that was the week that was

In this time of pandemic most weeks pass uneventfully with grocery store trips, daily routines, and Grubhub delivery. Some weeks, however, get jammed.

I had been putting off getting an oil change and tire rotation for my Corolla because of the pandemic, but a week ago on Thursday I noticed that my driver-side daytime running light (and associated headlight) had gone out. Not surprising, since my car is seventeen years old. But fixing that would have to wait until the next week, since Terry was headed up to Tehachapi to see our incarcerated nephew, so she wouldn’t be around to pick me up at the shop.

We had our COVID boosters scheduled for Tuesday, so I thought I could take my car in on Monday, but on Monday morning my digestive system insisted that I stay close to the bathroom.

Tuesday we went for our booster shots and decided to take care of our household hazardous waste (HHW) disposal the same day (that being batteries and fluorescent bulbs). Our COVID boosters were at the Moreno Valley Mall (about forty minutes from here) where Kaiser had set up shop in a space once occupied by a department store. There were lots of patients and lots of nurses administering vaccines. When I checked in the nurse asked me if I wanted to get my flu shot as well. I agreed. After all I was there and it would save me another trip. Terry had received hers previously when she was at a Kaiser facility for another matter. After we received our vaccinations and waited the requisite fifteen minutes we had planned to head to the Round Table Pizza in Moreno Valley, the closest location to us. After all, I hadn’t had a Guinevere’s Garden pizza in over six years: not since we left Gilroy. But we were both in a “need food now” low blood sugar state of being, so we got pizza slices at the food court instead. Oh, well.

We then then headed off on our HHW mission. Apple Maps flaked out on us, but Google Maps eventually got us to our destination. There we had to wait in line with everyone else using the disposal site, provide identification, and sign in. We eventually made it to the location on the site where we could drop off our HHW.

We had decided that since we were going to be out of the house for so long it would be a good time to bug bomb. So there was all that to clean up after we got home. At that point we were both tired and decided the simplest solution for dinner was for takeout from the Bistro in the Lodge here at Four Seasons. That worked.

I thought I could take my car in on Wednesday, but that day Terry was experiencing side effects from the booster and was too wiped out to pick me up at the tire shop where we get our routine maintenance done. If fact, I was a bit woozy myself that morning. So on Thursday. I took my car in. Terry picked me up and we made an overdue run to Winco, our discount grocery store where you bag your own groceries. My car was eventually ready and I picked it up.

Friday I did my shopping at Smart & Final and at Stater Bros., our mainstream grocery store with a full-service meat department, something that I normally do on Thursdays.

Everything handled, finally. But it was a productive week, and the week ahead should be quieter.