Day 12 - Biden says the pandemic is over

Checked in at the Ayres Hotel today…

Happy Hour at Spaghettinis…

Taught at the Catholic High School today…don’t remind me…

Long Covid is on the rise with the most common symptom across patients being “debilitating fatigue”; some Long Covid sufferers report waking up as many as 16 to 18 times a night. Hmmm….sounds like my situation, except I haven’t been able to sleep more than 4/5 hours at a clip for…let’s say…the past 15 years or so??? I think I suffer from…single-mother-with-side-hustle(s) syndrome.

Patients also report “brain fog.” Hmmm…let’s see…I first reported brain fog after I gave birth to L.; it never abated. Yet another symptom is “difficulty finding words.” For the past 7 years, whenever I write anything - comprise an email to a student; prepare a Covid essay; write a book critique; edit a lecture…ANYTHING… - my online thesaurus is at the ready. I have it bookmarked in my File folder. I can’t write my f—king name without my thesaurus.

“Memory issues” is another one. If I didn’t bullet journal, I would have no idea what I did just two or three days ago. Are “days blending together” also a symptom of Long Covid? or just retirement? Here’s another one: “post-exertional malaise” (described as a “cardinal symptom of Long Covid”) i.e., too much activity will result in a “crash.” After a 30-min HIIT Insanity-Max workout, I typically collapse and take a nap.

Is it possible that I contracted Long Covid 15 years before existed?

9/30/22. Friday

5:30-6:30-My alarm goes off and the dog starts licking my face so we go downstairs. I take her outside to go potty; cheese for her, coffee for me. I grab a bag of ice, sit in the shower with my coffee, and listen to What a Day. Lotion. I curl the ends of my hair. I wear a vintage ankle length skirt with gold, teal, and pink floral trim at the bottom; a rust-colored T-back tank top; and a gold and floral silk scarf. Garden Society Member attire.

6:30-8:00-It’s wash, rinse, and repeat all over again. Driving in the carpool lane is the only way I can get to the Catholic High School on time; I’d never make it by 8:30 if I drove in regular traffic, no matter what time I left in the morning. Traffic is absolutely horrible and I sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic, crawling, for a full 30-minute stint. I eat a mini-KitKat and finish putting on my make-up.

8:00-8:15- I arrive at the parking lot and take this time to watch a video showing 15 ways to tie a scarf. I pick one and readjust my scarf.

8:15-8:45-I walk to class and set up my Google slides and lecture but the first 15 minutes of every morning are re-appropriated by prayer and announcements coming over the intercom system. The students are so f—king loud as they scream over the announcements to each other; they will not shut their mouths or “use indoor voices” no matter how much I threaten them. I can honestly say, in my entire career teaching, I’ve never had a class this disrespectful.

If I go to Admin and complain, Admin will accuse ME of NOT having control over the class. Nothing will be done to these assholes and eventually I will be labeled the problem. This is typically what happens when teachers/instructors complain about classroom behavior so it’s best to say nothing if it’s a short-term assignment, which it is for me. I hate this school and I hate most of these kids, especially 5 black girls in the far right corner of the class room who. will. not. shut. the. f—k. up. I teach two days a week [Wed and Fri], for 90 min. each day. I can do this. The semester will eventually end.

8:45-10:05-Announcements are finished and I start with a 15-minute video clip that doesn’t cue up because You Tube is blocked at this school, although Netflix is not, so go figure. Blake, the ONLY white student in the class, is able to project the You Tube clip from his laptop onto the white screen and the students are able to watch it. I give him 5 extra credit points under the “You Got A Gold Star Today” column in the online gradebook.

Do not think for a moment that I am picking favorites because he’s white - he’s a problem as well. It’s just that today he decides to be helpful because he needs extra credit and the students know I give points if someone assists with a tech issue. Most of the time, he’s an entitled football player, already committed to a university under a full-ride scholarship - he could care less about this class. All of these kids are seniors and so entitled that they view me as “the help”, there to do their bidding. It’s not a race thing; it’s a socioeconomic thing. They’re rich and I’m not. I’m not resentful - I just hate dealing with 37 assholes.

After the You Tube clip, it’s time for lecture. The majority of the students check out and don’t even pretend to listen; most are on their phones and one female student is blatantly reading another book while I’m talking (at least she’s quiet).

Last semester’s high school was so great…I loved teaching there. I hate it here.

10:05 - Class dismissed. Traffic is horrible. I never drive in the carpool lane on the way back; why tempt fate? Think about this: I drive 4 hours to teach a 75-minute class to a group of kids who could care less about what I have to say. To be fair, 5 black girls are the main problem, but they’re a blight on this class and ruin the entire 75 minutes of teaching.

11:15 - 12:00-I stop off at Staples and buy an ink cartridge because Walmart.com arbitrarily removed the ink cartridge I ordered from my online order. I eat my salad in the car.

-I fill up my tank for a cost of $50. Gas is retailing for $5.99 a gallon now.

12:00-12:30-Home and I bring in all my bags and put everything away. Then I re-pack my lunch bag with items for my upcoming mini-vacay.

12:30-12:35-I update the gradebook at College No. 2.

12:35-1:30-I water my plants and soak the beds, moving quickly.

1:30–2:00-I finish packing.

2:00-5:00-B. picks me up and we drive to Huntington Beach for our 3-day stay at the Ayres Hotel. It’s very difficult unloading and loading the bikes on B.’s bike rack. They’re cumbersome and both bikes don’t fit in the rack correctly so my bike has to be hung upside down, vertically, and it just looks stupid. Also, every time B. takes the bikes down he also removes the entire rack because he’s afraid someone will steal it. Then, if we take the bikes some place, we have to wait for B. to install the rack all over again. Nevertheless, we check in and unpack.

Unfortunately, we learn there is huge air show scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the beach. Uh oh. Sounds like crowds of people will be there. B. requested a balcony and a 2nd/3rd floor unit BUT, due to the air show, the only room available is on the first floor with NO balcony. We have to store our bikes in the room, next to the closet.

B. and I go to Happy Hour at Spaghettinis.

5:00-7:30-B. knows in advance that I’m paying for this which is probably why he orders three drinks instead of his usual two. Although it’s supposed to be Happy Hour, everything is overpriced and the bill is $130. I have leftover turkey meatballs and chibalta bread; both taste amazing.

8:00-10:30-We return to the hotel room and I open a bottle of champagne that I brought from home. We watch a couple Forensic Files episodes.

10:30-11:15-Nighttime routine. Bed.