go outside to check the status of the “project” and B. is gone, although all of his equipment is there.  I check my phone and he texted that he had to drive home, which is all the way across town, to get his electric drill.

-The dog is SICK of being in the garage so I bring her back inside.

2:30 – 3:30 - B.  returns and does not know where he can plug in his electric drill.  I show him the outlet.

-Strangely, L. is still here.  I go upstairs to her room and knock on the door.  When she answers, I give L. my Ipad and tell her I think I’m finished.  I also ask why she’s still home.  L. said she starts work at 4:45; she had a Zoom meeting that started at 2:00.  Uh, ok. That’s not how I remember it but I have a lot going on so maybe I’m confused.

L. is getting ready to load the video into my DE textbox and I’m checking one last time to ensure I fulfilled the criteria…oh no!...one of the criteria items says I have to have “close captioned” on my video. Subtitles!!  How am I going to do that?

L. and I go through the DE tutorial and try Dr. W’s suggestions for adding subtitles…none of them work. She’s irritated because she has to start getting ready for work. Finally, she asks me to leave the room so she can figure something out.  L. says it’s too stressful when I’m present. I leave her room.

-I go downstairs and out to the patio to see how the project [drilling ONE nail into the stucco] is going.  B. is on the phone with my ex-husband asking him how he hung two trellises a couple of years ago.  After the phone call, B. says that he cannot complete the project right now.

I had so wanted to hang my mirror today…

-I run back upstairs and, through her bedroom door, ask L. the status of the subtitles.  I know she has to leave at any minute. L. said she found a company that will add subtitles to videos - $3.00 for every minute of video (my video happens to be 1 minute; 23 seconds) – and purchased this service.  However, the subtitles won’t be done for TWO hours.  It might have been completed sooner, but she accidentally purchased the wrong service – transcription – and didn’t discover her error for about an hour.

I had so wanted to submit this assignment today…

I tell L. that she can bill me for her time.  Recall that L. charges $30.00 an hour.

-B. packs up everything, but when he turns to go he steps on the dog.  She actually screams – I’ve never heard a sound like that come out of her before. I pick her up and try to comfort her.  B. leaves to run an errand and I check the dog for broken bones. I think she’s okay.

3:30-4:30 – I finally change out of this stupid professional attire and back into my Covid-19 uniform.  I go outside to the patio and survey the work.  Strangely, three large sections of a potted plant near where B. was drilling are uprooted and lay on the ground…my yellow snap dragons also appear traumatized…they look droopy and sad.  I think I can salvage the “cuttings” and wrap the roots in wet paper towels and aluminum foil for re-potting in a different container. I say a few encouraging words to the snap dragons and water them.

4:30 – 8:30 - B. returns.  Cocktail Hour!  and we settle in for a night of TV. I set us up with The Investigation [HBO], a murder/thriller based on a true account of a Swedish reporter’s [Kim Wall] disappearance after she goes onboard a submarine to interview the billionaire who designed it.  For all you true crime officianados out there, this is known as the Submarine Case and the murder occurred in Copenhagen, in 2017.  The show is also filmed in Copenhagen and has subtitles.

-While B. watches Episode 2, I excuse myself and make dinner.  I’m trying a new recipe – “Spaghetti Squash Lasagna” – involving ground turkey, marinara sauce, and cottage cheese. The “lasagna” is substituted with the spaghetti squash.  I listen to True Crime Garage while I cook.

-I bring dinner upstairs and we have to re-watch Episode 2 because I missed it since I was cooking dinner.  B. says he doesn’t mind.

-B. has a second helping and we watch the last episode – Episode 3 – of the series thus far.  They appear to be dropping the episodes each week.

-L. resurfaces

-B. leaves.

9:00-10:00 – I let L. settle in, then ask if we can see how the subtitles came out.  The vendor delivered and it works!  My 1 minute, 23-second video has subtitles!  L. is in a good mood right now and graciously agrees to drop the close-captioned video into my DE class textbox.  Assignment submitted!

10:00 – 12:00 – L. recommends we watch The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel. For all you true crime officianados out there, this is a documentary about the 2013 death of 24-year-old Canadian tourist Elisa Lam.  She’s found naked, floating in a water tank, on the roof of the Los Angeles Cecil Hotel.

L. and I watch the first two episodes.

12:30-1:30 – Kitchen duty. Take the dog out. Prepare my coffee for tomorrow.

1:30-2:00 – Night time routine. Bed. Frustrating day.