Day 15-all CA students must be vaccinated

“Distance Education” today…as both teacher and student…

10/15/21. Friday

7:30-9:00 - My alarm goes off. My students are scheduled to take the Midterm at 8:30, but I set up the exam to open automatically at that time. I go back to sleep. 

9:00-9:30 – I’m awake and I report to my office to make sure my highschoolers have access to the Midterm. I pull up Canvas and see that the students are currently taking the Midterm without incident which means everything is working. The dog is confused because this is not our routine…she’s always first, not work. I sit on the couch and she jumps in my lap so I can give her kisses and cuddles. After a few minutes, I give her the cue for outside. She grabs her tennis ball and we head to the backyard. I walk the property while she goes potty…everything looks so much better after the yard work I did last night. Also my plants are fully watered now. 

 I unfreeze a few pieces of L.’s lemon loaf and bring it upstairs with my coffee. 

9:30-10:30 – Shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform. Light make-up. 

10:30-11:00 – I go to work.  The students from my College No. 2 Asynchronous class are responding in droves to the emails I sent them yesterday, where I call them out for failing to watch the assigned videos. In professional terms, I accuse them of being dirty liars. 

At the same time, I’m still getting grief from the students at College No. 1 who keep insisting that it’s impossible that they are getting a D/F in the Core Class at this time.  

11:00-1:00 – I field lengthy emails to those students who continue to lie about their current grades. In the interim, I break up the monotony by working on some Life Administration: 

-The Electrician is scheduled to be here at 11:00 so he can wire the light panels that “Frank” mounted on the garage wall the day before I left for Vegas.  I text “Chris” the gate code and say that I’ll see him soon in lieu of saying, “Uh, it’s 11:00.  Where are you?” 

-I continue with my quest to return two pairs of Walmart shorts that don’t fit. The issue is I bought the shorts from an outside vendor affiliated with Walmart and I have to contact that vendor directly in order to return the items.  I already tried to return them in person at the Walmart Customer Service in my area, but they refused to reimburse me or take the shorts.   

The Customer Service Rep instructed me to call 1-800-Walmart, explain that the outside vendor has not responded, and ask for the shipping label.  I know from experience that’s a f—king lie…when you call 1-800-Walmart they say the same thing that in-store Customer Service says: ”Oh…it’s from an outside vendor?  You have to contact them directly.”  This bitch just wants to get rid of me and is giving me bad information so I’ll leave. The problem, though, is what am I supposed to do when the outside vendor won’t return my calls or respond to my emails? 

I call 1800-Walmart again and I’m transferred to a Filipino Call Center where I’m told I can’t get a refund because the deadline has expired. It’s not my fault!!  I’ve been diligently trying to return these shorts for 2 weeks!! It’s not like I sat around until I ran out of time...nobody will help me. 

-The Electrician texts me that his guys are on another job and running late.  Had I known this, I would have gone back to bed at 10:05, when my morning class ended. 

-I call Spectrum – Tech Support and try to explain the issue I’m having with my 5G access. I don’t know how to articulate my dilemma so I hand the phone to L., i.e., I shove it in her face and tell her to describe the problem. I really don’t know what to say…L. does her best and Spectrum Dispatch says they will send a technician out between 3:00 and 4:00 today. 

L. leaves for work.

1:00-3:00 – In accordance with my contract at College No. 1, I need to take Continuing Education classes every semester [referred to as ‘Flex’ and I’ve written about this before] so I log into a Flex event, via phone, called Getting to Know Your Counselor, as in Academic College Counselor, not a therapist.  I put the phone on speaker and set it next to me while I continue working. Right away, the “facilitators” put us in “breakout rooms” via Zoom, but since I called in [a handy trick I learned when Covid hit – don’t Zoom, use the call-in phone number instead] I can’t access the breakout rooms and have no idea what anyone is saying. Instead, I sit silently on the phone listening to the two, ADA-mandated, Zoom sign-language interpreters talk about their vacation plans because they can’t do anything either.  There are six “break-out rooms” and only two of them so they do nothing. Same. 

