Day 7 - the WHO names Omicron a “variant of concern”

Somebody tried to break into my house tonight…

And the winner of the first reported case of Omicron in the United States is [drum roll, please!]…San Francisco!!!  Thank you…thank you…I’d also like to thank our wonderful contact tracers, the San Francisco Health Dept., and the ONE PCR test we were able to find at Walgreens. I gratefully accept this award on behalf of the South African female who exposed us all on 11/22/21, experienced symptoms on 11/25/21 and continued to expose San Franciscans until she finally decided to get tested on 11/28/21.

Finally, I’d like to thank The Lab for their quick, 2-DAY, return of the PCR test, in the midst of a global pandemic, as Omicron spreads like wildfire. Due to the lab’s quick processing time [TWO days], the South African female continued to infect the civilian population for a mere 48 hours instead of the standard 5-day turnaround for PCR results.  Thank you…thank you…and to the good citizens of San Francisco, please rest assured that you will all contract Omicron by the end of the month…

 12/1/21. Wednesday

6:00 – L. leaves for her 14-hour day at Otis. 

7:30 – 8:00 - my alarm goes off but I stay in bed for transition time. The class is in “set it and forget it” mode and will automatically deploy at 8:30 so I can take my time today. 

8:00-8:30 – Houston, we have a problem…the dog keeps shitting in the house!  I’m really getting sick of it!  She rolls over on her back so I can rub her tummy and I do it brusquely because I’m pissed.  Outside we go and I stand around waiting for her to go potty.  She does her business and we return inside: coffee for me; cheese for her. I report to my office. 

8:30 – 10:05 – The students are watching a documentary during this time period and they are “radio silent.” My salary is only based on the actual hours I’m teaching so it’s in my best interest to do as much as possible between 8:30-10:05. I take this time to check email at College No. 2 and find that: 

-IT notifies me that I’m supposed to show proof of Distance Education Continuing Education, so I contact the DE Coordinator and ask how to submit training I’ve completed at other colleges. 

-I switch to Specialty Class 1A at College No. 1 and compile the Fall 2021 Semester grades [the students took the Final on Monday]. 

10:05 – Class dismissed. 

11:00-1:00- Continue with Fall 2021 semester grade compilation for Specialty Class 1A based on their online gradebook percentages in the Canvas shell. Then, I post the grades to the Admissions and Records database.  I’m still not done, however.  It’s time for the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs), which is yet another compilation based on the two papers they submitted, per my Division’s instructions. College No. 1 is in an economically-depressed area and many of the students suffer from food insecurity, limited WiFi, and shitty schools. Although the majority of my students are horrible writers, the only criteria I’m allowed to use to establish whether or not they achieved the SLOs are two Socratic Seminar papers they submitted. 

This means that although most of my students received an A or B in the class because I weeded out the D and F students and bullied the stupid students into withdrawing, at the same time, most of my students receive a “does NOT meet standards” on the SLOs.  The SLOs are recorded in a separate database for every individual student using the elumen database and my SLOs look pretty bad…but what am I supposed to do?  By the time I get the student, they’re over 18 and fully formed, having received almost no viable education in the surrounding area. So, yeah, almost nobody is meeting the SLOs if the only units of measurement I’m allowed to use are TWO papers… 

-I check the Spring 2022 schedule at College No. 1 and it’s not good.  Enrollment is way down across the board and it looks pretty dire for me…this time around, there’s a possibility that NONE of my classes will run… 

1:00-3:00 

Life Admin 

-I email Walmart and engage in a customer service live-chat to report the fact that the postage stamps I ordered are flagged as “delivered”, but they were never received.  I resolve the situation and Walmart credits my account for $28. 

-I’ve got some momentum going so I call Harry & David and order a fully-cooked turkey; apple-sausage stuffing; and various cookie boxes for L.’s friends and family members. I use the phone for this order because I have several questions about the a la carte items I want to purchase. 

-I email L. and ask her to Zelle me $100 

-I call my local Equestrian Center and leave a message, requesting a personal trail ride.  I follow up with an email. 

