Day 26 - Governor Newsom reinstates the mask mandate in California

My hand is still in pain…

1/10/22. Monday 

9:30-10:00 – I wake up with my hand screaming in pain and nothing will alleviate it.  I take two Advil and hope it kicks in.  This is so strange but I seem to have lost the use of my right thumb.  Twisting a cap off the toothpaste or “pincher grasping” with my thumb and index finger is impossible, and I also can’t hold a pen because I have no strength in my thumb.  Also, trying to do these activities sends bursts of pain up my arm. Is this a “long Covid” symptom?  Maybe I sprained it doing last night’s Insanity workout. 

10:00-11:00 – I go downstairs to say good morning to the dog.  She pooped in front of the door again (sigh). I clean it up and we head outside to the patio while I survey my plants. Return inside and coffee for me; turkey for her. I clean the kitchen and prepare my lunch bag for today.

11:00-12:00 – I report to my office, set up the Discussion Boards in Canvas, and then send email blasts to the students in both classes, with instructions for accessing course content in the coming hours. I email more Add Codes.

-Students and instructors are mandated to complete a Health Screening Survey before they’re allowed on campus. It consists of 5 questions.  A few of them are as follows: “Have you had Covid-19 in the past 7 days?” Herein lies the dilemma. I’m fairly certain that L. and I succumbed to the Omicron variant, but any/all “at home” tests are not in stock. I could try to locate a testing center and stand in line for hours, only to receive the results three days later, and risk getting a possible false negative report. So, I mark “No” to that question. 

Another question on the survey is “Have you been exposed to any individual infected with Omicron in the past 7 days?” I’m positive that B. and L. both had Omicron and that I probably contracted it from B…but did I? None of us performed an at-home test or tried to find a testing site so I can’t conclusively say that I’ve been exposed to the Omicron variant. I mark “No” to that question, too.

-These health screenings are an absolute joke.  I’ve just taken you through MY logic when answering these questions…how many other people answer the questions in the same way after having been exposed to a potential Omicron outbreak? The US never took testing seriously, the Biden Administration didn’t bother to purchase and disseminate tests to the American people for almost two years and, as a result, individuals don’t conclusively know if they have the variant or are contagious.  Add to this the CDC’s new 5-day quarantining requirement instead of 10-days, and this variant is like a fire burning through our country…we can’t contain it and we continue to infect each other in a continuous loop.

12:00-12:15 – I scramble two eggs and have a quick breakfast.

12:15-1:15 – No time for a shower. I get dressed in black pants, black high-heel booties, a blazer and blouse.  I take out my braids. Full make-up. I’m already feeling fatigued and my teaching day hasn’t even started yet.

1:15-2:30 – I grab all of my bags and leave, then eat some Sugarfina candies on the drive in. My right thumb hurts so bad that I have to use my left hand to put the key in the ignition and turn. Additionally, I’m unable to lift my Hydroflask with my right hand.

2:30-4:30 – I arrive on time for the first class of Spring Semester 2022.  Instructors are teaching the Hyflex model again, but it’s confusing because we’re not sure how Administration wants us to convey course content.

This semester, Administration did NOT create two separate sections for each class [an ONLINE section and a F2F section]. Instead, ALL of the students are dumped into ONE section so what are the instructors supposed to do?  I solve that problem by telling the students they can leave, right now, and take the class online…all of them. Get the fuck out of here.  I pray that everybody leaves, but only 5 students exit the classroom. There are still 8 students remaining, which means I have to stay there and teach the class. What is it with these assholes?  Why on earth would you want to sit in a classroom for 3 hours, in the middle of a pandemic, with a raging variant in our midst, when you can take the same class in the privacy and safety of your own home?

-I console myself with the fact that last semester, by Month 2, only 4 students remained in the F2F section…the rest had converted to online instruction.

-A few of the students inform me that some Instructors are making ALL of their students report to the classroom for the first day of school.  Are these instructors insane? California has more infections than any state in the country, with LA County as the epicenter…so you’re going to demand that 30 students report to a tiny classroom for a 3-hour period?  

-Shockingly, a football player from last semester’s class reappears.  This is after he was consistently late, deliberately wore his mask under his nose, slept in class, and was earning an F before he withdrew 24 hours before the deadline to drop with a “W.”  This asshole enters the classroom, sans mask, and walks to the front of the classroom where the masks are located, thereby infecting us all. Of course he’s late…I’m currently going over the Syllabus.

