Day 22 of Governor Newsom’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy”

Packing for my upcoming trip…

Friday. 9/18/20

7:30 - 7:45 - I set my alarm for 7:30 and head downstairs. The dog is still asleep, but I wake her up and we go outside. She goes potty and we come inside. Cheese.

7:45 - 10:05 - I make coffee, then review course content for today’s morning classes. I have to load an 8-question pop-quiz for one of the classes, but everything else is ready. I check this morning’s video and that’s good to go, too. NOT like last night.

One of my college students emails me at 8:30 - her tone is nasty - and says, “I’ve been looking for the Discussion Board for the past 30 minutes and it’s not there!” Yes, you’re correct. Class doesn’t start until 8:30 - the Discussion Board was posted at 8:25.

Class starts at 8:30 and rolls on, ending at 10:05. I update my blog and keep warming up my coffee.

One of my highschoolers thinks that he can pop into class and take the quizzes withOUT signing in on the Discussion Board. No. That means the student came in late - I can see that he took the quizzes right before they were scheduled to time out, spent 10 minutes in class taking the tests, and checked out. No.

I’ve discussed this very issue with him in the past and I send a stern email, informing him that this is not an online course where you can “Zoom” in whenever you want. This is a “synchronous” class, conducted in real time [8:30-10:05], and you have to show up at 8:30 by signing in on the Discussion Board. If he does this next week, I’m giving him a zero on his assignments.

A student emails me, complaining that I dropped him just because he missed ONE class meeting to attend an orthodontist appointment. No.

His email is so poorly written, I can barely understand his complaint, and his server actually appears to be based in China. In actuality, he didn’t attend ANY classes, and after 6 missed meetings (the first three weeks of school) and several emails informing him that he was absent from class on multiple occasions, I dropped him. I send a lengthy email, wherein I lay out every date he missed, Law and Order style, and re-post the emails I previously sent to him, stating that he would be dropped for failure to attend the class. Surprise. He was dropped for failing to attend classes.

10:05 - 12:30 - I finish the rest of my blog updates. I got a little behind over the past few days.

-I check Fed-Ex tracking. The pkg. has not arrived at my student’s home.

12:30-2:00 - I go to lunch [exit the house and sit at my patio table] and have frozen lasagna that I made months ago. I read Schuyler’s Monster.

2:00 - 3:30 - I start packing for an upcoming trip next week and take a moment to prepare a grocery list for L.

You know those sprinklers I programmed to come on every other day at 6:00 a.m.? They come on today, at 3:00 p.m., and won’t stop. I do an override and try to re-program.

3:30 - 4:45 - I cut and color my hair. My ends are so long that I’m able to hold them between my fingers and trim about 2 inches off. I ask L. if she’ll do it, but she’s afraid of making a mistake. This time, I try a lighter brown color and it kind of f—ks up my roots. It’s hard to care about this, however, as I rarely leave the house.

4:45 - 5:45 - Shower and wash the color off. Then blow dry.

5:45-7:00 - Continue packing.

7:00-7:30 - I take the dog for a walk.

R. comes over and he and L. watch horror movies on the couch. R. brings me a 6-piece chicken nugget dinner from Chick-Fil-A. - much appreciated!! Very thoughtful.

7:30-8:30 - I have dinner and read Schuyler’s Monster.

8:30 - 10:00 - More packing, both for tomorrow AND my upcoming trip. B. and I are going “camping” again so I’m preparing my overnight bag. I start a load of laundry and wipe down my bathroom, clean my toilet.

10:00 - 11:15 - I really need to get some cardio in today, but am not feeling motivated. I put in a DVD and watch for awhile, hoping that I’ll suddenly want to jump up and start working out. Instead, I accidentally fall asleep.

11:15 - 12:00 - I wake up and force myself to do a 40-minute cardio DVD.

12:30 - 2:30 - I make “Mediterranean Salmon” - wild-caught salmon, sauteed in a pan, with a topping of white beans, onions, and olives - because I don’t want the fish to turn. I also prepare two spinach salads for tomorrow’s “camping” trip and add celery, olives, cheese, and zucchini.

2:30 - 3:30 - The kitchen is a complete disaster. I clean it.

I check Fed-Ex tracking. The pkg. won’t arrive at H’s house until Monday, 9/21/20. I paid $37 for $4.00 to be delivered on Friday morning - now, I learn it will be delivered 4 days later!!! USPS would have given me better results for the cost of a postage stamp. Flashback: Does anyone remember those old Fed-Ex commercials? “When it absolutely, positively, has to be there overnight.” Fake news.

3:30 - 4:30 - Night time routine. Bed.