Day 21-Monkey Pox is the new pandemic
Me…
8/24/22. Wednesday
8:30-9:00-The dog is awake so I take her outside and stand around while she goes potty. Then, I cut up cheese for her treat and unload the dishwasher. The chicken I put in the crockpot last night is finished, so I shred it for tacos.
9:00-10:45-I check email and that crazy OSD bitch sent an email complaining that although she can hear Audio Lecture - Chapter 2, the volume dipped momentarily [about 10 seconds]. She also complains about a mechanical vibrating sound that lasts approximately 2 minutes and cc’s everybody about this. I actually know what she’s referring to here. When I was recording Audio Lecture - Chapter 2 ( a year ago), a call came in on my cell phone. The sound that she is complaining about is my phone on vibrate. These issues can’t be resolved, BUT they are not indicative of a failure to address her accommodations, which means neither I, nor the school, can be sued for these alleged problems.
Spoiler Alert: This crazy OSD bitch will repeatedly use these issues to try and make a “failure to address accommodations” complaint for approximately two weeks. HOWEVER, I know that they don’t rise to the level of intentional failure. Legally, a 10-second dip in volume or a vibrating phone cannot be construed as impacting her ability to learn and this does not imply that I am failing to adhere to her request for accommodations.
As a result, I repeatedly cut-and-paste the same sentence whenever she brings up the same or similar issues: “Yes…you’re correct. On occasion, the volume dips, although you noted you can still hear the lecture when that occurs. And, yes, you’re correct, strangely, there is a mechanical noise, on occasion, that lasts about 1 minute. Unfortunately, the school has not provided Instructors with professional audio equipment since we switched to Distance Education as a result of Covid. I’ve been saving and hope to purchase my OWN professional audio equipment next semester.”
She eventually gives up on this course of action. I win. [insert smile emoji here]
This f—king bitch then pivots to a separate request, demanding transcribed Audio Lectures. If she can hear the anomalies she just complained about, why does she need the lectures transcribed? Nevertheless, I remind her that I forwarded her request for transcription to OSD the first week of the semester and that she was cc’d on the request.
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A short time later, I receive a separate email from Dean LL. He informs me that OSD does NOT provide transcription!!! Say what, now? You’re the Office of Student Disabilities and you don’t provide transcription services?! And why wasn’t I told this the first DAY of the semester when I informed that crazy OSD bitch AND CC’D YOU that OSD would be providing transcribed copies of the lectures? Dean LL, who is blind, I might add, informs me that AP, Director of College No. 1’s Instructional Multi-Media Center (IMC) provides transcription services.
I email AP and explain that I need 11 Audio Lectures transcribed for ONE student. To his credit, AP responds. He says College No. 1 has contracted with Yuja to provide transcription; Yuja will convert an Audio file to written text. BUT, AP doesn’t tell me how to do it…I suspect it’s because even he doesn’t know. Instead, he sends me a link to “The Tutorial” which he promises will explain everything. The Tutorial contains TWENTY-NINE headings/videos/Webinars. AP provides no guidance whatsoever and I’m not sure where to start. Surely, I don’t need to watch 29 videos/Webinars…I’m not even sure how long each Webinar is!! TWENTY-NINE??!! By the end of the semester, I still wouldn’t be finished.
I try playing around with the Yuja platform and upload one of my Audio Lectures. Nothing happens and it’s unclear how to convert the lecture to a transcribed PDF document.
I email AP again and explain that all I need to do is transcribe an Audio file. Can he tell me which Webinar to watch for this most basic of tasks? Spoiler Alert: I never hear from AP again.
I ask L. if she can transcribe the Audio lecture - of course, I’ll pay her - but L. doesn’t think she can do it in the next two days and suggests I pay for the transcription using an online transcription service. I’m extremely concerned. “Transcription” is one of the 20+ Accommodations that this crazy OSD bitch demanded. Failure to adhere to this request could result in me being personally sued, not to mention the college. I don’t care about College No. 1, but shouldn’t AP care?
11:00-11:20-bullet journal
I had plans to go to the beach today, but but the weather says it’s cloudy in Ventura and the high is only 75. However, let’s be real…I couldn’t have gone anyway because I spent too much time corresponding with that crazy OSD bitch.
11:20-1:00-SInce the OSD Dept. does not provide transcription, that means that I will have to find a way to transcribe the SIX podcasts that I’ve assigned for the semester. That crazy OSD bitch is on it - she sends an email informing me (and cc’ing Dean LL and T., the counselor) that she emailed the BBC requesting a transcribed version of the podcast that I assigned this week, because I didn’t forward her a transcribed copy of the podcast. I inform her that I already contacted the BBC last week and they informed me that they don’t provide transcribed podcasts. At present, I am making arrangements to have the podcast transcribed on our Yuja platform.