-The City Classes Winter Schedule was released and there are several classes in my community that I’m interested in taking.  Unfortunately, there is a scheduling conflict. The hiking class I want to take through the City meets on Tuesdays from 8:45-10:15…this conflicts with the Docent Naturalist 9-week training course that I want to take through the Placerita Canyon Nature Center, which is every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00-12:00, which ALSO conflicts with the high school class I’ve been assigned to teach for Spring Semester 2022, every Tuesday and Thursday, in Inglewood, from 8:00-9:30 a.m. 

The high school class trumps everything, but it’s unclear when I’m slotted to teach there. This is an assignment through the Dual Enrollment program at College No. 2; the high school starts on 1/4/22, but College No. 2 starts on 2/15/22. I need clarification on the start date, but if it’s in February, that leaves at least January available for either the Docent Naturalist training course OR the hiking group with the hope that something will work itself out. 

I email the highschool liaison and ask her to confirm my schedule…when is my start date? 

-I take Attendance for both of my College No. 2 classes.

-The Equestrian Center returns my call and I schedule a trail ride for Monday at 2:30. 

3:00-5:30 – I clean out my physical in-box [on my desk] and 3-hole punch the invoices for all items I’ve purchased for the garage conversion.  I’m trying out a new process…instead of filing invoices in my 2-drawer filing system, I created a Household Binder and I’m putting my invoices in the binder instead. 

-I register the new portable sink online. 

-I scan the Attendance and Fall Semester 2021 grades to the Admissions and Records database and I am officially done with this class. One class down at College No. 1. 

-I check all of my bank accounts and survey the damage.  Yep…it’s official…I’m hemorrhaging money. 

-I check availability for Enchanted: Forest of Light tickets, on the Descanso Gardens website. Dates are filling up fast so I text L. for her availability as this was her suggestion. She texts me back that December 14 works best so I purchase and print the tickets. 

5:30-6:30 – I have a piece of gluten-free toast with almond butter and raspberry jam. This is the first time I’ve eaten all day and I’m still in my pajamas. I’m disgusting. 

6:30-7:15 – Shower. Lotion. Covid-19 Uniform. 

7:15-8:00 – Kitchen duty and I ready my coffee for tomorrow. 

-L. returns from Otis and we talk about her day. 

8:00-8:30 – I take the dog for a walk. 

8:30-11:00 – L. ‘s drafting table chair arrived a couple days ago, so I unpack and assemble it in the foyer, at the foot of the stairs where the light is best. Another difficult project and it takes me 2.5 hours to complete.  The dog keeps getting in the way, walking next to the front door and whining. This is out of character for her… 

11:00-11:30 – I wheel the chair into the garage and set it up next to L.’s drafting table. It fits and I’m able to move it up and down, which means it’s assembled correctly. Back to the stairwell inside and I start breaking down the cardboard box that contained the chair. 

11:30 – Suddenly, the doorbell rings… the dog goes absolutely ape shit, barking and growling. I refuse to open the door – that’s my practice – so I use my “command presence” and shout assertively, “Who is it!?” I hear a voice on the other side of the door say, “This is Bill.” Who? I look through the peephole but I can’t see much…just a blob standing on the porch. “Bill” says, “I just saw someone go into your back yard.”  I see the blob’s hand point to the right. There is a 6/7-foot retaining wall on the right side of my property, rendering it nearly impossible for someone to use this section as an entry point. How could someone have jumped that part of the wall? 

It is so chaotic and the dog won’t stop barking…I say, “What? I can’t hear you.”  “Bill” says again that he saw someone enter my backyard. He follows up with , “You have some packages on your porch.” You know that expression “my blood runs cold?” This actually happens. to me. I start to panic…all of my blinds in the kitchen and dining room are up…we never close them… so if someone is, in fact, in the yard, he can see everything.  But another concern is starting to form…who is “Bill?” And why is “Bill” walking around my neighborhood at 11:00 p.m.?  If “Bill” did see someone enter my backyard, why wouldn’t he call the police instead of knocking on my front door and telling me he saw an intruder?   