1:00 – The Electrician arrives [2 guys] as my Flex class is just starting. They don’t mask, but I do. I answer the Electrician’s questions while the phone is on speaker.  Basically, all I want the Electrician to do is wire the panels that are hanging on the wall. BUT, I want the light on a remote-controlled dimmer switch.  Can you do that?  Yes, they assure me.  We can. 

-I send an email to the D/F students in Specialty Class 1A informing them that the last day to drop with a W is in 7 business days. 

2:30-The Electricians leave.  They wired the light panels, but the cable they installed for the dimmer switch is the wrong cable.  The light doesn’t dim…it, like, bounces and is incredibly hard on the eyes. They don’t have the correct cable in their truck and will have to…you guessed it…return. I am to call their employer [the owner of the company] and schedule yet another appointment. Oh…and by the way…a remote-controlled dimmer switch does not exist for this type of light switch. What a surprise. Wiring the panels cost me $250. 

I text the owner of the company, explain the situation, and ask to schedule a time for his guys to install the correct cable. Spoiler Alert: The owner doesn’t return my text for the next 7 days. When he does text me back, he will spin a yarn about moving his grandmother to a nursing home as a result of her dementia and use this as justification for his failure to respond to my text for the past 7 days. It’s amazing any of these contractors are still in business. When “his guys” finally do return to install the correct cable because they installed the wrong one, I will again be charged $250 for an installation that was their fault in the first place. I’m too exhausted to argue – I just want this part of the project completed. B., sensing my frustration, graciously contributes $100 towards the cable installation. 

2:30-3:30 – Spectrum will be here any minute. I dust the downstairs and my office, then light a scented candle. Last time Spectrum came, they had to reconfigure the cable in my master bedroom closet, which means it’s likely this Tech will be upstairs in my room. I tidy my room, bathroom, closet, and fill my diffuser with Eucalyptus oil. I open several windows throughout the house and make sure my air purifiers are running. 

3:00 – My Flex class ends. 

3:30-4:00 – Spectrum still isn’t here so I work on more Life Administration.

-I thought I would have heard from “Kellie” by now regarding the final cost of the garage doors and my down payment, but there is nothing. When I text “John”, the installer, to ask if he’s spoken to Kellie, he says it doesn’t look like the doors I’m ordering come with “casings” and “jambs.” The entire reason I selected this model is because they’re pre-fabricated, which means everything is finished and included – they need only be installed. No casings or jambs is a huge blow. John said he planned to clarify this with Kellie, but forgot, so he will leave a message now. At 4:00 p.m.  On a Friday.  

I don’t hear from Kellie or John again until Monday.

-I again reach out to my Library’s Volunteer Program and, this time, actually make contact. You said you needed volunteers… do you have any positions available? The Director of the Volunteer Program tells me to email back in February, 2022.  February 2022??!! Forget it.  Why do they advertise that they need volunteers? This “socialization project” is a bust. 

-I order two more storage racks for L.’s art studio. 

3:30-5:30 – Spectrum is here, masked, and spends the next two hours moving back and forth between my downstairs office and my bedroom closet, while I sit in the kitchen and read Digital Minimalism. The Tech is frustrated and I hear a lot of banging going on, but at the end of the two hours, we have access to 5G. When I ask what the problem was, he can’t really explain it…just that he had to reset the entire system.  He shows me how to input my new password, which means that the Tech guy who was here 18 months ago, did NOT reset the password as L.  continuously asserted, because he would have involved me in the process, as this Spectrum Tech is doing right now. 

The Spectrum Tech leaves but not before…drum roll, please…taking a shit in my downstairs bathroom. Is this part of the service?  Contractors reserve the right to use my bathroom when they are on site, taking care of a repair?  

5:00-6:00 – Recall that I’m operating on 1.5 hours of sleep. I have tortilla chips, cucumbers, and carrots for dinner while watching another episode of Maid. 

L. returns from work, but leaves again for Trader Joes. 

6:00-9:00 – It’s time for another Flex event. This one is called Latinx and Pop Culture. I’m only able to access it via Zoom, but I mute myself and continue fielding emails from my students concerning their D/Fs in my classes. 

