Day 7 - Teachers are eligible for the vaccine.

Margot’s!!!…we were outside, on the rooftop…

3/7/21. Sunday

10:00 – 10:30 - I’m up and moving somewhat quickly today. Downstairs and the dog is asleep on the ottoman. I rub her tummy three times, then she grabs her toy and we go outside. She does her business and we head inside: chicken for her treat and coffee for me.  I unload the dishwasher and listen to Vox Worldly.

10:30-12:00 – Upstairs and I shower. Lotion. Heavy make-up. I wear ‘jeggings’; a turquoise, button-up blouse with a ruffled front; brown, thigh-high suede boots; and a necklace and earring set from Europe that my Mom brought back for me from one of her travels.  I top it off with my brown and gold houndstooth trench. I take out my sponge rollers at the last minute and spray with hairspray.  My hair will hold this curl for about 2 hours, before it turns into waves, and then completely straightens. More Vox Worldly.

12:00-12:15 – I go downstairs and pour a mimosa while I wait for L. I pull up the menu where we’re going for brunch and make my selection.

12:15 – 1:00 - L. and I leave for Culver City. She drives.

-Driving

1:00 – 3:00 - L. and I arrive at The Platform, a hip and trendy shopping center, similar to The Americana in Glendale. I love it!  We have to walk through a maze of outdoor shops – everyone is masked - before we find Margot. This is L.’s pick and it’s amazing! We meet N. and his mom, K., for brunch and dine on the rooftop – other tables are far away and socially distanced.  The food is incredible: K. gets the poached egg polenta; N. gets the French toast; L. gets the avocado toast; and I get the fried chicken. We all have bites of everything. L. orders the potatoes bravas with paprika aioli for an appetizer and we share those, too.  Delish! I have two glasses of an excellent Prosecco and K. gets two mimosas. L. and N. get mocktails.

-We spend time talking, eating, and drinking…overall, just having a great time.  L. discusses her most recent attempt to ask for a raise and K. provides great insight and suggestions. Of note is the fact that K. and N. are actually vaccinated.  N. had Moderna and K. had Pfizer. L. and I. talk about waiting for the J&J vaccine because it’s a “one-and-done” [one dose].  Ultimately, N. and K. don’t have to worry about the pandemic or dying from a potentially lethal virus anymore.  I’m really happy for them…their family came through this nightmare unscathed.

3:00-4:00 – We leave.

-Driving.  L and I listen to Case File – Rebecca Schafer on the way home.

4:00-6:00 – Home and I read In the Shadow and then take a nap.

-L. and N. leave for Salt and Straw, in Burbank.

6:00 – 6:45 - I do a load of laundry, then take the dog for a walk. I listen to Organize 365.

6:45-7:30 – Yard work. I pick up dog poop then water all of my plants. More Organize 365.

7:30-8:30 – Change into workout clothes and have apple slices with almond butter and grapes.  I read In the Shadow, then pull my clothes from the washer and hang them up.  I put a few odds and ends in the dryer.

-L. returns from Salt and Straw

8:30-9:30 – I do a 40-minute Insanity workout [Cardio Recovery was next in the series].  While I’m unable to do ALL the reps [I’m still too slow], I make it through without stopping. I’m wiped out, but I’m taking Monday off from exercising because B. and I are going on a bike ride on Tuesday.  I’ve found that if I exercise the night before a bike ride, the ride is really difficult for me so I’ll ‘recover’ on Monday.

9:30-11:30 – I go to work.

-I’m being evaluated/audited and there are a few things I still need to do to update my Canvas shell for College No. 2, especially before my assigned evaluator starts ’stalking’ the online class. I’ve been putting this task off for a long time, as it’s so tedious, but in accordance with the Anonymous Grader, I have to convert my Syllabus to a “Page” in two Canvas shells. I already did this for the DE assignment, BUT, I used my class from College No. 1. Now, I need to update my classes at College No. 2. This is NOT a cut-and-paste project and I have to adjust font and headings throughout the entire “Page.”  It’s so mind-numbing and especially irritating because the Syllabus is already in a Word document, attached as a “File.”  I listen to Southern Fried Crime as I work.

- The Anonymous Grader says online instructors have to try to create interaction among the students, so I prepare a Discussion Board for this week’s module, in case my ‘evaluator” is trolling my ‘shells.’ The students are instructed to list their favorite Amendment from the Bill of Rights and why.  Then, they have to respond to two other students’ posts. It’s a 15-point assignment so they have to participate.

11:30-1:30 – I check my DE class and the Anonymous Grader approved my submissions and opened up the next TWO Modules for me!!!  On a Sunday??!!! He liked my Communications Plan and approved my Syllabus re-submission. I start working on the next two Modules right away, BUT the next assignment is rather labor-intensive and involves adding to the matrix I submitted in Module 3, several weeks ago.  I could knock it out by 4:00 or 5:00 a.m., but I just don’t want to stay up that late.

-I do the assigned readings for both Modules and all that’s left to do is revise the matrix. I leave it for tomorrow.

-1:30-2:00 – I pull up my French Cinema class and two more people from Group 1 posted, even though they’re technically late. I’m starting to formulate a few responses in my mind, but this will involve re-watching sections of the movie to make sure I’m accurate.  Great.

-L. makes bacon and something else???  Not sure, but it smells good.

2:00 – 3:00 - I have a few pieces of salami, cream cheese, and cucumber from L.’s cheese platter. L. says I can have some of her bacon, too. More grapes.

-L. and I discuss her friend/acquaintance, G.  He’s involved in a MLM [read pyramid scheme/scam] involving crypto currency and encouraging people to participate.  I send L. a link to the news story featuring “One Coin.” The suspect swindled everyone who participated by taking their American dollars and absconding with the money.  She is nowhere to be found and people lost millions. ‘One Coin’ ceased to exist.

-L. tells me about her other friend, J. Sadly, he is experiencing mental health issues and is returning from North_____ at the end of the quarter. Until last month, J. was attending North_______ virtually at home and doing well in his program.  Although classes are online, J. decided to move to [extremely cold climate where it is currently snowing] and live in the dorms.  He was assigned to a room, alone, and has had almost no interaction with people for 6 weeks.  He takes Covid-19 seriously and felt uncomfortable inviting people to his dorm room. Unfortunately, J.’s grades plummeted and he is 2 weeks behind in the curriculum.  J. is coming home and will take the next quarter off.

His experience is markedly different from L.’s friend, M., who, as soon as she arrived on campus, in an isolated dorm, proceeded to party constantly, engage in underage drinking and making friends through shared alcohol and drug use, and even managed to find the opportunity to take Special K. [sarcasm here – Special K is ketamine and a very dangerous drug].

-I hate to see a good student [J.] go down…

3:00-3:45 – Night time routine. Bed.