Day 40-Monkey pox is the new pandemic

That crazy OSD bitch is trying to lay the groundwork for a lawsuit…

Students returned to the classroom, business as usual, last week.

Declines in reading and math are so severe as a result of the pandemic and a year of distance education that educators say it will take elementary school students three years to return to their original levels [before the pandemic] and middle school kids even longer.

The UK prioritized opening schools at all costs so their losses are not as great. So did Florida and some of the other Red States.

The Blue States you ask? Bars and restaurants opened long before schools did because service  workers have no union representation and were forced to return to work. In most of the Red States, nobody has union representation, so all workers returned to the J.O.B., simultaneously, no matter where they worked.

Blue State bars and restaurants were the first to open for business (maybe not so much in New York). Once the hazard pay dried up [after two weeks] and people in the service sector got wise to the fact that the “essential worker” label was bogus [funny how people in the worst jobs, like meatpackers, trash truck drivers, grocery store employees, Amazon workers, and people employed with the NYC subway are now suddenly deemed “essential” when they’ve been treated like shit their entire careers], employees no longer wanted to risk their lives serving and interacting with assholes. BUT, they had no choice. Employers told their employees “Either return to work or you’re fired” [Instead, the Big Quit happened, but that’s for another post].

Teachers, on the other hand, who were unionized, told Admin “We will not return to work until safety protocols are implemented”,  at which point they were vilified, along with the Nurses.  Interesting…when you’re paid the least, barely making ends meet,  and are forced to return to work because you have absolutely no options, you’re labeled “essential”, “a hero”…people bang pots and pans for you on their balconies. When you’re a Union member and you advocate for your safety, because you can, you’re called “lazy”, “selfish” and you receive death threats.

Additionally, if you’re Black or Hispanic, America wrote you off a long time ago. Covid 19 ripped through your population and took out huge swaths of your community. Our government watched you die in large numbers and…did nothing.  Let’s have a moment of silence for the “essential” workers who gave their lives serving ungrateful assholes  complaining that their food was too cold or there was a spot on their glass.

Here’s a quote from Madonna, uttered during the first couple months of the pandemic in her multi-million dollar bathroom, lined with candles, rose petals floating in the water: “Covid is the great equalizer. It doesn’t differentiate.”  Really, Madonna? That maxim was taken up by the wealthiest members of our society and repeated constantly in the media, as if hearing it over and over again would, somehow, make all of us believe it: “Its the great equalizer.”

How many rich people died during the pandemic? Now ask yourself, How many poor people died?

9/12/22-Monday

I very rarely check email on the weekends and my students know this. As a result, that crazy OSD bitch either sends her emails on Friday, after hours, or bombards me with numerous complaints Monday morning, once I’ve personally emailed her the course content for the week.

Last week, I made a huge mistake. This bitch, who has the highest grade in the class and submits all of her assignments by Wednesday, when everything is actually due by 11:59 pm on Sunday, asked for an extension regarding her assignments. I’m sure this is hard for the reader of this blog to believe, but as stated in one of my previous posts, up until this point, I’ve responded [to her] with kindness and understanding, even though I wish she would fucking die. Today is no exception. I say, kindly, “Are you sure you need more time? You’re my fastest student! [happy face emoji] I’m sure you’ll finish well before Sunday, but if you don’t…just let me know.”

The flurry of emails begins as this bitch tries to pave the way for a lawsuit. I’m providing TWO for the purposes of this blog, but at the time of this writing, since the semester began, I’ve received well over 100 emails from this bitch.

Email No. 1

“What is your opposition to giving me extra time? …Your prior email suggestion leads me to believe you want me to drop your course and try another semester. Please do not push off my requests.”

I respond vigorously to the contrary and accuse this crazy bitch of deliberately misrepresenting the facts. I cite example after example where I have had absolutely no problem responding to her requests. I add that I resent her implications and cc all parties involved. In professional verbiage, I call her a liar.

There is nothing compassionate and/or kind about my response and there never will be again. Bring it, bitch. If I go down, I’ll go down swinging…hard.

Email No. 2

“I am attaching my OSD accommodations which clearly state I have 2x the amount of time to complete the work. I feel like I am being dismissed, marginalized, and questioning my own assessments of my capabilities. I can’t be expected to finish assignments based on your due date and time…I am annoyed because I have asked for more time and you postponed, pushing off till after the due date.”

