Day 8 - Governor Newsom rescinds restrictions. Outdoor dining reinstated!
Read below for more information…
Although restaurants are now open for outside dining, the LA County Dept. of Health guidelines are clear…TVs must remain OFF at all times. Can you catch Covid-19 from the TV now?
2/1/21. Monday.
9:30-10:15 - I’m awake, but I lie in bed and listen to Crime Junkie.
10:15 – 10:30 - Downstairs and I say good morning to the animal. I rub her tummy three times, then she grabs her toy and out we go. She does her business, then it’s back inside for cheese and coffee. L. did the dishes last night so I return to my room, coffee in hand.
10:30-12:00 – I read Dancing.
12:00-1:30 – Blog post and I have some pre-made scrambled eggs.
1:30-2:15 – Shower. Lotion. Covid-19 uniform.
2:15-2:30 – I respond to emails and check course content for my 2:30 class – good to go.
-L. leaves for work.
-I go to work.
2:30-5:35 – Class is in session. The students have a lot to do today. There is lecture, a podcast, followed by a video, and then a video quiz.
-FYI - I filed a complaint against a business in my community in Feb. 2020. GPA, or Global Prep Academy, is run by a Middle Eastern man with no credentials. He guarantees students will be accepted into the college of their choice if they sign up for his program. I live in an affluent zip code, although I’m a member of the working poor (sounds like the “walking dead”), and the parents in my community have paid upward of $4000 to this man so ‘little Suzy’ can get into Columbia.
The cost of the program is never the same – it varies based on the parents’ ability to pay. Sometimes, it’s $2000; sometimes it’s $4000. In the Before Times, students would go to “GPA” – his office – sit there and play on their phone all day, doing nothing. Their parents thought they were receiving college prep assistance. Students later confided to L. that Mr. X wrote all of their 650 Common App college essays. Students also told L. that Mr. X disclosed that he spent time in a Mexican prison and was on the Top 10 FBI’s Most Wanted List at some point. Hmmm. Why would you tell minors that? And why, as a parent, would you feel comfortable allowing your child to spend hours with a man you know nothing about?
Anyway, it’s obvious to me that this guy is so dirty and I’ve done everything I can to get state or local govt. to look into his business. I’ve even contacted my local paper. Nobody cares…but today, I’m returning a call from an investigator with the LA County Dept. of Consumer and Business Affairs. She left a message for me to call her and I’m pretty jazzed about it.
2:30 – 3:00 – I get off the phone with “Karen.” She relayed all the steps she took before telling me she is at the end of her rope and can do nothing more. Having been an Investigator myself for over 20 years, I can tell that she really tried and went the distance. I’m not surprised, but I’m not giving up. This is yet another entity that refuses, or simply can’t, help. Eventually, I’ll find someone who is interested and/or motivated.
3:00-3:45 – Class continues. None of the students email me and this is how it should be. I take the dog for a walk, then bring in my trash cans.
3:45 – 4:15 – I take attendance and notify the students who did NOT sign in on the Discussion Board that they have been marked absent. I continue posting course content as class unfolds.
4:15 – 5:35 – As I’ve said in the past, my pay check is based on the hours that I lecture, which today is from 2:30-9:00. As a result, it’s in my best interest to work on more difficult and challenging activities during lecture because I’m getting paid during this time. In other words, I’m being paid for any/all activities completed between the hours of 2:30 and 9:00, i.e. double-dipping.
-I pull my Chapter 4 script for Specialty Class 1A and start designing lecture and selecting You Tube audio clips.
5:35 – 6:00 – Class ends and I have the last of the leftover pizza and a salad. I check email from both Colleges, to include my personal email.
-My work day continues.
6:00-9:30 – This is my niche class and the students are as good as gold. I continue selecting the audio clips for my Chapter 4 lecture.
-L. returns from work but goes straight upstairs for her college Zoom meeting.
-I take attendance and send an email blast to those students who did not sign in on the Discussion Board, informing them that they will be marked absent for today. I post course content as the class rolls on.
-The Anonymous Grader finally approved my re-submission in my DE course so I’m allowed to advance to Module 4. The only problem is I’m supposed to have a Canvas class at College No. 2 and mine was canceled due to lack of enrollment. How can I submit my assignments from my Canvas shell if I’m not teaching at College No. 2? I email the coordinator and explain that I can submit the assignments from my Canvas shell at College No. 1. Will that work?
-My audio clips are selected for Specialty Class 1A – Chapter 4. I’m ready to record lecture, but not tonight – maybe in a couple of days.
9:30-10:30 – Kitchen duty. I make my coffee and pack my lunch bag for tomorrow.
10:30-11:30 – I do a 40-minute cardio app.
11:30-12:00 – L. tells me that she is going to the grocery store tomorrow. Apparently, we’re out of eggs and this is the tipping point for L., i.e., no eggs in the house means we’re in such dire straits that she absolutely must go to the store. I prepare my grocery list.
-L is in the middle of baking chocolate chip cookies…with no eggs.
12:30-2:00 – L. and I watch Seduced and scream at the TV.
2:00-3:00 – I listen to What a Day and read a Money Diary. Then, night time routine and bed.