Day 33-Governor Newsom rescinds restrictions. Outdoor dining reinstated!
Class prep today…
2/26/21. Friday
9:30 –10:00 - I’m up and I go downstairs to say good morning to the dog. I have to take her outside, but I’m nervous after what happened yesterday (dead bird). I don’t want to experience that ever again. I rub her tummy three times and we go outside. What a beautiful day! After all the wind we’ve been having, the air is still and it’s sunny and bright. She does her business and back inside we go – pieces of pizza for her treat and coffee for me.
10:00-12:30 – I sit outside, at my patio table, and read Strung Out. The dog alternates between running around the yard and jumping on my lap. I’m mindful of the birds – when she gets too close to the fountain, I call her back to my lap. Leave the birds alone.
12:30 – I finish Strung Out. The book was…good…but it’s about a heroin addict so how interesting can it really be? I’m not sure if I wrote this in the blog previously, but a movie critic was discussing his review of a movie about a heroin addict and he noted that movies about heroin addicts are boring in that not much really goes on with this type of drug addict. They are constantly trying to score, they fix, they’re on the nod and doing nothing, and back to constantly trying to score, they fix, etc. I feel uncomfortable downplaying an addict’s pain, but the movie critic was right…not much happens in a heroin addict’s life.
This is a memoir filled with constant relapses and a “string” of men, so many that I couldn’t keep track of the names. I kept going back in the book to remind myself: “Wait…who’s Pete, again?” And when did she meet Jack?” At one point, I could NOT find the most recent male reference anywhere, even though I searched the book repeatedly. I was, like, “Who is this guy? I don’t remember him at all”, before finally realizing that she was talking about her dog.
Additionally, the constant relapses were so frustrating. I would read a passage and think, “OMG…you’re relapsing again? You just got out of rehab” and then the stupid and reckless choices she kept making became extremely irritating. It is never discussed how she is funding her habit, but after awhile the reader figures out it’s her oblivious [or maybe not so oblivious] parents. And because she’s a recipient of white privilege, even though she’s half Armenian, it makes it even more irritating that she’s able to pay for her habit and eventually fund her downfall. The author is only able to kick when she gets pregnant and that’s AFTER she does horse in her first trimester. Did I mention that she’s married to a horrible person who hates her? They eventually divorce. I think if you’ve either read Less Than Zero or seen the movie [the iconic classic by Brad Ellis], you can probably skip this book. The author is a complete train wreck. Well, she’s recovered now…
12:30-1:30 – I have left over pizza for lunch and read a Money Diary and Laura Vanderkam’s blog as I prepare to transition to the next book.
1:30-3:00 – Blog posts. I have some Girl Scout thin mints.
3:00-4:00 – Shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform.
-L. leaves for work. After, she is going to Shabbat with R. at his friend’s house. Only 6 people will be attending this indoor activity and L. says the windows will probably be open. I doubt it.
4:00-4:45 – I take the dog for a walk. No yard work today as I have a 5:30 Flex event at College No. 1 that I need to attend as part of my continuing education (CE) credits. I listen to Southern Fried Crime.
5:15 – 5:30 - I phone into the Flex event. It’s about the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, which I know a lot about. No wonder POC are leery about the vaccine.
5:30-8:30 – I have the event on speaker phone and since I have to attend this seminar [9 hours of CE per semester in accordance with College No. 1 guidelines] this is an excellent time for “double dipping.” I go to work.
-the Socratic Seminar is due in Specialty Class 1A on Monday and part of the assignment involves participation points via the Discussion Board. I prepare a proper prompt for Monday’s Discussion Board.
-I split the chapter into two parts. AUDIO Lecture-Part I will be dropped on Monday. I review my script, revise my slides, and select musical clips. This lecture, I’m trying to incorporate modern music and am pretty jazzed about some of the music I’ve selected, specifically a K-pop band called Blackpink. I’ll record lecture after the seminar.
-I coordinate the Chapter 6 Review Quiz with my slides. I have to revise some of the questions since I’ve broken the Chapter 6 lecture into two parts.
-The Tuskegee seminar rolls on. It’s actually quite good.
-The Midterm is scheduled in two weeks, but it needs to be revised because it covers questions from Chapters 2-6 and I’ve changed some of those questions throughout the semester. One by one, I go through the questions (50) and make sure the Midterm reflects the Chapter Review questions.
8:30-11:00 – The seminar ends at 8:30.
-I boil chicken breasts for a recipe I’m making tomorrow.
-I adjust/prepare the prompt for the Discussion Board for Monday afternoon’s Core Class.
-I print out new attendance sheets for my classes.
-We’re studying North Korea in Specialty Class 1A and I’ve selected a new documentary for this segment. The only problem is I have to prepare an accompanying video quiz to go with the new documentary, which means I actually have to watch the new video. The video is 45 minutes, but there is A LOT of stopping and starting as I prepare a 10-question, multiple-choice quiz.
11:00-12:30 – I record the Chapter 6-Part I lecture.
- L. returns home from Shabbat and we talk about her day. She had a good time.
1:00-2:30 – I do a HIIT 1-hr. Full Body Circuit with 5-lb weights. I pause parts of the app along the way to perform my night time routine.
2:30 – I finish my workout and go straight to bed.