Day 42 of Phase 3 - California Covid spike - beaches are open again

After…

Before….

Monday. 7/7/20

7:30 - 10:00 - the dog is barking so I go downstairs and take her out. Cheese. Upstairs and I listen to Start Here and The Daily. I get dressed in my standard Covid-19 attire - sports bra, tank, and yoga pants - then eat my Greek yogurt outside and continue reading The Day That Went Missing.

10:00 - 11:30 - Work email and I prepare an “expert pkg.” and then coordinate an interview with a “subject” for later today.

Of mention, is the bag of notes, letters, etc., from 8th grade until after high school (1983-1993), that has followed (plagued) me from house to house, every time I move. This bag has been on the top shelf of my closet for about 6 years and I’m finally going through it, purging what I don’t want while keeping a few of the more meaningful items. Sidebar: There are no meaningful items and virtually nothing I want to keep from ‘the bag.’ These past few days have consisted of a systematic purging.

I continue purging “the bag.”

L. leaves for work.

11:30-12:00 - I put on light make-up and grab a mask.

12:30 - 3:00 - My handyman, Cesar’s, crew (one guy named Juan) arrives to cut the vine from my roof and fix the broken concrete that “Gladys Kravitz” pointed out to my ex, the last time he was here. Unfortunately, after several emails to my HOA, the community wall, built by the developer, has been deemed my problem. While I don’t see a few pieces of cracked cement as an issue, my neighbors are ‘on it’ - they have nothing better to do - and it’s just a matter of time before they start complaining to the HOA. Juan and I settle on a color for the concrete and he goes to Home Depot to pick up the supplies. When he returns, I set him up with two beers and tell him to “enjoy” while he works. I’m masked, he’s not.

I continue purging stupid notes and letters from ‘the bag’. Oddly, 80% of the notes are from a girl named Joelle, who was peripheral at best during 8th grade and high school - we weren’t especially close. In fact, it appears that I had long stopped reading her notes, which are folded in strange origami envelopes, and was merely throwing them in the bag to be read another day. That day didn’t arrive for 30 years. By 3:00, the bag is almost empty and this task is so mentally freeing.

I have my angel hair pasta leftovers.

3:00 - Juan is finished and the cement work looks…”amazing!” I am so pleased! They charge me $150 and I don’t even haggle. Cesar must be struggling and I have no idea how he’s staying in business. Godspeed Juan - ‘dos cervezas’ are the least I can do.

3:00 - 4:00 - I call the subject for the interview we scheduled, but he doesn’t answer. I leave a message saying I’ll try him at 4:00, then check emails for College No. 1 and 2, and my personal email. Nothing of import. I finish up state job correspondence, my boss approves the expert pkg., and the OT sends it out.

4:00-5:00 - I interview the subject and take notes during our conversation. This is one of my last interviews before I retire. I’ll prepare the final summary tomorrow.

5:00-6:00 - I do a 30-min HIIT app and a 30-min upper body toning app.

L. returns from work.

6:00-7:00 - I have a few chips and go online to look at some parks I’d like to visit in my community since everything in LA County is shut down again. Not hungry today.

7:00 - 8:00 - B. and I are scheduled for Hart Park tomorrow, at 8:00 a.m., where we’ll hike up the trail to see the bison. After, we’ll eat our food at one of the shaded picnic tables. I lay my clothes out and pack a breakfast/lunch, prepare my coffee for tomorrow morning, then straighten the kitchen.

8:30 - 9:00 - B. calls and cancels. He says he has a PT appointment for his knee tomorrow, but didn’t he know that he had the appointment when we made these arrangements Sunday night, as he was leaving my house? I had my entire day planned for tomorrow. Now, there is nothing to do. Of course, I recognize that it’s a problem to rely so heavily on ONE person for my source of entertainment. Surely, I can come up with something…I ask L. for suggestions, but she draws a blank. She and R. are going to some crappy donut place in West Hollywood (WeHo) tomorrow so I’m on my own…but everything is closed…what to do, what to do… Spoiler: B and I discover that Hart park actually changed their hours and are no longer open on Tuesdays.

9:00-10:30 - L. and I watch two episodes of Love After Lockup - Season 3 and scream at the TV. I have champagne.

10:30 - 11:30 - Nighttime routine and bed.