Busiest Teaching Day of the Week
This semester, Wednesdays are the busiest teaching day I have. It is an almost non-stop "Big Voice" day with two long labs and two long lectures. The total "Big Voice" time I have is roughly 6 hours. It leaves minimal time to get many other things done. I sometimes *try* to squeeze in a bit of work on e-mail, or on documents, or on tests, or on PowerPoint development... but very, very frequently it is just a "pipe dream" that I really get to do any of those things on Wednesdays.
But.... teaching the classes and the labs are fun. The classes I get to teach are very, very enjoyable on Wednesdays. The challenge is that these classes are smaller (between 25-50 students in a class) and therefore are in smaller rooms that do not have the ability to have me link my microphone to any speaker system, as the rooms do not have them. So, I *do* have to talk especially LOUD through my N95 bubble mask and my cloth mask over the top of that one.
The N95 bubble mask is one that is one I recently found (perhaps a month ago?) that has an exterior plastic framework associated with it so that the mask stays away from my mouth. With my yammering on for hours upon hours, this is a CRITICALLY valuable feature for me. When the suggestion to go to N95 first occurred, I was given one of the more common "bird beak" N95 masks. The "bird beak" style was problematic for me on several levels:
1. The material was still too damn soft..... so that after lecturing anytime over about half an hour, it would be so saturated from my exhalations during speaking that it would be wet and soft, and the "beak" would start to collapse as I spoke more, leading to me very quickly having the mask get into my mouth and impeding my speaking, and if I was not careful, tearing or ripping because I would bite the mask accidentally.
2. Another issue, is that the rubber band attachments for these "bird beak" masks are VERY short, and my ears are not particularly rigid. My pinna cartilage is very flexible. The pull of the rubber bands on my ears from these "bird beak" masks was enough that over a period of the few days I was wearing them, my pinna cartilage began to simply bend and the rubber band would slide off my ear... getting the mask to fall off.
3. The other big (haha, ironic choice of words) problem with the "bird beak" mask is that they were TOO DAMN SMALL for my apparently gigantic face. I could barely fit the damn thing over my nose in such a way that it would cover and rest under my lower lip. In many ways it felt like I was trying to wear a thimble on my face. I looked all over the place on-line for some sort of "extra large" type of the "bird beak" mask, to no avail.
The "bubble" mask that I now wear has been absolutely wonderful. The plastic framework of it, makes my face (behind the mask) look like I am perhaps auditioning for the part of Cornelius in a remake of "Planet of the Apes"... but I don't really mind. I knew of these masks because they are used by folks working in several chemical industries, but I was not really knowing they were N95 approved, and that they are appropriate medical grade N95 masks. When I figured that out, that is what I ordered. I can speak so much easier with this "bubble" mask. I even FOUND "extra large" sized "bubble" masks to boot.... so the fit is pretty damn comfortable. And having my cloth mask over the top of it, gives me a greater sense that the N95 is staying well in place.
I had thought about writing about my nightmare the night before, but I guess I will put that off to another day. After all this teaching, and yammering, and what not... it sure feels like a pipe in the truck going home sort of day. I miss looking forward to walking out to my truck and filling and firing up a pipe for the ride home.
PipeTobacco
4 Comments:
I have read, again and again, that most masks simply aren't designed with bearded people in mind. I suppose that with a big enough beard, a mask won't entirely cover it... in which case there's enough room between mask and hair to allow all sorts of wee beasties to find their way through. Stay safe, Professor!
I too suffer from rubber ears. They cannot hold up to the awesome power of the industrial strength bungee cords they insist on using to keep a 10 gram mask on my face.
I will admit I am so damn tired of wearing masks. But we need to what we need to do.
I find myself wondering if you could easily and inexpensively rig your own speaker system. In the photo tutorials that I watch, people record themselves all of the time even while hiking in the wild and in windy conditions. A lapel mic and little speaker could serve you well I would think although I don’t know and am just guessing that this could be done easily and without significant cost. I can’t imagine speaking though a mask for all of those hours, but you seem to manage.
I think the N95s are the best although I don't like the elastic around the back of my head. I do the 2nd best KN95s. My older daughter is teaching 3 classes this semester and working another parttime job. It's crazy.
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