I stop everything and say, “What are you doing here?” He replies, “What do you mean?”  I say: “I told you last semester…F2F doesn’t work for you!!…you need to take this class online. Why are you here, in my classroom?”  This loser goes onto explain that he learns better in the classroom…the same shit he said last semester.  I reply, “How is that possible?  You’re consistently late and you sleep in class!  Last semester was such a disaster!”  He tells me, quietly, “No, it wasn’t a disaster…I missed a few assignments…” I stare at him…”You were getting an F in the class”!  When he says, “Don’t you think you should discuss this with me after class?”  I respond, “Sure, we can have this exact same conversation after class.” He walks out and I never hear from him again, thank God.  Good riddance.

-I should add that I had the exact same conversation with his counterpart (M.) before class started…another football player who was as disrespectful as this jerk.  They were both friends. I tell M., “Listen…F2F doesn’t work for you.  Leave now and take the class online. You’ll do much better.”  In other words, get. out. of. here. So…M. left and logged onto the ONLINE section a few minutes later. Note: M. excels using this format and by the end of February has a strong A in the class.

Today’s agenda:

-I’m covering the Syllabus, presenting a mini-lecture with accompanying Google slides, and then showing a 15-minute video clip.

-When it’s time for the video, the classroom speaker doesn’t work. What a surprise. I email a work order request to IT.

-I should note that I’m teaching in a tin can, with no ventilation and no windows.  I can hear the sound of what I’m assuming is perpetually circulating air, but I think this is some sort of ruse to save on energy bills for the college because nothing is coming through the vents and I’m sweating. I’m at the podium, feeling more and more ill – I hope I don’t faint.

-I break for a moment to check my Online section and a stupid student keeps emailing me, repeatedly asking what we’re doing today.  I email him the Syllabus twice, but he says today’s itinerary isn’t there. I have to respond in a series of commands…this guy is an idiot. 1) Go to the bottom of Page 1; 2) Now look at the heading that says 1/10/22.  This is what we’re doing today; 3) Now look at the next heading that says 1/17/22 – we’re not meeting because it’s a holiday; 4) Now look under that heading to the next heading that says 1/24/22.  You have two assignments due.

He doesn’t respond.

-I take Attendance and leave at 4:30

-4:30-5:30 –Driving.  I’m exhausted and sweating, but this may be a side effect from having Omicron. I eat apples and peanut butter and listen to Crime Junkie.

-5:30-6:00 – Home and L. actually brought in the trashcans. I talk to L. about her damaged laptop. Recall that she spilled water on her laptop and now it won’t turn on. L. took her laptop to the Apple store and it’s going to cost $1500 to repair, but L. says she can buy a better model for cheaper.

-L. starts cooking a pasta sausage rigatoni tomato cheese dish.

6:00-9:00 – I quickly report to my office (Specialty Class 1B) and set up my next class. It starts at 6:00.

Today’s agenda:

-Listen to the pre-recorded Syllabus

-Listen to AUDIO Lecture – Chapter 1

6:30-7:00 – I take the dog for a walk.

7:00-7:30 – I check in with the students via an email blast.  L. brings me a plate of the pasta – it’s very good!

7:30-9:30 – Class is rolling on so I step out of my office and start taking down my exterior Xmas lights.  I note that L. took down TWO strands earlier today and then, inexplicably, stopped. Why did she stop at two strands? I pull down 7 strands of lights and 5 web-bush lights, then bring in the fake poinsettias and the wreath from the front door.  My right hand hangs by my side, useless…I use my left hand as much as I can.  These Xmas lights have to come down – it’s embarrassing that they’re still up.

-I stop periodically to check in with my class. Things seem to be going well.

-I set up my ladder and take my Xmas flag down, relying on my left hand and shoulder to set up the ladder and release the flag pole.  At the same time, L.’s boyfriend, T., arrives and the two leave for Pops Creamery. L. says she will do the dishes tonight.

9:30-10:00- I set up the ladder in the garage, then pack the exterior lights in the black crates they were in previously and return the crates to the floating shelves in the garage. I do the same with the fake geraniums I pulled from the porch. I hoist the crates and baskets up and down the ladder and store them in the upper shelving units. I wrap three wreaths in garbage bags and store in the hall closet.

-T. and L. return and go upstairs.

10:30-12:00 – My right hand and thumb is a 7/8 on a pain scale of 1-10.  I take two Advil, wrap the heating pad around my hand, and lay down. The heating pad really helps and I accidentally fall asleep.

12:00-1:00-Up and I pack my lunch bag, ready my coffee for tomorrow, and pick out my clothes.

1:00-1:30 – Nighttime routine. L. is going to Disneyland tomorrow so I slip a $100 bill under her bedroom door. I set my alarm for 6:30.