Day 18 - Governor Newsom imposes new restrictions

Queen of Heaven Cemetery

12/3/20 – Thursday

7:00–8:00 - …and I’m up. Shower and I drink water from my Hydroflask and listen to The Daily. Lotion and I put on a long-sleeved, dark army green dress.  I’m able to moisturize and put on some B&B Cream before I run downstairs to take the dog out. I bring my make-up bag downstairs.

8:00-9:00-I take the dog out and she goes potty.  Then, back inside for pieces of turkey for the dog and hot lemon water for me. I go to work.

-Just one morning class today and the students are watching Designated Survivor [starring Kiefer Sutherland on Netflix].

-I step away from my desk and pack my insulated lunch bag with a few items: apple slices, an almond butter packet, some chocolates, and one slice of vegie pizza from L. and R.’s pizza last night.

-Back to my desk and email is pretty quiet – the students are busy. I step away again and put on the rest of my make-up in the downstairs bathroom.

9:00 – I put on my black knee-high boots, grab my lunch bag, back pack, and four papers that I still need to grade before my 2:30 class today, and head to B.’s house.

9:20 – Arrive at B’s house, where he and his nephew are waiting for me.  We leave for the viewing at the Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Rowland Heights.

B.’s mom passed away around three weeks ago, in her sleep, at the nursing home where she lived in Prescott, AZ. Her death was NOT related to Covid-19.  B. and his sister, M., have been working for weeks on transporting her to Pico Rivera, CA, where she can be laid to rest next to B.’s Dad, who died 20 years ago. Her body finally arrived in CA, but due to Covid-19, the services were delayed and the family was at the mercy of the Cemetery’s schedule.  I’m not Catholic, but apparently a viewing is supposed to occur the day before the funeral and burial, which is then followed by a funeral reception.  Due to Covid-19, these activities now must occur on the same day.

Three days ago, B.’s sister, M., called to say her new husband, L., contracted Covid-19.  He was coughing and had chills and M. didn’t think they could attend the funeral.  B. suspected that M. and L. contracted Covid-19 at the Thanksgiving dinner they attended with their Christian friends, none of whom believe in masking. In fact, M. and L. attend Sunday services every weekend and the congregation doesn’t mask because “only people with underlying conditions are affected by Covid-19.” B. was not looking forward to handling the viewing, the burial, the services in general, and the reception alone, without help and support from his sister.  He also forbid them from staying at his house if they chose to travel to California.

M. and L. were in the process of trying to find a Covid-19 test in Prescott, AZ, so they would definitively know if they were infectious.  TWO days ago, M. and L. found a test site about an hour from their home that promised to deliver rapid results. They were tested on Monday and guaranteed the results the next day, on Tuesday…BUT, the results never arrived. L., however, is much improved and his symptoms disappeared. That doesn’t mean he’s not contagious…

YESTERDAY, on Wednesday, L. and M. left Arizona via car, en route to California for the viewing and burial.  B. notified all people in attendance that L. and M. probably had Covid-19 and were contagious long before they arrived. His daughters, their husbands, myself…we are all aware…and I am fully prepared to double-mask and maintain a social distance radius of 10 feet instead of the standard 6 feet.

Which leads us to today…

B. and his nephew take his car and I follow behind, in my car. It feels like an extremely long drive – maybe it’s because I’m exhausted. Once we arrive at the mortuary, I put my mask(s) on and hang out near my car.  M. and L. pull up, but I stay far away from them, as does B.’s daughters. I feel bad on many levels.  What are M. and L. supposed to do?  M. wants to lay her mother to rest AND she and L. still don’t have their test results.  If you have to bury a parent, are you really going to stay home on the day of the burial, on the off-chance you might have Covid-19? This particular incident is just a larger commentary on America’s health care, or lack thereof.  Difficult to find a testing site and once that’s accomplished, results are not provided in a timely manner. It’s just ridiculous.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, there are only 10 people allowed at the viewing and I am one of the 10.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been indoors, in any type of establishment, OTHER than a few hotels and the grocery store – I go to Whole Foods once a month for prosecco-in-a-can, but that’s it. I use the Covid-19 article from El Paiz as a guide when I enter the viewing room. I’m on the move continuously as I don’t want to stand in one place for 30 minutes and risk exposure to a viral load. There are no doors and windows open in this room, although I think an air conditioner might be running. I stay away from M. and L. I know this sounds rude, but we don’t know if they are Covid-19 carriers and I don’t want to get infected. Even so, with all the precautions I’m taking, I want to leave after 10 minutes; however, the family is entitled to a 30-minute viewing and I guess they want to use the entire allotment, especially since they paid for it.  I don’t talk to anybody and try to stay near the corners, at the outer perimeter of the viewing room, until I can leave at 11:30.

