I think it’s safe to say at this point, 5 months since my previous post, that the pandemic is a hot mess.
… At least in the United States.
But then again, London did just have that new strain break out and they were forced into a stricter lockdown just days before Christmas. They had originally been told they’d be allowed to celebrate with up to three households only to be told a few days prior to Christmas that it wasn’t going to happen and forced London businesses to close within a few hours of notice.
Something like that sounds like it was lifted straight out of a Zombie apocalypse film; but no, that’s just another day in 2020.
For all intents and purposes a quick summary of the virus since July:
The virus continued its rampage throughout the US, and certain states were hit hard as the virus obviously doesn’t discriminate. Early in 2020, New York was the sh*t show, sadly right at the time I was supposed to have my bachelor party. The sh*t show has shifted to many states throughout the year – notably the Dakotas and as of this moment, California.
California currently is in a forced lock down comparable to the first in March with a few notable exceptions. Retail is allowed to stay open this go round, albeit at 20%. Outdoor dining has been taken away and restaurants are back to take out only. Gyms are closed again, only allowed to operate from the outside (and are required to wear masks still, although based on my personal experience, I see the gyms still have a hard time enforcing that fully). Schools are still in distance learning. (More on that later, too.)
Covid cases are the highest they’ve ever been in California since March, and the US has the most cases globally. ICUs are overwhelmed with covid patients with many reaching max capacity here.
… Suffice to say – things aren’t going so well. And yet there is a light at the end of the tunnel, in the form of a vaccine. It has arrived and is slowly being administered on a tier system – with front line workers gaining access first (rightfully so).
Other notable 2020 mentions for the last half of the year:
- President Trump also lost his re-election bid, and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be taking charge come January.
- US citizens making less than 75,000 dollars get a whole $600 stimulus payment. (Sigh. I wish we could do better.)
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So where does that leave me and how was the last half of my 2020 (man I need to be better at blogging in smaller increments and more often). Like my previous entry I’ll break it down into categories so you can skip to the interesting bits. This is a definitely a lengthy post.
Distance Learning
Like mentioned in my previous entry, it had been announced that our district would move forward with a distance learning model for the safety of staff and students. It’s been a bit of a wild ride with that.
In the beginning, a lot of the students were participating and had little issues getting online and there was a genuine excitement from them that I felt; not unlike a regular school year. We call that the honey moon phase – everyone is recharged and ready to hit the ground running. It’s comparable to when suddenly everyone wants to return to the gym on January 1st. (The shade! But really, no better time to start. Be nice to newbies!)
And just like a normal school year, once that phase wore off, normal student habits set in, but exacerbated due to the pandemic and all the politics that come with distance learning in a public school district.
With distance learning, it created a whole new set of challenges, especially for public schools. Students’ emotional well being often being cited as an issue (I concur) and other issues like wifi connectivity, an environment at home that is not conducive to learning, the inability to force students on camera, having to teach technical web skills that some teachers themselves may not have – the list goes on.
For me, early on, I decided that the academic part can be scaled back a bit for two major reasons:
- The kids obviously have a lot on their plate and
- They had a lack of supplies and resources anyway.
The pandemic was/is a unique situation that may never happen again in their lifetimes. Whatever benchmarks that were expected of them were all created by us and can easily be shifted. I think the most valuable lesson a kid can learn right now is resilience, if I am being honest.
I scaled back my curriculum this semester (we only really did 3 projects), radically shifted how I grade and have an almost non existent late policy. A large majority of the period is talking about life lessons and how they’re all doing. That being said, I genuinely feel we did some of our students a disservice by not setting the bar a little higher.
And what do I mean by that?
Certain things like not requiring students to be on camera. I understand the need to feel secure and safe – but my view is instead of assuming it’s an issue across the board, why not figure out the kids who genuinely have the issue and work with them? Many private school has that as a requirement out the gate. Thinking about a teenage Alvin, if the camera weren’t required to be on for me, it’s likely I would not be doing my work also.
I was contacted a few times by parents concerned about their child’s grade and every time the parent was taken aback when they had found out their child wasn’t required to have their camera on, with their follow up responses often being “Why isn’t it?” Or “Force them” and the simple truth is we can’t.
About a month in I did ask a student why she had her camera off all the time and she told me she simply didn’t want to be the “only one” with it on. And so one day I requested all their cameras on and informed them that while I can’t force them to do it, if I saw their camera off I will contact their families to ask how I could better assist them and low and behold, maybe 75% of them turned on their cameras. Still couldn’t get a few of them to turn on, and that’s okay – maybe they’re the ones who genuinely feel uncomfortable. And I respect that and honor that.
… but that’s just one issue. I will not bore you with the multitude of other issues that impede a student’s potential for success. I think distance learning isn’t too bad at all, in my honest opinion. It just is struggling behind a lot of politics, many of which should be non-issues. Is it a replacement for in-person learning? Definitely not.
