Day 1 - Los Angeles County enters Red Tier for the first time.

California, as of 3/15/21…

So, last month I was told to double-mask and now California has opened to 25% capacity.  Governor Abbott still has a few more months to kill as many Texans as possible before we’re all vaccinated so he opened the state to 100% capacity, no restrictions on anything. One of the most horrifying scenes that I’ve witnessed in years was a bartender removing the “Masks Required” sign from her establishment. 100% capacity?  Is Governor Abbott crazy? 

LA County is now in RED tier.  Are we supposed to be excited about this?  The previous guidelines that applied to PURPLE tier – the absolute worst tier and the one that LA County has been in for a year – were rolled back to create the semblance of improvement.  While the cases are, in fact, falling, technically we’re still in PURPLE tier based on the original guidelines a year ago.  As of 3/15/21, California is in RED tier now because the LA County Dept,. of Health and the Governor arbitrarily moved the goal posts. 

Do you know the tier percentages?  Doubt it – they’re hard to find even when you go to the California Blueprint for a Safer Economy. As of late 2020, PURPLE tier meant the county was at SEVEN Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people. BUT it shifted this month to TEN cases per 100,000 people, i.e. strangely a GREATER percentage of sick people moves LA County out of the restrictive PURPLE tier and into the new RED tier.  Allegedly, the percentages were changed to accommodate for the vaccinations, but why not legitimately wait for the vaccines to take effect and stand by the original tiered system? 

All of this is compounded by the fact that Blue Shield is taking over the California vaccination program at the end of the month. I say, again, why would California give a vaccination contract to an insurance company? Blue Shield received a NO-BID, $15 million dollar contract to take full responsibility of the vaccine distribution network. This means Blue Shield didn’t even have to bid on the project, something that NEVER happens in state service.  What is NOT fully reported, however, is how much Blue Shield contributed to Governor Newsom’s gubernatorial campaign. As if Californians aren’t under enough pressure to get vaccinated ASAP, the sense of urgency and anxiety to HURRY, HURRY, has increased tenfold as residents scramble to get vaccinated before Blue Shield takes over and f—ks up the entire rollout.  

These are the guidelines for Red Tier.

• Museums, Zoos and Aquariums can open indoors at 25% capacity.

• Gyms, Fitness Centers, Yoga and Dance Studios can open indoors at 10% capacity with masking requirement for all indoor activities.

• Movie Theatres can open indoors at 25% capacity with reserved seating only where each group is seated with at least 6 feet of distance in all directions between any other groups.

• Retail and Personal Care Services can increase capacity to 50% with masking required at all times and for all services.

• Restaurants can open indoors at 25% max capacity under the following conditions: 1) eight feet distancing between tables; 2) one household per indoor table with a limit of six people; 3) the HVAC system is in good working order and has been evaluated, and to the maximum extent possible ventilation has been increased.

Public Health strongly recommends that all restaurant employees interacting with customers indoors are provided with additional masking protection (above the currently required face shield over face masks); this can be fit tested N95 masks, KN95 masks, or double masks, in addition to the required face shield.  Public Health also strongly recommends that all employees working indoors are  offered opportunities to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Outdoor dining can accommodate up to six people per table from three different households.

• Indoor Shopping Malls can increase capacity to 50% with common areas remaining closed; food courts can open at 25% capacity adhering to the restaurant guidance for indoor dining.

• Institutes of Higher Education can re-open all permitted activities with required safety modifications except for residential housing which remains under current restrictions for the Spring semester.

• Schools are permitted to re-open for in-person instruction for students in grades 7-12 adhering to all state and county directives.

• Private gatherings can occur indoors with up to three separate households, with masking and distancing required at all times. People who are fully vaccinated can gather in small numbers indoors with other people who are fully vaccinated without required masking and distancing. 

3/15/21. Monday. A Work Day. 

10:00-10:30 – I’m up and need to finish grading the papers before my 6:00 class. Downstairs and I say good morning to the dog, rub her tummy, and take her outside.  She runs around the yard, chasing birds, until she does her business.  Back inside we go and I give her cheese and grab coffee for myself. 

10:30-1:00 – Upstairs and I grade Question #2 for the last student, then start on Question #3 for the eight papers. 

