Day 47-Governor Newsom reinstates the mask mandate in California

Another stupid student…

1/31/22. Monday

Here’s something interesting.  Fake Fauci was interviewed on The Daily this morning and referred repeatedly to “background immunity” as opposed to “herd immunity.” Is that because herd immunity is junk science and doesn’t technically exist?  This was my hypothesis a year ago after Fauci kept upping the ante on herd immunity percentages…75%, then 85%, and once 95% of the population is vaccinated or has contracted Covid, we will finally have herd immunity. 95%? That means the virus is eradicated.

Trust the science, they say. Remember when “bite mark” evidence was routinely entered into evidence and used to convict innocent men who left bite marks on a victim’s body?  There were a handful of Experts who made a shit-ton of money from their fake testimony and bite mark evidence was sold to the jury as “scientific evidence.”  Bite mark evidence has since been debunked. Trust the science. When it comes to Covid, the science is either bogus AND/OR the so-called experts are lying to the American people. 

6:00 – L. leaves for her 18-hour day at Otis.

9:00-10:00 – I’m awake and my body and joints hurt. I take two Advil and go downstairs to say good morning to the animal.  She’s asleep on the couch and rolls over on her back so I can pet her tummy. I sit next to her for kisses and cuddles until she grabs her toy and we go outside. There’s something wrong with the sprinklers again and part of the patio is saturated. great. Return inside and pieces of turkey for the dog and coffee for me. I grab a bag of ice and go upstairs. Then I go back to bed and drink my coffee while I wait for the Advil to take effect. I place the ice on my eyes and listen to Marketplace Morning and Be Wealthy and Smart.

10:00-11:30 – Shower. Wash hair. I sit in the shower, lean my head back against the tiles, and continue icing my eyes while I drink my coffee. Lotion. I blow dry my hair and apply a full face of make-up, then put on a taupe knit shirt with a long vintage skirt and half-boots. I listen to The Daily and Today Explained.

11:30-12:00 – I make a piece of almond-butter toast, unload the dishwasher, and bring in my trashcans.

12:00-12:45 – I check/tweek course content for both classes and respond to a few emails. Then I load the car and leave early today because I have to sign and return my contract which is only available to me via my inbox in the Faculty Mail Room.  During Covid, our contracts were emailed to us and we docu-signed them.  Now, it’s back to trekking across campus to the mail room, physically signing it, and then putting the hard copy in HR’s mail box.  Recall that I am only paid for the 3 hours I spend in the classroom.  Time spent preparing for class, grading papers, driving, even getting ready for lecture causes my hourly wage to dwindle to virtually nothing.

1:00-2:00 – Driving – I listen to Citations Needed  and eat the scrambled eggs I made yesterday.

2:00-2:15-Mailroom and I sign and submit my contract.

2:15-5:35 – Class is in session and there are FIVE F2F students. As always, what the f—k am I doing here? The entire class, except for these assholes, are online.

-Today’s itinerary is lecture; a podcast; more lecture; a documentary; and a video quiz. I don’t lecture from the podium anymore.  Why bother?  There are only five idiots in the brick-and-mortar so what’s the point?  I sit at my desk and pretend like I’m communicating with the online students. ALL of the other instructors use Zoom [I don’t], which means they are tethered to their desk because they’re simultaneously teaching students at home AND in the classroom, so I pretend like I’m tethered to my desk, too. Every so often I tap on the keyboard and pretend like I’m communicating and typing a message to the online students. The F2F students don’t know any different.

-While the video plays, I email the online students who did not sign in on the Discussion Board and inform them that they were marked absent. Then, I take attendance.

5:35-6:00-Class dismissed. I email the students who got Ds or Fs on their Video Quizzes and admonish them for failing to watch the documentary.

-My second class starts in 20 minutes so I publish course content now, because at 6:00, I’m in my car, driving home. It’s impossible to teach a Synchronous Online course in my car and this scheduling flaw is the Chair’s fault because he’s the one who designed the Schedule of Classes.