None of this is true, but I don’t give a f—k.
It is painfully apparent that I will have to either purchase transcribed Audio lectures and podcasts through a private vendor [How much will that cost?!] or transcribe them myself when I have absolutely no time to do this. I have no idea how to operate Yuja and nobody will help me…
But first things first:
-I drop the No Shows.
-I complete my Notices of Absence [request for time off for select days of the semester] and forward to my Department Secretary.
-Then, I go through ALL of the podcasts AND documentaries I’ve assigned for Specialty Class 1A and find online, transcribed versions for every media source except four. I bookmark the links and store them in a folder. One of the four is the BBC podcast that the crazy OSD bitch keeps complaining about.
1:00-2:10-I make a batch of brownies (box) and load the dishwasher while the oven preheats.
Then, I ask L. for help with the transcription. The BBC podcast needs to be done ASAP because there is a possibility that I could be individually sued for not providing a service to an OSD student under federal guidelines.
Currently, I have TWO classes at College No. 1: this one and my F2F every Thursday, from 7:00-10:00. HOWEVER, I have two new classes, starting at two different high schools, NEXT WEEK and I’ve spent way too much time tweaking Specialty Class 1A simply to appease ONE PERSON instead of getting my high school classes up and running.
I am STRESSED when I explain to L. what’s happening and ask her to do the transcription. L. actually starts crying [recall that L. is a “trained” actor (she’s had years of acting classes)] and tells me that SHE’s stressed. “I’ve worked EIGHT straight days”, she cries. When I tell her I’ve logged close to 160 hours of work in a 2-week period, her tears miraculously cease and she says, coldly, “It’s not a competition.”
Well then…why are you telling me YOUR work schedule? The bulk of L.’s shifts are 4-to-5 hour stints as a receptionist, where she actually reads her book at the counter. Then, she goes out to lunch or dinner with her friends or talks all night on the phone to “Colin Two-Hatchet”, her most recent boyfriend.
I tell L. that I NEED HELP. L. says, “I already helped you.”
Yes, she agreed to overhaul my PowerPoint slides and convert them to Google, which was a massive project. BUT I paid her for this and she finished a year ago. She also charged me $30 an hour. The project cost me $3000, which means SHE MADE $3000. Additionally, I’ve compensated L. for every small change/tweek I’ve asked her to make to my platform [she charges $20 an hour if “graphics” aren’t involved, but I’m a long-time client and these small changes should be included as “maintenance.” A regular client would never pay for a few updates - they’re included in the service]. Although L. lives here rent free and I pay for everything, she does absolutely nothing around the house. And now she refuses to help me? When she knows I will pay for her services? Also, last week, L. just made $1000 in commission, selling Memberships. Do you think I’ll see any of that money? No.
2:10-4:30-L. excuses herself from the conversation and goes upstairs to take a nap while I go online and try to figure out how to order a transcribed file from an online vendor. I find an online service called Rev.com, but they are more expensive than L. What choice do I have, though? I create an account and upload the file for Audio Lecture - Chapter 2 [this is the lecture that crazy OSD bitch has ALREADY LISTENED TO and would not stop complaining about the mechanical interference]. This transcription will cost me $115, but I decide to leave it in the queue for now. I have NINE remaining Audio Lectures that need to be transcribed…I can’t afford $1000. Maybe I can figure out the Yuja platform…
-I thought about going across the street to the pool since I didn’t make it to the beach, but the brownies haven’t finished baking yet, even though we’re going on 40 min. Also, I have got to transcribe the BBC podcast that the crazy OSD bitch is demanding, even though she already listened to the podcast and had no difficulty doing so. I’ve got to get this BBC podcast transcribed ASAP because that crazy OSD bitch is accusing me of failing to respond to her request for accommodations.
4:30-5:00 - The pool idea is shot to hell so I start transcribing the BBC podcast. This is a 24-minute podcast but the transcription is slow-going because…surprise…I’m NOT a certified transcriptionist, nor do I have the standard foot-pedal equipment that transcriptionists have (if they even use that anymore). I transcribe until Minute 14 and then switch to College No. 2 because I need the email roster for the “Einstein” students that I’m teaching via “Synchronous” online. The “Einstein” liaison sends me a “Welcome” email with student names, but NO EMAIL ADDRESSES. This is an online class!!! How the hell am I supposed to schedule our class meetings when I have no contact information for these kids?! Additionally, how many times do I have to ask for the SAME INFORMATION?! I. Need. The. Email. Addresses. I reply to the liaison’s email, wherein I request, yet again, the students’ email addresses.
5:00-5:45-Shower. I wash my hair, then I sit in the shower and ice my eyes. Lotion.
6:00-6:30- bullet journal
6:30-7:00-I blow dry my hair.