-I  prepare a lengthy email to a student from my Specialty 1A class who can’t understand why he has a D when he was only absent once. Actually, your low grade has nothing to do with ‘that day you called in sick.’ On the same day you were out, you also failed to turn in a 40-point assignment worth a 1/3 of your grade. I never hear from him again.  He drops the following week. 

-I exchange more back-and-forth emails with students as it is finally donning on them that they cannot pull their grades up in the amount of time left in the semester. If they don’t drop now, they will get an F in the class. Good-bye. 

-Another email comes in from a student in my Asynchronous class, indignantly asking me how I can possibly accuse him of not watching the documentary just because he failed ONE video quiz.  He says he “needs clarification” regarding my comments. I got your clarification right here, asshole.  You didn’t fail ONE video quiz. You failed EVERY podcast/video quiz that has been assigned [8], which is impossible to do if you listened/watched the content.  I list the titles of every quiz that he failed, followed by the grade of F, then I ask him if he needs “help” during the second half of the semester. College No. 2 has excellent resources.  I just need the student to point me in the right direction, I say,  so I can send him to the appropriate department. I never hear from him again. Good riddance. Spoiler Alert: His grades magically improve over the next 8 weeks. 

- Latinx and Pop Culture seminar rolls on.                                                                                                       

-My ‘allegedly’ suicidal [online] student emails me that she was unable to take last night’s video quiz because she fell asleep while the video was running due to a new anti-depressant she was recently prescribed. Uh…back in my day, if you missed an assignment because you fell asleep in class, YOU GOT A 0.  However, because she is an OSD student, she is eligible for more benefits and privileges then any of my “normal” students.  It’s so obvious she’s gaming the system…and so unfair.  I push back, however slightly, and say that since she was unable to complete the assignment, her grade is a 0.  

-She emails me a doctor’s note and I promptly capitulate and respond that she can take the quiz…just let me know when you are done watching the documentary. 40 minutes later she emails me that she’s ready for the video quiz, which I send to her, and which she promptly fails. 

-The same student emails me again, actually accusing me of failing to email her a video quiz for her alternative assignment a few weeks ago. I counter that she never informed me that she was finished with the alternative assignment and the fact that she’s calling it a VIDEO quiz must mean that she’s still not finished because her alternative assignment was a PODCAST [you f—king bitch], NOT a video. 

9:00 – Latinx and Pop Culture ends and I have officially fulfilled my Flex contract for this semester. 

9:00-10:30 – L. is making her famous rigatoni.  While she’s preparing it, I listen to my Audio Lecture – Chapter 7 for Specialty Class 1A, in conjunction with my Google slides. My ‘paper’ script is a little off, so I add segments from my Audio Lecture to my notes. There’s a somewhat outdated reference at the end of lecture so L. will have to splice-and-dice the last 15 minutes. L. will also have to use her graphic design skills to create two new Google slides. 

10:30-12:00 – L. finishes the rigatoni and it is amazing!  I take a break and we sit at the counter and talk about our day. 

12:00-1:30 – I return to my office and grade the last remaining paper from Specialty Class 1A. It’s from my favorite student and I know it’s the best one, which is why I saved it for last. The only problem is it’s hard to provide edits and commentary when she’s a better writer than me.

-I finish grading the assignment and her paper doesn’t disappoint.

-I post her grade to the online grade book, then scan her assignment so I can email it to her.  Unfortunately, the scanner keeps jamming. Great.

-After several attempts, it scans and I email the paper to the student. 

1:30-3:00 – I enter the kitchen. OMG.  The rigatoni was incredible, but it looks like there was an explosion in here. Cue the “Hitchcock” Psycho music as I scan the room and take in the dirty spatula, the dried marinara sauce on the counters and backsplash, pieces of basil all over the cutting board, a mountain of pans and dishes in the sink.  I can’t leave it like this. 

I shut down the Halloween lights – inside and out – then clean the kitchen. 

3:00-3:30 – I enter the Flex events I’ve completed for this semester, in accordance with my contract, into the online database for College No. 1. 

3:30-4:30 – Nighttime routine. Bed.