Day 42 of Governor Newsom’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy”

The fly on Pence’s head…

Thursday. 10/8/20

7:00 - 8:00 - I’m up, but I listen to The Daily and their analysis of the Veep debate. I’m watching it on Friday, at B’s house. Based on the podcast, it sounds like it was a (drum roll, please)…normal, political debate, other than the fly that landed on Pence’s head and remained there for 2 minutes. Americans across the nation were taking fly swatters to their TVs and computer screens because the fly remained on the section of his hair for so long, people thought the fly was in their house.

Remember when Bernie Sanders was giving a speech in 2016 and a little sparrow landed on his podium and stayed there while he was talking? Bernie even incorporated the sparrow into his speech, saying that it was obvious the little bird was in favor of Obamacare. It was so cute! This, however, was a…FLY. People were joking that the fly was attracted to Vice President Dense’ bull-s—t and, thus, landed on Dense’s head. Others said the fly needed a Covid-19 test after being exposed to the VP.

8:00-9:00 - L. has to leave at 12:30 which means I need to record today’s lecture immediately so she can airdrop it into Canvas before she starts her day. Luckily, there’s a lot going on in Specialty Class No. 2 and I have a shorter lecture planned. The students are turning in a Socratic Seminar assignment and writing extensively on the Discussion Board, before listening to a podcast. My lecture only needs to last an hour, but I still need to compare the PP slides to my script and line up the musical clips. I am still in my pajamas.

9:00-10:00 - B. comes downstairs, fully dressed, and we discuss what we’re doing today. I need to record my lecture and everything is ready to go, but B. didn’t bring his book and doesn’t know what to do for the next hour. I suggest he watch an episode of Ratched while I’m recording - the minutes are flying by and my anxiety level is increasing because I have to get this done before L. leaves. B. agrees so I run into the kitchen and make him coffee via my Kurig and fill a tumbler half-way with almond milk for his cream. I add Stevia packets, then slice some of the chocolate cake and ‘plate the food.’ I run upstairs with the tray of food and coffee and make sure B. is situated with his breakfast “and his toys” - j/k, but you Moms out there know what it’s like when you’re trying to occupy a toddler for the next 30 minutes to an hour because you’re going to be in and out of the room - then I run downstairs and start recording. I am still in my pajamas.

10:00-11:00 - I record Part I of Lecture and run upstairs to see how B. is doing. He is ready for more chocolate cake, but opts for lunch instead after I tell him I made a casserole yesterday. I stop by L.’s room and confirm when she’s leaving, knowing it’s around 12:30ish…except it isn’t. L. is now saying she has to leave by 11:45 and I still haven’t recorded Part II of Lecture.

11:00 - 11:30 - I run downstairs with B.’s coffee tray and quickly heat up the casserole I made Tuesday morning, then I “plate the food” and add utensils and a napkin, and run back upstairs with B.’s lunch tray. He finished the episode of Ratched and is now reading the CA Propositions, but this won’t occupy him for the next 30 minutes as he already knows how he wants to vote. I recommend another episode of Ratched and he agrees so I make sure B. is situated with his lunch “and his toys” to ensure that he is occupied for the next 30/45 minutes. Then, I run downstairs and start recording. I am still in my pajamas.

11:25 - I finish recording Lecture - Part II and run back upstairs to ask L. if she is ready to do the airdrop, but she can’t right now because she is in the middle of a quarterly exam with her team for an online sociology class that she is taking. I desperately need a shower, but L. says she will be ready in 10 minutes, so there is no time for a shower right now. I check on B. and he is still watching that second episode of Ratched, although he has finished his lunch and is now ready for more chocolate cake and coffee. I am still in my pajamas.

11:40 - 11:50 - L. is ready to airdrop my Lectures so I run into her room so she can put them on Canvas. I post them to my classes in the nick of time and L. leaves.

11:50 - 12:30 - I run back into my room and B. is now finished with Ratched. I really need to take a shower, but B. is not sure how best to occupy his time while I’m showering so I suggest he watch an episode of Immigration Nation. He agrees and decides to wait for the extra chocolate cake and coffee. I make sure B. is situated with “his toys”, then shower quickly, lotion, dress in my Covid-19 uniform, and start a load of laundry.

12:30 - 12:45 - B. says he’s ready for more cake and coffee, so I take B.’s tray as he follows me downstairs and exits to my patio table outside. I make him another coffee via my Kurig and fill a tumbler half-way with almond milk for his cream. I add Stevia packets, then slice some of the chocolate cake and ‘plate the food’, then run outside with B’s tray and make sure he is situated with “his toys” while I run inside and quickly do the dishes.

12:45 - 1:30 - I slice a piece of chocolate cake for me and join B. at the patio table. I. just. want. to. sit. down. We talk politics although I’m probably not saying much. I’m exhausted and want to go back to bed.

1:30 - 1:45 - Shockingly, L. returns, which means I might have time to record my “Public Announcements” for my two classes tonight, but she says she is leaving again at 2:15 and won’t return until 7:00. B., too, is ready to leave, but wants me to prepare the cake for transport. I put the majority of the cake on a plate and wrap it with aluminum foil as the clock keeps ticking - every minute that goes by is another minute closer to L. leaving and my inability to record the Public Announcements for my two upcoming classes. B. seems satisfied with the way I wrapped the cake and leaves.

1:45-2:00- I record two 5-minute Public Announcements and L. airdrops them into Canvas before heading out to the art studio. My first class starts at 2:30.

2:00-5:30 - I post a prompt to the Discussion Board for Socratic Seminar participation points and check the Chapter 6 Review Quiz. To my dismay, some of the questions do NOT correspond with my lecture and need to be changed in the next 30 minutes, before I post the quiz. I get started on that.

The class rolls on and students are submitting their Socratic Seminar papers, left and right. I’m old school and can’t grade an assignment unless it’s a paper copy, so I’m printing them out one at a time. This goes on to the last possible minute. Some of the students are submitting as late as 5:28 p.m. (class ends at 5:30). There is no time to eat or do anything - it’s just printing out one paper after another.

5:30-7:00- I have some time between classes, but realize that the link to the video I have scheduled for my 7:00 class is “broken” and is no longer on You Tube. I can either come up with an alternative and design another video quiz or do what L. says and give the students a free night by not assigning either. I find a couple of websites where students can “rent” the video for $3.99, but after that last disaster, when I ended up Fed-exing $4.00 to a student so he could watch the documentary, at a cost to me of $37.00, I am loathe to repeat this. However, if there’s no video quiz, the students don’t give a s—t as their grade is not on the line. Soooo…, I post the links for the $3.99 rental, but tell my students there is no video quiz. Spoiler Alert: I don’t hear from anyone [well, one student about an unrelated issue] the entire class period so I KNOW nobody bothered to watch the video and I’m a little upset about it. Oh well (sigh).

I heat up my leftovers from Geoffreys and eat while listening to NPR Round Up.

7:00-10:00 - Class starts and I work on my blog posts the entire time.

10:00-11:30 - I continue working on my blog posts and then (bad idea) I take a nap.

2:00 - 3:30 - Up and I continue working on my blog posts until I finish. My sleep cycle is officially f—ked up.