B.’s mother’s coffin is beautiful – I hope this doesn’t sound macabre, but it truly is – and D. looks like she’s resting peacefully. I liked D. and was sorry to hear that she passed.  B. called her regularly and he and his sister were very involved in monitoring her care and finding an acceptable nursing home facility – two months ago, D. had to be transferred to a new nursing home after the one she was at abruptly closed.  It was very difficult to find a nursing home of the same caliber in such a short period of time. In short, this has been a mess for M. and B. and all along, D. was completely in control of her faculties and aware of everything – she remembered birthdays and sent cards regularly. D. was also very funny and had a great sense of humor. RIP D. – you’ll be missed. I think D. was 95…

11:30 – 12:45 - It’s 11:30, so B. walks me to my car and I leave.  The burial is next and the mourners are headed to the burial site a few yards over, but I have to administer two Finals today, with the first Final scheduled from 2:30-5:30.  I didn’t want to call attention to myself by leaving in the middle of the funeral service so I’m leaving now.  I’m going to miss the burial and the reception held at Buca di Beppo.

I eat the slice of pizza I brought with me while I’m driving.

12:45 – 1:30 - Back in town and I decide, even though it’s been over 10 days, that I want a coffee.  I drive through a Starbucks and buy one with an old gift card – it tastes amazing.  Hello, old friend!! I park in the Starbucks parking lot and grade 2 of the 4 papers, while sitting in my car, in complete silence.

1:30-1:45 – Home

1:45-2:30 – I check the Final to make sure it’s ready to deploy and then review the Discussion Board. I have two papers left to grade so I start grading one of them.

2:30-5:30 – Time for the Final and I’m also returning 20 papers via email. I post the Discussion Board and tell the students they can use today’s Board to say good-bye to each other, IF they want to.  If you read this blog, you’ve already seen the comments from the Monday students, which were very nice. Here are the comments from today’s class, the class I’ve referred to as Specialty Class No. 2 for the entire semester:

I don’t believe I was graded on my Socratic Seminar. My name is ________.

AND

I have not received a grade for my Socratic Seminar either.

That’s it.

-I continue emailing the students their Socratic Seminar assignments, while they take the Final.  At the same time, I’m trying to finish grading these last two papers. By 5:00, I’m finished grading and I’ve emailed the assignments to every student.  It’s 5:30 and the semester is officially over as far as this class is concerned.

5:30-7:00 – I have turkey soup while I compile the semester grades and attendance for Specialty Class No. 2 so I can input them in Admissions and Records tomorrow morning.

6:30 – I make sure the Final for my Core Class at 7:00 p.m. is ready to deploy and post the Discussion Board. I tell this class they can use the Discussion Board to say goodbye to each other if they want.  Here are their comments [they made the spelling errors – not me]:

Thanks Ms. Coleman for everything.  Goodbye and Happy Holidays to you and everyone.

Thank you for everything!  I loved the Netflix shows.  Happy Holidays!

Thank you so much for everything.  Happy holidays!

Thank you for everything Professor – have a Happy Holidays!

Thank you for a wonderful semester!  The podcast was such a great idea.  I also FINISHED season 3 of Designated Survivor…just to find out it was cancelled. I never would have started a show like that if not for you.  I’m so glad I did. Thanks again!

Thank you so much for everything!  I really enjoyed your style of online teaching!  Goodbye and happy Holidays Everyone!

Thank you!!  I enjoyed taking this class!

Thank you & goodbye professor (:

Thank you Professor for your time and efforts this semester, happy holidays!

Thanks!  Have a good break!  This semester was challenging and it was also a good time.

Thank you so much!  Happy holidays! :o)

Thank you for everything!

Thank you for a very interesting and efficient class, Professor Coleman.  I love your podcast and think it is awesome!  Even though I only have conversations with you through emails, I found that you are an extremely helpful and positive person :D  Have a wonderful winter break, Professor Coleman and everyone. :D

Thank you for everything professor!  I did not see this until just now, sorry for not checking sooner before messaging you!

Thank you so much for making this semester so awesome!!!  Loved all the podcasts and videos we watched in class.  Happy Holidays to you and everyone J  Enjoy your break.

7:00-10:00 – The students are busy taking the Final and I continue compiling semester grades for the 2:30 class.

-I have two classes tomorrow morning so I check course content and post the prompts for the Discussion Boards. I want to make sure everything is ready so I don’t have to “think” when I’m up at 7:30 a.m.  I know I’ll be tired.

-Back to semester grade compilation…

-Core Class is over and the students are done taking the Final. The semester is officially over for this class.

11:00-1:00 – I finish semester grade compilation for Specialty Class No. 2 and switch to Core Class semester grade compilation. There are double the students in the Core Class so it takes me double the time.  I listen to an excellent true crime series about the unsolved murders of two Grateful Dead fans. The podcast is called Dead and Gone and it takes me through 6 hours of semester grade compilation.

Can you believe I’m still in my funeral clothes?  I didn’t even have a chance to change out of them I was so slammed with work.

1:00-1:30 – I start packing my suitcase for my upcoming trip and lay out my outfits.

1:30-2:00 – Night time routine. Bed.  I set my alarm for 7:00, as usual.