1:00- 1:30 – I get dressed in the same outfit I wore to Saddle Ranch and put on light make-up. Then, I run downstairs to my office, where I start scanning the papers and getting them ready to return to the students this evening. 

B. spontaneously arrives to drop off parchment paper and Neutrogena shower gel that he bought for me at Costco.  Class starts in a few minutes so there is only time for a quick kiss at the doorstep.  He will be gone for the next 12 days. 

2:00 – 5:35 – The students are taking the Midterm today; listening to a Chapter 8 AUDIO lecture and podcast; and taking a Podcast Quiz.  They’re very busy so I have time to complete other activities:

-One of my students provided a terrible response to Question #3 and I need to forward  a sample response to him.  Unfortunately, I haven’t created the sample response yet so I cobble together a sample answer from another student’s work, then attach it to the student’s paper, and scan everything so it’s ready for pass-back tonight. 

-The students finished the Midterm and moved onto AUDIO lecture – Chapter 8 so I take the time to assess mid-semester grades.  I send individual emails to students who are receiving Ds and Fs and suggest that they drop the class with a W before the April deadline.  I also email those students who have completed none or almost none of the Inquizitives.  The Inquizitives are about 50% of their grade – oddly, some students are not completing them at all, but zoomed in to take the Midterm.  Do they think that getting a good score on the Midterm will rectify their entire grade? No. 

-I heat up the last of the macaroni, plate it with the remaining salad from last night, and take it into my office so I can keep working. 

-I take attendance and notify those students who did NOT sign in on the Discussion Board that they were marked absent and they also missed the Midterm.  Score=0. 

-I prepare the Discussion Board for my 6:00 class. 

5:30-6:00 – I’m checking class content for my 6:00 class – Specialty Class 1A - to make sure everything is ready and see an error on the Midterm.  Each question should be worth ONE point, not TWO.  Unfortunately, I inadvertently assigned a 2-point value to each question, heavily weighting the exam.  I have 30 minutes to change the point-value.  This necessitates that I open 50 questions and change to one point, one question at a time. I finish just as class is starting. Whew! 

6:00-9:05 – The students are taking the Midterm. Then they’ll finish Chapter 6-Part II AUDIO lecture, watch a video, and take the video quiz. 

-I check email from College No. 2. I just posted this week’s module yesterday and I want to see how it’s going. I also take attendance for both classes, basing it on the quizzes they completed for last week’s module.  This takes some time, but I finish. 

-I wait until the students from Specialty Class 1A are listening to the AUDIO-lecture, then “return” their papers, via email, and post the grades they received on the assignment to the online gradebook. 

9:00-10:30 – Same thing as my afternoon class: 

- I send individual emails to Specialty Class 1A students who are receiving Ds and Fs and suggest that they drop the class with a W before the April deadline.   

-I take attendance and notify those students who did NOT sign in on the Discussion Board that they were marked absent and also missed the Midterm.  Score=0. 

10:30-12:30 - -Module No. 1 [as opposed to Module No. 0 that I completed a few days ago] posted for DE#2, through College No. 1.  I read all of the material and take three quizzes. 

12:30-2:00 – Module No. 1 in DE#2, dictates that I prepare a Introduction and post to the Discussion Board, then respond to two other people.  It also asks us to formulate a response to the prompt “What makes a good online Instructor?” and post to a separate Discussion Board. Same thing – I’m supposed to comment on two other posts. 

-I formulate and post both responses, but hold off on replying to four people.  I’ll do that in the coming days. 

I eat chips while I do all of this.  I know, I know – terrible diet today, no exercise, etc.  Mondays are just…bad, in general.

2:00-3:30 – I review the Discussion Board responses for both classes at College No. 2 [last week’s assignments] and calculate which students posted a response to the prompt and if they replied to two other students, per the assignment requirements.  I use a basic “tick” system for my calculations – each response is worth 5 points.  This takes some time. I note that several students thought they could get away with just posting ONE reply. No.  

I post the grades. 

3:30-4:15 – Night time ritual. Bed. I am utterly disgusted with myself at my lack of work boundaries on this day.  I did absolutely no self-care whatsoever and spent the entire day WORKING.