Day 4 - Governor Newsom rescinds restrictions - Outdoor dining reinstated!

L.’s work…”Joshua Tree in Charcoal”…

1/28/21. Thursday.

9:30 –10:00 - I’m up, but I lie in bed and listen to The Daily.

10:00-10:30 – Downstairs so I can greet the animal. She pooped in front of the door.  This morning, she’s ready to go outside so she grabs her toy and out we go.  She chases some birds before finally going potty. Back inside we go:  cheese for her, coffee for me.  I go upstairs.

10:30-12:00-I read Dancing

12:00:1:30 – Blog post

-Good News! L., who happens to be extremely competitive, was finally recognized by Erika, her art professor.  Erika posted L.’s most recent assignment during a Zoom meeting and made positive comments about it to the class.  L. has been irritated lately by work that has been recognized by sub-par artists, especially when she tells me she is better than them.  L. can’t understand why she is not getting the recognition she deserves [inset smiling emoji, here], but rationalizes it by saying that her work is soooo good the instructor can NOT give it an honorable mention because it will make the rest of the students feel bad.  OMG – what an ego, even if it is true! [insert smiling emoji, here]. But, today, L. was actually recognized!! Yay!!

-The piece that received an honorable mention is posted at the top of this blog. It’s one of my favorites and L. is truly amazing.

1:30-2:30 – I make scrambled eggs and add cheese. I’m trying to come up with an activity that I can “join” with eating and am having no luck thus far. I don’t want to read every time I eat because I already allotted time for that in the mornings.  For now, I’ve been falling into the habit of reading Money Diaries when I’m eating lunch. There must be a better activity…

2:30-2:45 – Shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform.

-L. leaves for work.

2:45-3:30 – I take the dog for a walk.

3:30-4:45 – Yard work.  I pick up dog poop and sanitize the astroturf.  I also clean debris from the pots, then trim dead leaves from various plants.  Finally, I sweep the patio.  At the exact moment I finish, it starts sprinkling.

4:45-5:15 – I go to Starbucks and buy a tall coffee for myself, using an old gift card.

5:15 – 6:00 – Class starts at 6:00, so I prepare the Discussion Board and ensure there are no issues with course content.

6:00 – 9:00 - Core Class #2 begins. 35 people sign in. A couple students email me with a few questions.

I had originally set aside this time to work on my DE class.  As noted in a previous blog, I’m actually paid for the hours I “lecture”, so it would be nice to work on an unpaid activity during this block of time and double-dip, so to speak.  Unfortunately, the Anonymous Grader has not bothered to look at my re-submission so I am still unable to advance to Module 4.

I take attendance, than send an email to 4 students who did not sign in on the Discussion Board. A few students signed in way too late, as in 7:00 and 7:30.  Class starts at 6:00 and I send them a stern message.  They both respond, “Sorry Professor.”  At least they’re contrite.

-I pull the PP slides for Specialty Class 1A – Chapter 4 and review the script while Core Class #2 is running.  Then, I select audio clips for the respective slides.

-I post course content for Core Class #2 as the class unfolds.

-I place my Wine.com order and make a call to the Reservation Desk concerning the reservations that I placed last night for B. and I – there’s some sort of glitch, but everything is eventually smoothed over.

-I check personal email and read online news.

-The last activity for Core Class #2 is a video, followed by a video quiz.  I’m dismayed to see that 10 students did not take the video quiz.  That means they signed in on the Discussion Board at 6:00, then bailed. I give the students zeros – they’ll be hearing from me on Saturday.

9:00-9:45 – I hang around and respond to a few students’ commentary concerning the class.

9:45-10:30 – I finish selecting the last of the audio clips, but decide to record lecture when I’m ‘fresh’ – maybe Saturday will work.

10:30-1:30 – I clean the kitchen and make a quinoa kale salad with avocado dressing that has to be made in the blender.  This meal has so many moving parts and the kitchen is a mess when I’m done.  I’m so sick of cooking/creating this dish that I don’t even want to eat it, now.  In the midst of all of this, I make a standard pre-made salad with our remaining vegetables for a future day this week. I continue purging the refrigerator of old pieces of cheese from one of L.’s many cheese boards. L. eventually serves herself a big bowl of the quinoa dish and pronounces it “good.” I have Girl Scout thin mints instead, then switch to Girl Scout shortbread cookies.

1:30-3:00 – L. and I watch The Vow and scream at the TV.

3:00-3:30 – Night time routine. Bed.

Exhausted.