Day 7 - California Reopening Plan - Phase 2

Phase 2 - Out-and-about; a few businesses are open

8:15-10:00- The dog is frantically barking. I come downstairs and she shit near the front door. We go outside and she pooped in two other spots on the patio. I clean up everything and give her cheese. I weigh myself and am shocked to see I am 97 pounds! I’ve had no appetite lately and have not been eating much. Uh-oh…do I have the Covid? I doubt it because I can still smell the dog shit from this morning.

Back upstairs, I drink my water and make my bed, per usual. I return downstairs to get my coffee, then drink it in the shower. It’s slightly chilly today, so I wear a light blue and white-striped, long-sleeve, zippered turtle neck that L. gave me, and jeans. I eat two of the cookies I made and hit it.

10:00-12:00-Goodwill has been closed for months so I give up - I go to the Women’s Shelter and drop off clothes and books that L. and I no longer want. The library’s book receptacles are open!!! and I can finally return the lone book I’ve had for ages. My bank is now open!!! for customers, so I go inside and deposit my coin rolls, to include L.’s pennies that my Dad gave her. The total is $98. My dry-cleaners is open!!! so I drop off a pillow covering for a zipper repair that was destroyed by the dog during quarantine.

I guess this is what it means to be in Phase 2.

12:00-3:00-I return home and try really hard to get the grease out of my backseat upholstery, left from L.’s bike when we took it to the bike repair shop the other day. I’m somewhat successful. Then, I power spray the window box under the window that faces the street because it’s filthy. The spray doesn’t exactly do it, so I scrub it too. After, I find a lone taco left from L.’s Fish Tales run the other day and have it for lunch, while watching Bosch. [New Season - Episode 1].

3:00-9:00- Time for personal paperwork. I complete an AFLAC form for the BRCA genetic testing I had in February [I’m negative, by the way]. This is categorized as “Cancer Wellness” and I hope to get a $100 refund from AFLAC. If it’s not obvious, L. and I need money.

-I follow up on the phantom credit I’m supposed to receive from my auto insurance company and discover it will grace my account in 4 to 5 days. A whopping $110 dollars. My and L’s car insurance is $4000 a year and I’m only getting $110? This is BS.

-I go through my personal emails and clean up my in-box. L. and I have tickets for Mama Mia at the La Mirada theater and they had previously pushed back the performance to June, but now, they’ve decided to cancel the production altogether. I am truly disappointed. Ticket buyers can opt for a refund or graciously gift it back to the theater. Keep it. God speed, theater company. Sadly, the ‘Arts"‘ are as good as dead.

-I try to enroll in French 102 at my local community college for Summer Session, but there is a problem with my pre-requisite. I need to take French 101 first, but I already did at a different college. Of course, nobody is on campus and they are handling everything via email. I email Admissions and Records and ask if I can audit the class - I attach my transcript showing that I’ve had French 101 and 102. Hopefully, they respond.

-My optometrist is open!!! and I ask her to email my prescription so I can buy glasses at USAglasses.com. I left a voicemail message 2 weeks ago, but I guess they didn’t get the memo. She actually emails it, which means I can purchase my glasses online now. I listen to Accused, Season 3 while I work on all of this crap. I heat up the fish I baked last night, then add red peppers and peas to the rice and bring everything back to my office. It tastes okay.

-Extra credit assignments were due several weeks ago and they’ve been graded and posted, BUT, not scanned to the students. After the drama with my student last night, I don’t want any surprises from her or the rest of them, so I send out an email to those students who submitted the extra credit assignment, explaining that my scanner was recently repaired and I will be emailing their papers containing my comments and suggestions, shortly. My scanner is on it’s last legs - it actually ‘groans’ as the papers move through it - and it is incredibly slow-going as I have to scan one page at a time. It takes 2 1/2 hours to scan and email the extra credit assignments to my students.

9:30 - Debating on whether or not to exercise. I was a little freaked out by the paseo mugging last night (it happened around 7:00 p.m.) so I didn’t want to ride my bike. That leaves power-walking on my treadmill…stay tuned…I’ll let you know what happened in the next post… Spoiler Alert: I don’t do it.

9:30-10:00 - I clean the kitchen and make my coffee for tomorrow.

10:30-12:00 - L. and I watch Married at First Sight, earlier than usual, because she says she has to wake up early tomorrow.

12:00-1:00 a.m. - Bedtime routine but I braid my hair and paint my nails.