And I will say that from my experience, the upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) are doing exceptionally better versus the freshmen.
There were a lot of success stories and “aha” moments; moments like when they nod and smile and laugh at your lame attempts to connect with them, funny chats in the chat box, those students who come through with some amazing work despite all the odds. I know a lot of them genuinely enjoy just being able to talk to me – that in itself makes me know I am damn essential right now. I also learned about new anime I should be watching from them, like “Demon Slayer” and why Ariana Grande is indeed relevant, and just how many gamers we have in this new generation.
My heart does break a little thinking about some of the students I am unable to reach. The ones who in person, may have still been a challenge, but that in person interaction could have been the edge they needed to make it over to the D, or C. I also really feel for special ed students.
So in a nutshell: It’s okay to scale back, it’s okay to go slower, it’s okay not to get through every single lesson we normally would because kids are overwhelmed and stressed. Simultaneously, students must continue to learn, and resilience and accountability are important life skills I think we must instill in them right now. It’s something I definitely talk about with them almost daily – a common go to phrase being: “If I somehow break my foot right now, unfortunately, the rent is still due at the end of the month.” A bit bleak – but I know they love me for that honesty.
And one last random story: when their first project was due (which we spent forever on because I didn’t want them to stress), I was dismayed to find that a good 8-10 in every period traced their images off the computer. Instead of giving them the 0s, I gave them C’s and asked them on camera if they traced. They all smirked and nodded and owned it and were thankful for the C and said they wouldn’t do it again. Point of the story being that a little compassion can go a long way, and at the same time, the bar doesn’t have to be so completely lowered that there is no accountability.
The upcoming months are still a question mark. I know elementary schools are closer to being brought back. Private high schools will be moving into a hybrid model. Our district and many other public high school districts are still up in the air. Guess we’ll see!
Ouchii
Closing down my retail locations slowly throughout 2019 was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life. It was disheartening to see something you built up for years slowly become a victim of changing retail trends and a series of bad luck events, namely Amazon/the rise of online sales and operating expenses and probably the most significant blow: Westfield Valley Fair doing us dirty by renewing our contract after a successful holiday season which I based my next big moves off of only to rescind the contract after I had already signed new contracts elsewhere. That blunder set off a chain of events where we now had to supplement two locations off the strength of one. It made for an extremely stressful 2 years. The most stressed I’ve ever been in my life – likely no one even noticing (I do not like to project my problems on others.)
Even worse: it was a Westfield corporate decision from out of state! They had flown in to check on their mall’s redevelopment phase and felt Ouchii “did not belong” there. (Evidently carts selling fake rainbow iPhone chargers definitely is more suited to the bougie Valley Fair customer than we are.)
Anyway – the “light” here is perhaps one of the brightest. By checking my own ego in November, and shuttering the Ouchii brick and mortar doors, it opened up doors to new possibilities. I was so busy busting my ass 24/7 just to keep them afloat that it started to limit my own creativity.
And who would have known that the pandemic would happen RIGHT after? Talk about dodging a big bullet.
Ouchii is now in its 7th year of operation. We’ve shipped to a good 40 or so states in the USA, been at Eastridge Mall, Great Mall, Valley Fair Mall and Oakridge Mall, had our own brick and mortar stand alone store in Milpitas. We’ve grossed over 1 million USD, with the majority being made within a 2 year window. We’ve sold tens of thousands of products and I see my work floating around the bay area all the time – sometimes even within the school I teach at (students not knowing any better that the designer is right there in room J-3). All of that and in 2019 I had to ask myself what I had to show for it?
2020, or the pandemic really, allowed Ouchii to reset and find a renewed passion for the work that I do. I’ve come out with some of my best designs as a result of shedding the burden of expensive rents, insurances and employee costs. This year due to creative new designs and product, I was able to double what Ouchii made in 2019 with no brick and mortars or leases and actually pay myself for the work finally.
Lesson here is sometimes it takes making difficult choices in order to move forward. Glad I made the difficult choices I had to make and I think about it almost every single day. Due to the exposure I’ve received from all those years in retail, I am lucky enough to be able to operate online successfully and every day I am learning more about how I can reach new customers. It’s exciting and knowing that I can finally reap the benefits of the hard years of blood, sweat and tears brings me a lot of happiness.
Ouchii Fitness
One of the saddest moments of this year was when I received notice I was not asked to return to 24 Hour Fitness. I had made many good fitness friends there, and I was able to grow my fitness network extremely large there. I loved every gym I was at, but 24 was the only one that had let me know that I wasn’t being asked to return. The others I kind of knew that I would be brought back already.
I think it was more of an ego thing than anything else now that I’ve had time to reflect about it. Their decision wasn’t a reflection of my talents or skills – the fitness industry in general is struggling with the pandemic and 24 was already going through a lot of problems financially pre-covid. They couldn’t bring us all back even if they wanted to.
