Day 331, Monday
Week started with meetings, and it only went downhill from there…
Day 332, Tuesday
Signed in to my email to find a message from our president asking that we double down on the return to campus. No real plan, no real details, completely unsound reasoning IMHO. Spent the time between meetings creating a plan, schedules, and rationales for each should I need to be ready to state my case.
Had an emotionally draining meeting that requires a follow up later this week to figure out whether or not we’re facing a potential HR situation with a coworker whose behavior is starting to feel like harassment. Then, found out the boy spent his day at work on Monday with someone who now tested positive for covid.
Day 333, Wednesday
More meetings to discuss this repopulation situation and my department chair is missing? Our last exchange suggested we continue as we have been, but I’m not sure how the HR meeting today might affect that plan. Met with my department today to discuss contingency plans. At least, I’m prepared and they’re on board with my rationale to keep everyone safe.
The boy had a preliminary test (we know it won’t work for Monday’s exposure, but there were other reasons for the test). I’m testing tomorrow as a follow-up to the DMV fiasco. He’s retesting next week as well.
[I’ve been vlogging this week’s emotions in real-time, so you get to see them live on Monday]
Day 334, Thursday
Went to campus to get a covid test as a follow-up to last week’s DMV fiasco. Receiving contradictory updates and my unit head is still missing, so I have no real answers yet. Proceeding as we have been (based on the last exchange we had) until I hear otherwise.
Had an upsetting phone call from a colleague. Not their fault, it’s an old situation that resurfaces on the regular, but still upsetting (and particularly disheartening as it involves people who should know better).
Late in the day, my mom and gran received a call from the city to schedule their covid vaccines…
Day 335, Friday
Test results arrived around 10 am, they were negative (big sigh of relief). I was able to drive my mom and gran to get their vaccines, and spent the night without having the dread of potential asymptomatic spread. I kept my mask on while I was in the room with them, and my distance any time removed it to eat or drink, but I didn’t have the constant sense of anxiety I had last time I spent the night (last hurricane season… knock on all the woods that we don’t get another insanely active season).
I recount my mom’s symptoms in Monday’s vlog but, briefly, mom had a short-lived headache, tiredness, and body aches, but nothing beyond what she feels when she gets a flu vaccine. Gran displayed no discomfort. They received the Pfizer shot.
Day 336, Saturday
Back home after spending the night on my mom’s couch. They’re were doing well when I left and my mom is feeling herself. I, however, was exhausted after a draining week and a terribly stiff couch (if only I could convince my mom to get a new one… still working on trying to talk her into getting a new mattress).
I took the day off from writing, though I’m way behind on my goals for the week. Either way, it was a necessary and deserved rest. I relaxed, put together a new storage unit for my closet, re-homed all my sweaters, and enjoyed uninterrupted reading time before recording tomorrow’s minisode for the podcast.
Day 337, Sunday
Happy Valentine’s if you’re reading this on the 14th! I don’t care what anyone says, Valentine’s has always been my favorite and I am here for all the kitschy heart swag. Enjoyed takeout sushi from the fancy Japanese place that I always pass up as too pricey for anything less than a date night. We sat outside and had a nice chat on my covered roof/deck area. The boy’s initial covid test was negative, but it feel outside the desired window of testing for a PCR test, so I couldn’t risk anything closer than that. We’re getting another test tomorrow and hoping for the best. I’m fairly confident I’m in the clear, I’m on day 10 since potential exposure, but just in case.
Hope your Valentine’s was the best it could be.
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marginalia and such 
Sounds like an awful week other than the vaccines and the (probably) negative tests. I’d be a wreck in your place! Also, your mom sounds like mine. She has the worst couches, and won’t replace them because the cats would just rip up the new ones. I mean, there’s a difference between a couch with a ripped up arm from cats and a couch with so little stuffing left in the seat that you fall through, but… (sigh) Thankfully we convinced her to take our couch and loveseat back around 2011 when we got a new set. The only way we could convince her was by telling her that either she could have it or it would be tossed out. She hates to see things wasted. She probably took the horrible couches she had and tried to donate them, and I’m sure the donation place then dumped them! Mind you, the ones we gave her a decade ago had already been used by us for several years, and we got them at a garage sale from someone else, so there’s that…
She’s exactly like your mom! Most of my cast-offs end up at her place and I have to insist that she only keep the newest item.
On Sun, Feb 14, 2021 at 9:29 PM marginalia and such wrote:
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