Day 7 of rollback-California Covid spike-Governor shuts us down

7/19/20. Sunday.

7:00 – 8:00 - I wake up, drink water, and read The Day That Went Missing.

8:00- 9:00 - Downstairs and I take the dog out.  She pooped in front of the door.  We go outside and she is transfixed by the area near the air conditioner and our trash cans, where I’ve seen a lizard running back and forth for months, so it’s hard to get her back on track to go poddy. Inside and I give her cheese. 

-The locksmith opens at 8:00 and I’ve been waiting to call him.  I try to describe the problem, but he asks for pictures, so I have to wake up L. so she can take the pictures with her Iphone and text them to the locksmith.  Once this occurs, the locksmith calls his supplier to see if he can get the parts and…he can’t. This locksmith does not repair French door lift-latches and his supplier doesn’t have the parts.  He recommends me to a second locksmith, but that person is closed today (sigh).  I have to say that although Locksmith No. 1 doesn’t make a cent off our transaction, he is very nice and helpful. I will have to wait until tomorrow to rectify this issue.

9:00-10:00 – Just as I finish with this issue, my colleague from College No. 1 texts me because he wants to talk about enrollment.  I’m scheduled to teach three classes, beginning August 17, but my numbers are low. There are 4 students enrolled in one class and 19 in the other; the third class is full, complete with a “wait-list”, and not a problem.  BC, Adjunct Instructors knew that they had to have at least 15 students enrolled in order for the class to run; HOWEVER, Administration abruptly changed the cap from 15 to 20 two weeks ago.  This is unheard of and my colleague researched the abrupt change and notified the Union. 

For the past 18 years, instructors have known that they must have 15 students to run a class. After reaching out to the Union, my colleague discovered that 20 has been the cap all along, although the Administration has a 5-student flexibility clause which they have upheld the entire time I’ve been employed (18 years) until now.  In light of budgetary cuts due to Covid-19, the Administration has an incentive to run as few classes as possible to avoid paying their adjuncts.  All of our political science ‘niche’ classes are in danger of being cut as none of us have hit the 20 cap, although almost all of us have hit the 15 mark.

Quite frankly, it’s bullshit that Administration would enforce the 20-cap now, of all times.  For example, one of my niche classes is at 19.  If the Administration enforces the 20-cap, my class will be canceled on the first day of school, when, had it run, I may have been able to generate interest among the enrolled students.   Each canceled class is an $800 per month net loss. By that I mean, I take home $800 per month for each class.  I’m ONE under in one class, and 16 under in another class – if these numbers remain, I’ve just lost $1600 per month for the Fall Semester, or $6400 total.

BUT, my colleague is on it and has a strategy to help all of us boost the numbers.  I need to prepare a sales pitch for my classes, kind of like, “Enroll now!  While you still can, because we’ll be discussing….!!” and then send an email blast to hundreds of former students in an attempt to convince them to enroll.  My colleague will also advertise my classes to his students. At the same time, I will Zoom into lectures from some of my other colleagues as a guest speaker in order to peddle my classes.

My colleague makes the decision to try to push just one of my classes – the class with the lowest enrollment (4 students).  Secretly, I think we should push the class with 19 students as I am one away from an extra $800 per month, but he is not having it, theorizing that more and more students will be redirected to our junior college as parents force their children to defer enrollment for the 4-year colleges where they’ve been admitted since it doesn’t make sense to pay thousands of dollars for virtual enrollment since Covid-19 has closed the schools. He doubles down on the class with 4 students, believing that my second class will increase organically. Spoiler Alert: He’s right. By 8/6/20, enrollment is up to 27 in the class with 19 students.

In 15 years, my colleague, J., has never steered me wrong and we’ve had similar enrollment issues. In general, when I stick with J., I come out on top…but I’m uneasy about this strategy. However, I’m  in and will coordinate with J. all the way.

10:00-12:00 – Overwhelmed by this recent turn of events, I escape to my book The Day That Went Missing.

12:00 – B. calls and invites me over for a walk and dinner at 6:00.  Great!  That means I don’t have to exercise today.

12:00-2:00 – I have lunch and prepare a sales pitch for both classes, even though we’re technically only focusing on one.

2:00 – 3:30 – I try to take a nap but am too wound up. I load all of the empty paint cans in my trunk in my never ending quest to unload them.  I might have some luck on Thursday.

3:30 – 5:30 – Shower. Jeans and a T-shirt. Light make-up.

5:30 – 9:30 - I drive to B.’s and we take a 1-hour walk around his neighborhood.  Then, he makes lentil stew and rice for dinner and we watch a Netflix show I selected, The Innocence Files. I’m sure I’m not good company as I’m completely distracted by my earlier conversation with J.

9:30 – 11:30 – Home and L. and I watch Love After Lock Up and scream at the TV.

12:00-1:00 - Night time ritual and bed.