Day 13 of Governor Newsom’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy”

Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health cancels Halloween because it’s a health risk. BUT, not to worry…Orange County says the risk of exposure is nil if you want to sit in a movie theater for 2 hours, so long as you mask between bites of popcorn. Hmmm…trick-or-treating? Or “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Part II”? You decide.

Wednesday. 9/3/20

7:45 - I almost oversleep and rush downstairs. The dog is still sleeping and seems shocked that I’m moving quickly at this time of the day. We go outside and she goes potty, without alerting on the tree this time. Inside and cheese.

8:00 - I drink my water and send the email blast that I crafted last night, “excitedly” informing my highschoolers to sign in on the Discussion Board on Canvas and going over the instructions with them. Class starts at 8:30. I listen to The Daily.

I start getting emails from a few of them right away - they’re confused and rightfully so. I field tech-support questions (I’ve actually done a lot of research on this issue so I can help them) and point them in the right direction. I enter into an email thread with twin highschoolers ( a boy and a girl) and that takes some time.

By 8:45, 37 students have signed in on the Discussion Board, on a completely NEW platform, for the first time, and are listening to the Audio Lecture - Chapter 3. These kids are incredible! Gen-Zers… I give everyone 10 extra credit points for signing in on the Discussion Board. I work with 3 to 4 students intensely before giving up and sending them to the Help Desk, which is actually quite good at College No. 2. I’m not I.T., but I do try.

My college students start signing in between 8:30 and 8:45 - you can almost see them straggling in, exhausted. My highschoolers typically start signing in or emailing me around 8:00, thirty minutes before class starts.

Class rolls on and I’m taking attendance and catching up on paperwork in real time. I send an email blast to the highschoolers who didn’t sign in that I am marking them absent for today. I am gentle with them. Two more highschoolers email me that they can’t access their student ID so I send them to the Help Desk.

I send an email blast to my college students who didn’t sign in that I am marking them absent for today. I am not gentle with them.

9:00 - I send an email blast to my college students that the Chapter 3 Review Quiz is open. I click a button and post to Canvas. My college students don’t bother responding. I listen to By the Book.

Class rolls on. I field a few more questions from my highschoolers.

9:15 - I send an email blast to my highschoolers that the video link is ready. I click a button and post the link on Canvas. There’s a video quiz, but I’m changing the due date to Friday - they’re overwhelmed (or maybe I’m the only one who’s overwhelmed) and I don’t want to stress them out by making it due today.

My college students have already been on Canvas for three weeks. I send an email blast informing them that the video link and video quiz are ready for them. I click the requisite buttons. Yes, they have to complete two quizzes in one class period, when they haven’t completed ANY quizzes prior to this date. I emailed them last week to prepare them for the two 10-question, multiple choice quizzes I would be deploying today.

10:05 - Class ends without incident. I send an email blast berating those college students who did NOT complete the two quizzes and informing them that failure to complete the quizzes means that they did NOT listen to the Audio Lecture, which means that they were NOT in class, which means that I am marking them absent. And BTW, you just lost 20 points today.

10:10 - 10:30 - A college student signs in on the Discussion Board when class is over. Can you believe that? After class?? I send her an email informing her that class ended at 10:05 and she signed in at 10:10, AFTER class had already ended. I also tell her that she lost 20 points today. She responds that she overslept, stating, “Well, should I not have signed in at all then?” Yes. That’s right. Don’t bother signing in when class has already ended. The student then emails, “Well, at least I got a 7 on the Video Quiz.” No. I zeroed her out.

She attacks me via email saying I’m too harsh and she deserves the 7 points she earned on the Video Quiz. I counter that the Video Quiz was supposed to be taken in conjunction with the “VIDEO” and because she woke up late, she didn’t see the video - therefore, she cannot take a video quiz on a video she has never seen. I don’t hear from her again.

10:30 - I start receiving responses from those students who did NOT take the quizzes. Some of them admit that they weren’t present in class the entire time, i.e., they signed in on the Discussion Board and baled. HOWEVER, many of them cite technical difficulties. Really? Right after they were able to sign in on the Discussion Board for Attendance, their system crashed? And why didn’t they email me to let me know? You might think, “If they’re experiencing technical difficulties, maybe they can’t even email you.” That’s rarely the case.

10:30-11:00 - I take a written Attendance - just like the old days - and respond to a few more emails. I typically hang around for the next hour in case the students need something or want to email me. I drink my coffee and eat the overnight oats I made yesterday. I listen to What a Day.

11:00-12:30 - If you read this blog regularly, you will see my numerous entries involving the excessive retirement paperwork that I had to complete 45 days prior to my retirement in order to ensure that L. and I have health and dental insurance. I discover today that HR did nothing. What a surprise. L. is not on ANY of my insurance plans - Health, Dental, and Vision - and my personal Dental insurance is f**ked up right now. I email CalPERS and call my HR to get to the bottom of this, but end up resolving nothing. I listen to Fresh Air and Market Place.

12:30-1:30 - I have to enroll in 9 hours of “Continuing Education” at College No. 1 - we call it Flex time - in accordance with my contract, so I spend quite a bit of time pouring over the schedule and selecting my 9 hours of Zoom CEs. The deadline to submit my Flex contract is rapidly approaching and this needs to get done ASAP. I play an online mandatory training about Covid - 19, required by College No. 1, in the background, while I check the Flex schedule. I listen to the Culture Gabfest.

1:30-3:00 - I eat the salad I made for myself yesterday and read a few Money Diaries. I have PBS Newshour segments playing in the background.

3:00-5:00 - I update my blog. I listen to Today Explained and NPR Politics.

5:00-6:30 - I take a shower, then braid my hair. I listen to Up First and Start Here. I read I’m Just Happy to Be Here while I braid. Air Talk is playing in the background.

L. and R. leave to spend time with her Dad’s ex-girlfriend, J., who is in town, visiting, and who ended up becoming a wonderful stepmom to L. during her tween/teen years.

6:30-7:30 - I have the turkey meatballs I made yesterday, with spiralized squash and Marinara sauce and continue with I’m Just Happy to Be Here.

7:30-8:00 - I take the dog for a walk and listen to Dating Diaries.

8:00-8:45 - I water my plants and listen to the Global News Podcast.

8:45-9:30 - I turn my home office into a gym (pull down the treadmill) and do a 45-minute speed walking app. I read I’m Just Happy to Be Here while I speed walk.

L. returns with a dozen Crispy Creme glazed donuts. I immediately have one. Uh-oh.

10:00-11:30 - I talk to B. about politics.

11:30 - 12:30 - L. and I listen to Spooked - scary, true life stories, as Halloween rapidly approaches.

12:30-1:30 - Night time routine. Bed.