6:00-7:00 – Driving. Class is in session. I eat rosemary almonds and my Lindt chocolate bar and listen to Happier.

7:00-7:30 – Home and I log into the class and check on the students. Today’s itinerary is a pre-recorded AUDIO lecture, with the accompanying Google slides, a Chapter Review quiz, a short documentary, and a Video Quiz. The students are currently listening to the pre-recorded lecture and taking the Chapter Review quiz. Nothing is amiss.

7:30-8:00 – I walk the dog.

8:00-9:00 – I check on the class again and push some buttons so they can start watching the documentary.  The video quiz will automatically deploy at 8:30. While the students watch the movie, I have cheese and crackers.

-Kitchen duty and I ready my coffee, prepare overnight oats for tomorrow, and pack my lunch bag.

9:00 – 10:00 – Class dismissed.

I email the students who got Ds or Fs on their Video Quizzes and admonish them for failing to watch the documentary. Then, I take Attendance.

-An email comes in from an asshole high schooler in my Core Class who is not part of any Dual Enrollment program.  She’s just some high school loser taking college classes.  This student insists on coming to class every Monday [she says her Mom makes her come to class] then sits in the back and does homework for her other classes. I can NOT stand this kid. 

Anyway, she emails me and has the audacity to say, in her email, that having the Inquizitives due at midnight, on Mondays after class, is a real problem for her because she’s “stressed out” and  “exhausted” and “Why do I assign them on the same day as class? Are other students having this same issue?”

I respond immediately and tell the student I’m sorry that she is so disorganized and unable to manage her own schedule.  I add, this might be due to the fact that you keep coming to class instead of going home and attending the online section. By the time you arrive at my class, you’ve been in highschool for 7 hours, not including drive time, only to attend MY class for another 3 hours, and then a 45-minute drive home. As a result of your poor planning, you’re spending approximately 11 hours in the classroom, you dumb bitch. I told her on the first day of class to attend the online section instead of the F2F, but she says her Mom won’t let her. 

But my email reply doesn’t end there.  Guess what? All of the Inquizitives are ready for you to take right now. There are approximately 25 Inquizitive assignments with varying Monday due dates, but you can take them anytime you like.  So if you’re “stressed out” and “exhausted” on a Monday, don’t wait until Monday to take the Inquizitive, you fucking moron.  Take the Inquizitve on…hmmmm….how about a Wednesday?  A Sunday? Or any day but Monday? If you can’t manage your OWN schedule, don’t blame me. 

Finally, I tell the student it sounds like she has too much on her plate and she should drop the class.  Take it during the summer [with somebody else] instead.  If you think you’re stressed now, try College No. 1’s accelerated Summer program, i.e. 6 weeks of 4 to 5-hour daily classes, Mon-Thurs.   Godspeed dumbass. And stop coming to the F2F class!

9:30-10:00 – Nighttime routine.

10:00-10:30 – bullet journal.

10:30-11:00 – L. returns from Otis.

I try to do a 30-minute Insanity Max – Friday Fight workout, but tap out after 17 minutes.  In the past I would force myself to go the distance, but I simply can’t anymore. I no longer have the physical stamina, energy, or resolve to finish. Getting a workout in this late at night is not working for me since I contracted Omicron. If I want to make it through an entire routine, I’ve discovered that it’s most effective to do the workout when I’m at peak energy, which is typically between the hours of 12:00 and 3:00 p.m.

11:00-11:30 – I talk to L. briefly about a transgender swimmer who is on the FEMALE college swim team.  L. shows me the pictures and they are sooo off-putting…it’s a 6’2” MAN, with muscles, who is “jacked.” He changes in the locker room with the girls and is winning all the meets.  How is this fair?

11:30-12:00 – I get my hiking outfit ready, then pull up Mapquest for directions to tomorrow’s hiking spot.

12:00-12:30 – Nighttime routine. Bed.  I set my alarm for 6:00.