I come back at her aggressively. I refute every allegation and remind her that she is getting 3x the amount of time on all tests, which is above and beyond the federal guidelines. I also accuse her of deliberately misrepresenting me and intimate that this is “libel.” Then, I take her OSD accommodations list and note, point-by-point, how I have addressed and satisfied every fucking request she has ever made. I cc everybody.

All of this takes an incredible amount of time. Dealing with this crazy OSD bitch is like teaching another class. I feel like I have five classes currently…it’s a lot.

In addition, this is my first week teaching four classes, two of which are F2F at opposite ends of Southern CA, while also incorporating my personal activities that I have had in place for over a year [I call them “anchor activities”]. Almost immediately, I see a planning error with regard to my Insanity workouts. I don’t like to go more than three days withOUT an Insanity workout, but that doesn’t mean I’m just sitting around when that happens. I’m either hiking, or speed walking with my Striders group, or taking an occasional bike ride with B., or gardening. BUT, I DO NOT like having a 3-day gap between HIIT Insanity workouts…it makes me anxious…I’m not sure why…

Unfortunately, today, I’m at the 3-day pause, which means I HAVE to do an Insanity workout…on the same day that I’m walking with my Striders group [we meet every Monday and Thursday]. How is that going to work? Will I have the energy for what are, essentially, two workouts?

L. leaves for Otis. I put a $50 bill on her pillow for her “Disneyland fund.”

8:30-8:45- the dog wakes me up and we go outside.

9:00-12:00-bullet journal.

12:00-12:20-I check personal email.

12:20-1:15-I log into College No. 2 and start the mandatory online trainings that College No. 2 requires. I put the trainings on mute and let them run - I don’t even know what they’re saying - while I field student emails.

1:15-1:45-I log into the Yuja platform and download the Chapter 6 “word salad” transcription. I forward the transcription and the Google slides to L. for editing.

-I email L. a link to a podcast on A/I Art.

-I check my credit card statement to see if my AAA credit was applied to my Desert Springs Resort bill. Nope.

-The online training is still running in the background…on mute.

1:45-2:35-more bullet journal.

2:35-2:45-I do a Map Quest to see how far away the Langham Hotel is from Celestinos Restaurant in preparation for Bs surprise birthday party in October.

2:45-3:00-I check headlines. Online training is still running in the background…

3:30-4:30-I do a 30-minute, Insanity-Max, Strength workout; then

4:30-5:00 - I talk to B.

5:00-6,00-Shower. Lotion. Athletic Housewife attire.

6:00-6:30-I drive to my Striders walking group. It’s the first day of the Fall quarter for Striders.

6:30-7:30-We meet at Valencia Heritage Park and I walk alone. I prefer it and I keep the pace, completing three miles in one hour.

7:30-8:00 - I stop by Nordstrom to pick up two pairs of pants I ordered. When the salesgirl hands me the package/envelope, it looks suspiciously flat, like maybe it only contains ONE pair of pants. I point this out to her, but she assures me there are two pairs of pants inside the package.

Home and L. is also home, preparing a lentil stew. L. reports that she has a UTI, but she has purchased several homeopathic remedies. She says it burns slightly when she urinates but she seems in good spirits. I suspect an STD. L. called the TeleHealth nurse at our medical group and made a doctor’s appointment for Wednesday.

8:00-8:30-I clean the kitchen for L before she starts making the stew. Then we have a conversation about her day and school. After, I pack a lunch bag and ready my coffee.

-Upstairs and I open the Nordstrom bag and discover that there is only ONE pair of pants in the bag. great

8:45-9:30 - I eat a little of L.’s lentil stew and read War Torn.

10:00-10:45-I check email at College No 2 and rearrange the Modules for my F2F high school class because the school keeps reducing class time on account of the extreme heat. If class time is reduced, I have to reduce course content.

10:45-11:55 - I sign into College No. 1 and send nasty emails to the students who scored low on the Chapter 4 Review and Video quizzes.

Another online training session is running in the background….

12:00-12:30 -I research EO 14067, an Executive Order for “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets” for B. and give a synopsis per B.’s request. If this sounds boring, thats because it is.

12:50-1:05- check headlines.

1:00-1:10- The online training session continues running in the background, on mute…

1:20-1:45-Nighttime routine. Bed.