Day 29 of Governor Newsom’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy”

Good-Bye Catalina…

Friday. 9/25/20

6:30-8:00-Up and today is our last day in Catalina. I’m sad.  I make coffee and take a shower. Dressed. Light make-up. B. leaves to get coffee for himself.

8:30-10:05 - I start classes at College No. 2. Today is a documentary, followed by a video quiz. I finish packing and respond to emails at College No. 2.  B. watches an episode of Friends while I teach. I never realized how stupid that show is.  The canned laughter is especially annoying.

10:30 – 11:15 - Class is over, so I sit outside on our patio one last time, surrounded by tropical plants, and have my last apple and some almond butter. I read a little of In Order to Live. I’m sad to go, but it’s actually good that we’re leaving now.  Last night, a group of Nigerians checked in and it sounded like a stampede on our ceiling, so much so that I called the front desk.  This morning, another group are on the patio next to us, screaming at each other. They’re not fighting – they just talk so damn loud I can’t even read. Coming to Catalina on a weekend is a mistake.

11:15-12:15 – We’re supposed to be at the ferry an hour before boarding so we walk down to the pier and stand in the shade for the first 10 minutes, before moving into the line.  We then stand in direct sun, for the next hour, and watch a different line of people board first, similar to when we embarked on Tuesday.  Again, I wonder who is coordinating this.  I’m in yoga pants and it is so hot, I actually think I’m going to faint, although I would never say anything. I chug water out of my Hydroflask and pray I don’t fall out on the pier in front of everyone. Although the ferry is supposed to leave at 12:15, our line finally starts boarding at 12:15. I really need to sit down and I find open-air seating at the second level this time – the seats are in partial shade, but go full sun once the ferry is underway.  It doesn’t matter, though, because there is a cool ocean breeze the entire trip home.

1:30 – 3:00 - We arrive in Long Beach, drag our suitcases to B.’s car at the parking structure, and leave.  What a great trip!  Back to our shi- - y lives.

3:00- 6:30 - In town and B. suggests that we get sandwiches and then go to my house to watch the rest of I’m Thinking About Ending Things. We stop off at Jersey Mikes and I get a mini-tuna sandwich and B. gets a grilled pepper and onion chicken something??? Home and I make B. two 7 & 7s and we sit outside on my patio, eating our sandwiches. 

Before we go outside, I call L.’s name several times and tell her I’m home, although she knows I am by the sound of the garage door opening.  She never responds so I go upstairs and say hello. L. doesn’t appear to have missed me, but does show me the new purchases she made for her dorm room / studio apartment. The dog, however, is ecstatic that I’m home. I casually ask about the exterior Halloween decorations – wasn’t she going to put them up while I was gone?  L. says she was too busy.

Once finished with our sandwiches, B. and I go upstairs and watch the rest of the movie – I have a prosecco-in-a-can.  If you’re reading this and you’ve already seen I’m Thinking, then you will understand that B. and I. have no idea what we just watched. We discuss the film and then I play a Spoiler podcast that interprets the movie for us. B. leaves a short time later.

L.’s friend, N., arrives and they start putting up the exterior Halloween decorations. Yay!

7:00-9:00 – I unpack my clothes, toiletries, and everything else, then start and finish a load of laundry.

9:00-10:30 – I straighten the kitchen, repair one of our interior Halloween decorations, and add batteries to two of the flameless candles. Then, I shut off the exterior and interior Halloween lights. When I go outside, I notice that N. and L. did NOT finish putting up the exterior Halloween lights.  They leave a string of lights lying in a pile on our porch, near the front door, and most of the bushes are bare. Very disappointing. I remove the lights from the porch, knowing that I will finish the job tomorrow.

11:00-12:00-I absolutely have to get a work-out in, but I’m exhausted.  I do a 1-hr HIIT full body circuit app with 5-pound weights.  I’m dragging, but at least I finish.

12:00-1:00 – L. and I listen to a Spooked podcast.

1:00-2:00 – Night time routine. Bed.