7:00-8:00-I make a plate of my No Bun Hamburger Salad for dinner, with a piece of buttered sourdough bread. It tastes amazing! This is the only meal I’ve had all day, other than two bites of a chocolate bar. I read Tell Me Everything.
8:00-8:10-bullet journal
8:10-8:30-I do a 15-minute Insanity Ab workout.
8:30-9:30-I take the dog for a walk.
9:30-10:00-I get gas. It’s at $5.17 a gallon. Am I supposed to be happy about this? A few months ago, it wasn’t even hitting $4.00…now I’m supposed to be grateful it’s not at $6?
10:00-2:00-I go to work. I have to prepare a Syllabus for my Synchronous Distance Education high school class, which I am scheduled to deliver, online, two days a week at “Einstein” [High School No. 1.] For THIS class, I actually have a Syllabus template and I don’t have to create it from scratch. Having said that, it is still slow going because I have to make multiple changes to accommodate the new semester dates.
-Another issue has emerged: I am unable to email ANYTHING from my phone or IPad. This means any time I create something - an Audio lecture or a PSA - I have to “share” it with L. via air drop so SHE can email it to me. Clearly I need to go to the Apple store and resolve this problem, but when do I have the time to do this?
I conduct an experiment. I “share” a file with L. while I’m downstairs in my office and she’s upstairs, in her bedroom, talking to “Colin Two-Hatchet.” L. immediately emails the file to me. I clarify through a text I send to L. - can she “share” a file with me if we are not, physically, in the SAME room? (because I can’t stand talking to L. right now). She texts back, “Yes.” Good. I can airdrop my files to L. and she can email them to me and we don’t even have to talk or see each other - she just needs to physically be in the house. When I ask L. for her availability tomorrow-when will she be in the house?-she gives me a ONE-HOUR block of time...12:00-1:00. 7:00-10:00 is another option for L., but I’m in the classroom. 12:00-1:00 is it.
As I walked the dog tonight it donned on my that my entire life, in ALL my relationships, not ONCE has a significant other or my own child, for that matter, ever said to me, “You know what? You look exhausted. What can I do for you, in this moment, to help you?” “Sit down. I can do (insert chore-task).” Never. No one. NOT ONCE. Even more recently, when I was overcome with fatigue after having contracted Covid, B. didn’t provide any assistance. After I semi-recovered, B. asked me a couple of times how I was feeling. Each time, I responded…”Ummm, I think I have Long Covid”, and B. would laugh in my face. I have yet to determine what, exactly, was so funny. It took me several months to get back to normal after I caught Covid the first time. Yet another time, when I was incredibly sick with the flu and actually lying next to the toilet, my then-husband stepped over me to brush his teeth and continue about his morning.
I deserve to be treated BETTER than the way my daughter treats me.
I finish the Syllabus for “Einstein” high school and listen to By the Book.
2:00-2:30- I take a break and have more of my No Bun Burger Salad.
2:30-4:30-I transcribe the second half of the BBC podcast demanded by that crazy OSD bitch, replay the podcast and check for accuracy, then email her the transcription.
I go online and check the main Yuja website [they’re corporate website; NOT the link through College No. 1] regarding how Audio files are transcribed. I’m startled to see that, clearly stated on their website, are the words “Yuja is NOT ADA compliant.” What?! Yuja is the vendor that AP said all Instructors use when disabled students request transcribed media sources! How can Yuja’s own website assert that they are NOT ADA compliant!? Yuja’s website goes onto say that “A transcribed request must be completed by a human and Yuja contracts with Rev.com.” OMG - I just opened an account with Rev.com and requested a transcribed copy of Audio Lecture - Chapter 2 earlier today. Is this why AP never responded when I asked him for clarification on how to access Yuja? Yuja also contracts with Rev.com?
Shockingly, College No. 1 is NOT compliant with ADA federal guidelines because Yuja is not ADA compliant. How can that be? There must be some mistake. Failing to provide viable transcription for disabled students is in direct violation of ADA federal guidelines and sets the college up for a potential lawsuit, as well as a massive loss of federal funding. If Yuja is not ADA compliant, what are Instructors supposed to do?
So AP lied. This must be what he tells all Instructors: “Oh, Yuja provides that service. Here’s 29 tutorials to review.” But, Yuja does NOT provide transcription…is this why AP is not responding to my emails requesting clarification as to how to use the Yuja platform? Because we actually have NO service that provides transcription for our disabled students? This is a huge liability…how can the college afford to risk it?
4:30-5:00-Disgusted I get ready for bed. I really want to ride my bike tomorrow and I put it on the list of THREE things I want to accomplish. 1) bike, 2) color my hair 3) record the Audio Syllabus for my “Einstein” high school class. My hiking group is on hiatus right now and I miss being in nature. Nighttime routine. Bed. I don’t need to set my alarm because I know the dog will wake me up.