Day 10 - LA County enters Red Tier for the first time
The film, La Haine…
3/24/21. Wednesday.
7:30 – 8:45 – Wash face. Brush teeth. Contacts. Change into a professional blouse and my yoga pants. I go downstairs and say good morning to the dog. I’m never downstairs this early so she is really out of it. I rub her tummy the obligatory three times and we go outside. She does her business and I pick up poop from the patio (sigh). Back inside for pepperoni slices for her treat; coffee for me.
-Upstairs and I spackle on the make-up and curl my hair in preparation for my Zoom meeting. I listen to The Daily.
8:50 – 9:15 - I Zoom into the link and it says the meeting is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.!! When I check my Outlook email, it still says the meeting is at 9:00. I stay on the link until 9:15 and determine that I will probably be meeting with the DE Coordinator at 1:00 instead.
9:15-1:00 - In the meantime, I check the next Module of assignments for my DE#2 class at College No. 1. This is a 6-week/6-Module course and I haven’t had the chance to review this week’s assignments. Module #3 is open and involves creating a Syllabus under the Syllabus tab in Canvas; an introductory video; and a Home Page in my “sandbox”, in addition to the numerous online articles I’m supposed to review. The Instructor sets a work estimate for this module at 2 hours. I think the assignments will take much longer, but I have some time before my new 1:00 meeting so I get started on the Syllabus component. I listen to What a Day; Fresh Air; and True Crime Garage
1:00 – 1:30 - After four hours, I am only half-way finished designing my Syllabus in the Canvas “sandbox.” Part of the reason this assignment is so frustrating is that it’s largely an exercise in futility. Our college president sent yet another email blast informing all instructors that we would be back in the classroom, face-to-face [no hybrid], in just four months, no exceptions. At this point, the only reason I’m taking a second DE course is for the $2000 stipend. Other than that, the material is largely redundant.
-I Zoom in with the DE Coordinator for my DE#1 course and we conduct the walk through. I had no idea I was going to have to “share my screen” with him during the Zoom call. Throughout the entire pandemic, I have not taught one single Zoom class – I’ve always used the “poli-sci podcast” to deliver my material. It’s kind of remarkable, really, that I have never taught via Zoom. I fake it and pretend like I know what I’m doing and it works – I’m actually able to share my screen successfully. I go over my notes with him and he likes the way I’ve designed my classes!!! He has a few suggestions, but nothing major, and also tells me I don’t have to attend a second Webinar that was scheduled for me. He says I’ve successfully completed the DE course, he’ll notify my Dean, and the $600 stipend is en route.
It’s officially over. I did it.
1:30-3:00 – L. surfaces and suggests a coffee run before she goes to work. We go to Undergrounds, a coffee house inside of Real Life Church, about a half-mile from our house. You still can’t sit inside, but there are a number of grass tiers – similar to a lecture hall – directly outside with a few small tables for seating. I have not sat at a coffee house in 16 months and this feels great. I try a Cappuccino today, L. gets something??? and we sit at one of the tables, in the sun, and drink our coffee.
-Home and L. leaves for work.
3:00-4:30 – I have leftover tempura and read One Hundred Daffodils
4:30-5:00 – I take the dog for a walk. I listen to Air Talk.
5:00-6:00 – Yard work. The patio is covered in leaves. More Air Talk and a few PBS Newshour segments.
6:00-10:00 – I finish the Syllabus for my DE#2 class and create a “Home Page”, per the assignment. Additionally, yet another assignment for this week’s module involves a Discussion Board post regarding something I planned and executed. I prepare a summary discussing my Mt. Rubidoux hike and the steps I took to make it happen, then post to the Discussion Board. I listen to Vox – Worldly and another Fresh Air episode, then follow-up with Southern Fried True Crime.
-I take a short break and leave at 8:30 to stop by Whole Foods for a few packs of prosecco-in-a-can. I’m back by 9:00.
10:00 – 11:00 - L. has several art projects due, but completed an ink drawing of a skull that I think looks incredible. There is another pencil piece that I like – a nude female. I tell L. to set these works aside for me so I can frame them.
-I do an Insanity workout. Pure Cardio is one of the worst because there are no 30-second water breaks – you’re supposed to push through [Sean T. calls it “dig deeper”] for the full 40 minutes without stopping. However, almost all of the athletes in the video stop at one point or another, it is that exhausting. I take a few water breaks, but so do they, so I’m in good company.
11:00 – 1:00 a.m. - Recover with my glass of champagne and this week’s assigned movie, La Haine, for my French Cinema class. The dog sits in my lap throughout most of it.
1:00 a.m. – What a disturbing movie!! This is largely a commentary on police brutality in the inner city ( the French refer to the inner city as a “suburb”). I thought this kind of violence only occurred in America, but it appears it is NOT limited to the US. Were it not for the fact that everyone is speaking French, it’s easy to believe that this movie is taking place in Watts, EXCEPT almost everyone in the movie is WHITE and the police brutality directly affects the poor as opposed to race, although the main characters are a white male [poor]; a black male [struggling boxer and poor]; and an Arab [poor]. They all live in the projects. It is hard to feel sympathy for any of them because they’re violent, destructive and over-all jerks. OMG. At the last minute of the movie, the very last 60 seconds, a cop is brandishing his firearm in the face of the white male and accidentally shoots him in the eye, killing him instantly. The white male’s good friend, who happens to be black, then shoots the cop in the face. Fade to black – the movie ends.
1:30-2:00 – Night time routine. Bed.