Day 31 - California Covid spike - mandatory masking
Buried under paperwork…
Thursday. 6/25/20
7:30 - 8:00 - L. is working a lot this week and needs to leave around 8:00 a.m. I go downstairs and take the dog out. I have a few drinks of water from my Hydroflask while I wait around outside for the dog to do her business. Cheese for the dog. I heat up my coffee and take it back upstairs.
8:00-9:30 - So, it’s either drink a 16-oz Hydroflask of water or exercise first thing. I don’t have enough will power bandwidth to do both, so I choose…[drum roll please]…exercise. Maybe I’ll get thirsty and drink water while I’m exercising…
I do a 30-min cardio app, followed by a 30-min lower body workout. I drink my coffee while I work out (pretty gross, I know).
Today is a ‘paperwork’ day:
9:30 - 10:30 - In my home office and I’m checking email from my state job since I didn’t yesterday. There is nothing of interest except I note that yesterday, at 11:45, my supervisor sends an email blast instructing us to leave the office, now!, and to lock up, the office is closed indefinitely. He says this order is non-negotiable. At 1:30, he says the office is reopened, effective immediately. I’m so confused, but glad I never went in. I can’t wait to retire from this place. I field emails.
10:30-11:30 - I check emails from both colleges. Nothing.
11:30-1:30 - I’ve been putting off going through my finances since I returned from Mii Amo, but it’s time:
-The annual premium for one of my life insurance policies was due in June, so I sent the check in May, well in advance. In June, I began getting delinquent notices, stating that I hadn’t paid my premium. I called AAA two weeks ago and paid online with a credit card, after telling the employee I also mailed a check. The employee told me that if my check is received after the credit card payment, they will void it and return it to me. That didn’t happen and my check cleared two days ago - it’s dated 4/30/20 - so I’ve paid $244 twice.
-I call AAA and explain the situation - this transaction takes 45 minutes. It is unbelievable how long matters like this take in the Covid-19 era. Instead of reversing the credit card charge, they are going to mail me a reimbursement check in the next 10 days. This is so irritating.
-I update all of my June expenditures in both my financial log and my spreadsheet. Then, I move money around - robbing Peter to pay Paul - and mail off a credit card payment.
-The Norton antivirus subscription for our computers is scheduled to expire in 3 days. I call my ex and he renews it.
-The AAA membership for me, L, and my ex is due, so I renew that.
1:30-2:30 - I take a break and heat up L'.’s cheese ravioli from Monday night for breakfast/lunch. I read Panic and Joy. Back at it…
2:30-3:30-My property taxes went up AGAIN and, surprise!!, there is a shortage in my escrow account. If I don’t send $954 to my mortgage company ASAP!!!, my payment will increase by approximately $100 per month instead of $16 per month. I transfer the money from my emergency fund to my checking account and mail the payment. This physically hurts.
-My HOA fees increased an extra $16 per month so I adjust my ‘bill pay’ accordingly. No wonder I’ve been putting this day off. I feel like I’m being gouged.
-I mail the dog’s registration, to include her rabies certificate. At least I didn’t have to pay for a rabies shot, although her license is $20.
-I meal plan for the week and prepare a grocery list for L. as she has agreed to do the grocery shopping for all eternity… :-) Right now, she says she’s good going to the store once a week, but says she may change to going once every TWO weeks. We’re doing a trial run, currently.
-I go to Walmart.com and order non-perishables, toiletries, and any canned goods I need for this week’s meal plan in order to limit L.’s exposure at the grocery store. In a perfect world, I only want her to go to ONE store for produce and a few meat products.
-The timer for the sprinklers has not been working because, yesterday, the water never came on. I check the make and model of the timer, then download the manual for that model and read it. I bring my Ipad out to the garage, with the downloaded manual, and proceed to reprogram my sprinklers. We’ll see what happens…
…and I’ve been working on meaningless tasks for the entire day…
3:30 - 5:30 - upstairs and “spa day”. I wash my hair, then braid it, and change into yoga pants and a tank top.
5:30-6:00 - I drive to Wendys and buy a chocolate Frosty at the drive-thru to reward myself for all the stupid shit I had to do today. It’s been 5 years since I had a Frosty and it’s as good as I remember. It’s the little things… L. comes home from work - an extremely long day for her.
6:00-7:30 - I eat my Frosty and read Panic and Joy.
***Note: the sprinklers do NOT come on at 7:00 p.m., as programmed.
7:30 - 11:00 - I heat up some of the defrosted chicken pot pie and update my blog. I also download all of my Sedona pictures from my camera to my computer, then post a few to my blog. L. has to be at work early in the morning and is too tired to watch Love After Lockup.
11:30 - 1:30 - I get ready for bed and listen to several episodes of a new podcast I discovered - Dating Diaries: Quarantining Confessions. I decide to buy a ticket to the Arboretum for tomorrow, at 4:00 p.m., before going to bed ($11.00).