The dog continues to bark – she is out of control – and I shout through the door, “What did you say your name was again?”  He said, “I’m Bill.  I walk my dogs around here.” He sounds irritated. I don’t know anyone named Bill. “Ok, thanks”, I shout. I tell L. to call 911 immediately and while she does that I systematically close every blind in the house, while waiting for the inevitable twist of the doorknob or the shattering of glass as someone busts through a window. 911 answers and L. tries to hand the phone to me as I’m frantically closing the blinds, saying she doesn’t know what to tell the police. “Tell them someone is trying to break in!”, I yell at her.  

I finish closing the blinds and call HOA Security while L. talks to 911 as I run upstairs and pull my Hellcat out of my gun safe. I reach HOA dispatch and ask them to send a security unit to my house, now!, as there may be an intruder in my backyard. Dispatch says she will try to locate the unit and send him our way. L. yells from the foot of the stairs that the police are en route. Note: HOA Security never arrives and never calls to follow up.  They simply don’t show… 

I tell L. to remain seated in the stairwell because I don’t want to accidentally shoot her, then I do a sweep of the downstairs interior…first my office and closet, then the downstairs bathroom and shower curtain, living room, dining room, kitchen…with my firearm extended.  I have a round in the chamber but I recognize that I’m small…I could easily be overpowered.  The interior perimeter hasn’t been breeched but I can’t bring myself to check the backyard or the garage…I’m too scared and will leave that for the cops when they arrive. I’m a coward… 

The dog continues to run around the room and whine…I note that she won’t use the doggie door to go out to the backyard. I find that odd and unnerving.  

I put my Hellcat on the counter and both L. and I frantically call B. Yes, I’m aware…we’re feminists and were calling a man for help, but B. is retired LAPD, served on the force for 30 years, and has better firepower than me. We leave message after message, pleading with him to come…but B. never responds. In fact, nobody responds. After leaving approximately 10 messages for B., L. and I give up and I’m left with one of the most soul-crushing thoughts I have ever had - nobody is going to help us. It is all on me.   

It’s been 30 minutes so I tell L. to call 911 dispatch again while I call HOA Security. HOA Dispatch tells me she is still unable to locate “the unit” [which means some loser is asleep on the job].  I tell her, “Somebody is trying to break into my house!” Dispatch says she’ll continue to look for the unit. HOA Security never arrives. 

Simultaneously, L. is calling 911 for the second time – Dispatch tells L. that the Sheriffs were already at my house, saw nothing suspicious, and left.  They never knocked on my door or advised that they were even here! L. hands me the phone and I demand that they return for a welfare check and a sweep of my backyard.  This is ridiculous!  How can they say there is nothing suspicious when they never checked my backyard? They “return” within 10 minutes, knock on my door, and offer to search the backyard. “Bill” previously mentioned that I had some packages on my porch. Now that the Sheriff is here, I check. There is one manila envelope containing a small bird pamphlet that I ordered for birdwatching. This is the extent of the “packages” on my porch.

One Sheriff enters my house – he is incredibly young, respectful, and masked. We step outside together and nothing has been touched. The yard is still covered in leaves, there are no footprints, none of my plants are askew…he also checks my garage. Nothing. 

Was it “Bill” who was trying to gain entry this entire time? Was the “intruder scenario” simply a ruse to get me to open the door? 

The Sheriffs leave and L. announces she is going to bed, seemingly nonplussed. It is 1:00 in the morning. 

1:00-3:00 – My adrenaline is jacked and I am stressed as hell…but the last day of the semester is tomorrow and the course content isn’t ready. I report to my office, create the Final, and make adjustments to tomorrow’s Module. Even though it’s the last day, I’m still lecturing on two chapters, so I go over my script/notes to ensure everything is up to date. My Hellcat sits on my desk the entire time. 

3:00-4:00 – I take the dog out, set the alarm, and leave most of the lights on downstairs. Nighttime routine but I’m too afraid to go to sleep.  I debate sleeping with my gun under my pillow but opt for putting it on my nightstand instead. 

4:00-4:30 – By 4:00 in the morning, I determine that “Bill” or “the intruder” are not returning – at least today – and I eventually fall asleep.