Day 30 of Governor Newsom’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy”

Continuing with Halloween decorations…

Saturday. 9/26/20

9:30 – 10:30 - I don’t hear the dog, but I go downstairs anyway. I take her outside and she goes potty.  Inside and cheese for her, coffee for me.  I go back outside with my book and read In Order to Live. I can hear my neighbor coughing outside. I go back inside.

11:00-L. leaves to have lunch with A.  Spoiler Alert – she doesn’t return until 11:30 p.m.

10:30-1:00 - I catch up on my blog posts and do some personal admin.  I’m still trying to get reimbursed for that bogus $37 Fed-Ex charge for the $4.00 I sent to the student so it would get there next-day-air.  Recall that it arrived four days later. When I call Fed-Ex and explain the situation, he immediately says, “Due to Covid-19, Fed-Ex is not giving any refunds.”  I said, “What does a package arriving three days late have to do with Covid-19?”  The employee actually sighs and says, “I don’t know.  It’s just what Fed-Ex is doing right now.”  He probably gets that question all the time.  I hang up on him, call Chase (my credit card company) and get the charge reversed.

I check my email and see that my local school district, where I’m currently a substitute, is offering two days of paid training for subs so they will know how to appropriately use Zoom and Google docs.  I find this very interesting.  The Subfinder has been calling me for two months, but I had no idea what my school district was doing or what it meant to actually sub for someone during Covid 19. Am I supposed to go to the classroom and sub via virtual education?   The website for this school district was so vague, I couldn’t figure out if the students were actually in the classroom.  Now, finally, in the email blast I received from the Superintendent, I understand that the school year thus far is virtual and this training will show me how to interact with the students. Maybe I can pick up some pointers for my college classes.

I have a piece of chocolate.  L. needs to go to the store as there is nothing to eat here.

I try to return a bathing suit and light bulbs online, but WalMart says it’s store returns only. 

More blog posts.

1:00-2:30 – Shower. Dress. I listen to Reveal – Growing up Poor in America; The 365 Podcast – The New Economy and Our Homes; and The Weeds.

There is nothing to eat here so I have a TJ’s snack pack.

3:00-3:45 – I drive to the Recycling Center, which happens to be next to a liquor store. I rarely go to stores, but when I do, it’s typically near closing time to avoid people. I continue with The Weeds, then switch to This American Life. The Recycling Center closes at 5:00 and there is hardly anyone there, but three of the customers who appear to have come together, in the same car, aren’t masking.  The employees also don’t mask. I mask and make $6.50 off my plastics.  I’m not sure if this is worth risking my health…

3:45-4:15 – I pull out money from the ATM so I can have cash on hand at the house.

4:15-4:45 – I go to Walmart to process my return items.  Unfortunately, I have to stand in line for about 25 minutes; I hate being indoors for that length of time. At least I’m getting a $40 credit posted to my account for my return items. I listen to The New Yorker – Politics and More.

4:45-5:00-I don’t need gas yet, but thought I’d fill my tank anyway.  I spend around $20 a month on gas now – that’s it.

5:00-5:30 – Return home. I eat some frozen lasagna that I made in March.

6:00-8:00 – I guess L. and N. are NOT going to finish the Halloween decorations.  I hang the rest of the lights in the bushes and then hammer stakes into the skeletal animals in our bone graveyard. I listen to Martinis and Your Money while I work.

8:00-9:30--I do yard work.  I sweep the patio (covered in leaves), clean out the pots, trim the plants, pick up the dog poop, etc.  I listen to Casefile – The Strip Search Scam.

9:30-10:30 – I talk to B. and eat another meal I previously froze in March – chicken parmigiana and spiralized zuchinni - but am plagued by stomach cramps an hour later.

10:30-11:15 – I water my plants. I listen to PBS News Hour – Shields and Brooks.

11:15-12:30- I update my blog.  I got behind while I was on vaycay in Catalina.

L. returns having been at R.’s house the majority of the day. She says the Halloween decorations look great. There is no mention made of why she and N. failed to complete the task and left a string of lights lying on the front porch yesterday. I say “Thanks” and just try to move forward.

12:30-1:00 – I check my personal email and send a couple of podcast links to B.

1:30-2:30 – Night time routine. Bed.