When I took my group fitness skills online branded under “Ouchii Fitness” – I honestly didn’t think it would last as long as it did. But here we are, 9 months later still going strong. What’s most humbling is they are willing to subscribe to class packages to help keep my fitness side gig going.
I am so thankful to my online fitness family. Together we work out almost daily and have bonded. There are sprinkles of people from every gym I was at; now all together. There are people who I’ve never met in person who somehow found me and decided to stick around even after I started requiring package purchases.
Perhaps most inspiring is seeing some of the Zumba crowd now lifting weights and doing push ups. They, like me, have evolved and changed. Had the pandemic not happened, some of these folks may never have stepped foot into a Strong class, and yet here they are, pushing their limits every single class. It’s inspiring!
In terms of my own health and fitness, my body has changed now that I’ve been forced to slow down. Prior to the pandemic, I was teaching 12 group exercise classes a week (10 of which were Zumba) across the south bay, while maintaining Ouchii’s brick and mortar and teaching high school full time. My body now that I look back was so thin – even though if you had asked me back then I thought could have trimmed up. But that’s what happens when you see your body every day – sometimes you just don’t notice these changes. I think I’ve found the perfect balance with HIIT, Body Pump and Zumba, each twice a week.
One day we will all be back the gyms, albeit in a new normal way. I’m contemplating keeping online fitness classes even at least partially when we go back to the gyms completely, and will now make it a priority to make sure my classes are balanced, and I do not go overboard anymore.
Family
My family is doing well. My mom has recovered from her terrible fall that forced her into emergency surgery. She still waddles around like a penguin but she’s doing okay. She needs to continue to monitor her health and eating habits and I do worry about her all the time (just ask my fitness peeps or high school students – I legit talk about her and my family a good amount). My dad thankfully is fine. He could lay off the sweets a bit I think but he’s still strong and working hard as always.
My siblings are fine, my nephews are still mega cute. Cameron “Cammy” is starting to talk and repeats sentences almost perfectly – it’s really impressive. I think he is more shy compared to the other, but doesn’t have stranger danger. He will walk right up to you to be picked up (a good and bad thing I suppose). Oliver “Olly” is more sociable and likes to laugh and scream. He doesn’t speak as much as Cammy does, but he does say select words. He kind of reminds me of myself sometimes. He’ll do things like line up his toys in a straight line, or organize things by color. If their current behavior is any indicator, it would appear as if Cameron is wired more like my brother, who was always stronger at math and science, and Oliver is wired more like me who flourishes with the arts. My sister I feel is somewhere in the middle.
I worry about my sister-in-law Gladys who is still going through the motions with her cancer battle. When going through treatments, it’s tough to see. Watching my brother be supportive and strong strangely enough is also tough for me to see. There were moments during this pandemic/year where I’d feel low when I know things are going rough for them. Thankfully, as of this moment, she appears fine. They are a lot stronger than I am.
This Christmas, it was just me and my partner, sibs and my folks. It was something none of us were really used to, notably my mom who you can tell was a little sad she wasn’t hosting some grand party. However, it was a nice change. We all took Covid tests as a precautionary measure.
We actually used our formal dining table to have a formal dinner for once. Normally it’s a prop that is essentially unused all year unless my mom was hosting a party, in which case the table would be used as a food serving table. We took some nice photos the next day. It was nice because we haven’t had a family portrait taken since I was in 5th grade and had hair. Funny enough in that portrait we were wearing red and white and it wasn’t for a Christmas shoot and I always felt it looked Christmas-y.
In terms of my extended family – I feel we’ve bonded more in 2020 than we ever have as adults in a long time. And it’s just really cool to continue to grow up with my cousins into the ‘middle aged’ phases of our lives slowly but surely. I still think we’re funny as ever.
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To summarize:
2020 was not an easy year for many, and I had my own personal struggles but every day I do not take for granted that I have been extremely fortunate to be employed with my teacher job, my fitness career was able to continue thanks to an extremely loyal, fit and funny group of people, and Ouchii was able to stay afloat due to the time to recalibrate and rediscover my passion for the designing aspect. I am thankful to be healthy with my partner and to have him during all of this mess.
And just for fun:
Goals for 2021
- Get married finally after the pandemic messed that all up. (More on that later).
- I want to continue my fitness journey online and slowly find my way back to the gyms in a way that makes sense for myself and my network.
- Have more organized, spaced out releases for Ouchii continuing the trajectory of online growth with my original characters and continuing my foray into pop culture and anime.
- Continue to stop hoarding.
- Post to all my social media channels regularly.
- Continue to dodge the Rona by being safe, and educating myself.
- Continue to help students feel okay and maybe teach them something cool in art.
The pandemic doesn’t magically disappear at midnight tonight, so more “Covid Chronicles” will be posted as the weeks progress. But until then, Happy New Year, friends, family and strangers!
