Day 20 - Biden says the pandemic is over

On Monday…I burn it down…

10/9/22-10/10/22 - Sunday and Monday

9:00-10:30-The party’s over. Check out is at 12:00 so I use the Espresso maker in the room to make an Espresso for B and I, then jump in the shower.

10:30-12:00-B and I have breakfast at the Terrace (on site) and I order a Mimosa; B. gets a Bloody Mary. Ten minutes into breakfast, B. knocks over his Bloody Mary and the glass actually shatters, drenching the table, his food, and my shoes. The floor is soaked which means we have to move to another table. B. makes a comment that on the rare occasions when his Dad did something similar to shattering a glass and soaking a table with an alcoholic beverage (what would be the equivalent to the incident that just happened? I’ve never done anything even remotely ‘similar’] his Dad would be extremely embarrassed. B. says these types of incidents don’t bother HIM, though. Uh, guess what? This was extremely embarrassing. I pick up the tab and we leave.

-After breakfast, B. and I take a walk around the grounds because the Langham landscaping is beautiful.

12:30-1:45-Back to our room. B calls Valet to bring our car around, we grab our luggage, and leave.

1:45-3:00-Return home and I put everything away and start a load of laundry.

The rest of Sunday is lost…

10/10/22 - Monday

9:00-11:00 - I take the dog outside and reward her with cheese; coffee for me. Then, I return upstairs and spend this block of time grading papers. It takes me one hour to grade each paper, sometimes longer, but that’s my average. Try as I might, I can’t increase my grading speed; I’m stuck at one hour per paper.

11:30-12:30 - Shower. Lotion. Athletic Housewife attire. Light make-up.

12:30-1:00-I leave for my therapy appointment.

1:00-2:00-Therapy session.

2:00-3:00-After therapy, I drive to Valencia Meadows Park to see where my Striders walking group will stage up tonight. Return home and map out Quigley Canyon to see where my hiking group will stage up tomorrow morning. I eat my leftover Chile Relleno and rice and beans from last night.

6:10-7:30 - I drive to Striders and walk alone, mulling over time management strategies. It’s dark and I don’t know this path very well so there’s pressure to keep up with the five leaders of the group who move incredibly fast. I want to slow down, but I can’t; otherwise, I would get lost.

7:30-7:45-Return home.

8:00-10:00-You know how it is when there are papers to grade…this block of time is largely a blur.

10:00-12:00 - Here, the day crystalizes and comes starkly into focus because I spend this time calling out Dr. LL and OSD friends for the frauds that they are.

I have absolutely had it with that OSD bitch and have made the executive decision to stop (personally) transcribing the lectures for her.

Dr. LL and friends continuously cover their OSD asses by asserting that they are, in fact, providing transcription services for the SPED / deaf students via Yuja, the platform that all AVC instructors “allegedly” use when a student requests a transcribed lecture.

In fact, Yuja doesn’t work. It’s a lie. College No. 1 is NOT providing transcription services for OSD students in accordance with federal ADA law. Nope…it’s the Adjuncts who are providing this service, on their own time. And I’m about to “burn it down.”

I spend two hours crafting a 1-page, single space, email informing the powers that be that Yuja DOES. NOT. WORK., that Yuja’s own website says “the AI software is typically not at the level of ADA compliance” and that I know Dr. LL and my Dean are aware of this. I accuse them of ‘covering up’ the fact that Yuja doesn’t work so the College doesn’t lose its federal funding. I know this because when I complained to my Assistant Dean that Yuja is ineffective, he told me to transcribe my own lectures because that’s what HE did when he was teaching. I politely told him…No.

In my email, I compare Yuja to a “word salad” although “word shit” is actually the more appropriate term. I have repeatedly uploaded my Audio lectures to Yuja, only to have the platform spit out paragraphs of gobbledygook that make absolutely no sense. After three attempts, I stopped uploading my Audio lectures entirely and L. and I have been transcribing them, all in the effort of appeasing one. crazy. OSD. bitch.

That’s over.

In my email, I thoroughly document my conversation with a Yuja Customer Service Rep, who actually told me to 1) either transcribe my Audio lectures myself; or 2) pay Rev.com to do it. [Note: Rev. com is a transcription service that employs actual PEOPLE to transcribe audio files - they do great work but they’re very expensive]. I explain to Dr. LL and the powers that be that I was gas-lit by the IT Director for College No. 1 when he wrote in an email to me, “faculty have access to a service called Yuja that is accessible through Cornerstone…You just upload any audio or video files and it will automatically caption and also produce transcripts.” That’s a lie and I call them on it.

I go onto say that Adjunct Instructors are NOT certified transcriptionists; therefore, it is unacceptable and NOT in accordance with my contract to presume that Adjunct Instructors will personally provide transcription services. The COLLEGE is supposed to provide this service if they want to continue receiving federal funding - NOT ME.

I personally paid Rev.com to transcribe TWO documentaries [even though closed caption was provided, that crazy OSD bitch demanded transcription as well] and THREE Audio lectures because L. and I simply did not have the time to do it ourselves. I explain in my email that I had to pay Rev.com to transcribe my longer Audio lectures, but on an Adjunct salary I can no longer afford it. I attach my Rev.com invoices to the email and demand reimbursement.

I also add that since Dr. LL and the powers that be continue to insist that Yuja is in compliance with federal ADA guidelines, then, going forward, that’s the vendor I will use to transcribe ALL of my Audio files [for one crazy OSD bitch].

In essence, I. burn. it. down.

However, this email was also carefully prepared in the service of covering MY own ass when I start forwarding the Yuja “word shit” (transcribed Audio lectures) to that crazy OSD bitch for the remainder of the semester. I know that she will go absolutely ballistic when she receives the Yuja transcription instead of my personal, sanitized version. She will then accuse me of not complying with federal ADA guidelines and threaten to sue me personally…BUT I will be able to counter with the statement that Admin told me to use Yuja for ALL transcription services so take it up with them. In other words…suck it, bitch.

I’m aware that I might suffer retaliation for exposing Yuja inadequacy and possibly causing College No. 1 to lose millions of dollars in federal funding because this school is NOT in compliance with ADA guidelines. Come at me, mofos. This email just gave me whistleblower protection. Go f—k yourselves.

I hit “send.”

12:00-1:00 - Nighttime routine. Bed. I sleep like a baby.