So yesterday was actually pretty productive

and I'm on track for today as well. Yesterday I:

1. Went to two pharmacies and got medication for my roommate and myself.
2. Got some groceries while I was at the second to try to combine runs.
3. 'Read' for two chapters (but it was an audiobook, so I listened for about an hour, really), The Great Influenza by John M. Barry, about the 1918 flu pandemic.
4. Listened to music and perused Facebook, which probably shouldn't count as productivity, but I was up and that's what matters.
5. Organized about 60 Kindle books into categories so it isn't a terrible mess.
6. Composed a complete yet eloquent rant on Facebook concerning those who were outside of our Capitol building while the governor was announcing deaths in a huddled mass shouting for him to reopen the state and end the COVID-19 restrictions.
7. Re-watched and sang to 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog', which made me feel quite a bit better after that. :)

Today I woke up at 7 am because I'd set my alarm to early as I had not done my normal task of washing the percolator and its basket so my roommate could make coffee this morning. I wanted to make sure I was up before him, as when he gets up to make coffee he is usually so out of it and if the pot and basket are clean, he is too out of it to do himself. It's one of those little things I do for him each night, I just forgot to yesterday.  For those who don't understand, you try using a percolator rather than a Keurig and see how you do when you're half-awake.

So after I got that taken care of (three hours before he woke up!) I:

1. Called T-mobile to finally get my hotspot fixed, as  I knew I'd need it where I am now, away from the Wi-Fi, and it hasn't worked in months.  Apparently, there was no problem with my plan, the data, the laptop, or actual connexion.  It was connecting, just not giving me Internet.  So we went through various settings and two operators, each of whom had to call me back periodically, and I had to factory reset my phone, but it is now working.  If it hadn't, I still have my phone under insurance and they were willing to replace it. I feel good about my service; they were very helpful.  Now I just need to restore some of the stuff that was backed up and re-download some applications and I'll be good to go.  My music and everything was all on an SD card, so I didn't actually 'lose' anything.
2. I've taken my car to the shop to get the front brakes fixed.  They've needed it for a while.  My mechanic, Kenny @ Mitch's Auto, runs a small shop and I know their business has really been impacted by all this.  So I thought I'd get them fixed while I was off rather than taking it to a chain.  They've always been really great about fixing my car and not overcharging or anything like that.  I'd highly recommend them.  They're on Industry Road near the Circle in Lexington.

Other plans today: 

• I have to go back to our small independent pharmacy as my roommate was asleep when I picked up what was ready yesterday, but he had a few other things he needed.  But that's just a drive-through sort of thing.
• I'm going to take some things to my storage unit.  I have my winter clothes packed up (in one, not two totes this year), and I have a few other things that are sitting in my room right now otherwise.
• Reading some more. I'll listen to more of the Barry book, maybe while I'm waiting for the car to be finished.
• Re-install things on my phone.
• Do some more reading as far as my Kindle goes now that it's ready to go.
• Straighten up my room a little.
• Launder my masks and the clothes I have on right now and from yesterday that I went out in.
• Take some pots and put them in the shed until I'm ready to use them so they don't wind up being blown around like the other day when a couple were in the yard

I wish I was in a good place for gardening.  The soil in the yard at roommate's house really needs to be worked and amended.  I thought about getting a hanging plant yesterday when I got groceries from Kroger, but it's cool right now and we've been under frost warnings.  I'll look next time I make a trip out to the store.  But container gardening is about our only hope right now, as neither of us has much to spare in terms of getting what's needed to improve the soil.  I do have a big tub at the storage unit that might work for a tomato plant later once the frost is not an option.  I just need to drill a few holes in it, although a co-worker has my drill at the moment.

Okay, I think I'll go ahead and post this and switch over to working on the phone.  Have a great day.

Yay!

So on Wednesday the 11th, I discovered that the only thing holding up my background check/drug test/final hurdle to get a hire date and start the new job was the fact that they couldn't verify my high school graduation (as the job requires a high school diploma or equivalent). Apparently, Danville High School is on autumn break this week. So, I had two choices: wait until Monday for them to get my voicemail requesting a copy of my diploma or a note on letterhead attesting my graduation, or find my diploma.

Now, when I was packing, I remember debating about the diploma. Should I keep it out or pack it up? I ultimately decided to keep my diplomas from my undergraduate (BA) and graduate (MSLS) out, as that might be required by a job, but since my diploma is in a puffy case that I wasn't sure that it would fit into my important papers box, I packed it away with the photo albums. I remember that distinctly. Of course, I also remember labelling the box 'diploma' (more on that below). So I knew the box, but not where it was in the storage unit.

So I went over that evening, after dark, and dug through roughly a third of the storage unit before finding what I thought was the box, but couldn't get that last box off of it easily. Then the lights went out (they're on a timer that only goes up to 30 minutes). Unfortunately, I'd burrowed in with things behind me, so I couldn't back up easily and go back down the hall to set the timer again. So I pulled out my cell phone, taking care not to drop it amongst the boxes, and put it in flashlight mode. Then I was able to read the box (which was not labelled 'diploma'), but nevertheless, had 'photo albums', and opened it to find the dratted diploma. It had taken about an hour since I'd left the house to achieve my goal.

So, this was what I encountered when I opened up the unit (I pulled out things, so I rearranged them, especially the boxes that had leaned against the paintings. My helper on the last day apparently did not realise one should pack heaviest on the bottom and get progressively lighter as you go up.)



Then, Eureka! Success! Or as my cousin wrote on Facebook, 'Behold! Glory!'



Then I put things back as best I could, and streaming sweat and feeling very overheated, made my way back home with the diploma. This is what I looked like. I think I aged 10 years, at least temporarily:



So Thursday I brought my diploma (and, for good measure, my name change court order, as I graduated under my former (birth) name). They made copies of those and now I am official, starting with Wednesday, October 18th as a hire date. Yay!!!