Sunday August 30, 2020: Clusters in Oak Park
Pretty quiet day, but did interview two large families: one with 9 people and one with six people.
Saturday August 29, 2020: MLK Blvd. Corridor from Highway 99 South to 47th Avenue
Back in the 'hood again! I'm meeting almost no one I'd describe as a crazy patriot, which surprises me.
Little houses with quite a few people with Mexican heritage inside!
Caught a single worker on his day off.
I was trying to establish whether an apartment was vacant, but everyone in the area was enjoying themselves sitting in what looked like an old school bus.
I was talking to a Salvadoran housewife today. I was trying to ask her about her race in my butchered Spanglish. She misunderstood my question and used Siri to translate "brunette" into English from Spanish. Pretty funny. We managed to get her information in, though.
Had a run of interviews in one neighborhood. That's what it's all about!
Talked to a Laotian who has a girl friend who lives part-time in his house.
Interrupted some car repair to talk to a lady who lives there with her dad with Alzheimers, plus a roommate she doesn't know well.
Friday August 28, 2020: Land Park and Near Sacramento City College
Few people at home in Land Park in the afternoon. I'm kind-of surprised. I figured in a neighborhood of professionals that everyone would be in Zoom meetings. A sign at one house warned visitors against knocking. The sign said: "In Quarantine." I didn't knock.
Some missed opportunities on Freeport Blvd.
South of City College I managed to interview some people who clearly had been giving the census enumerators some trouble. Maybe I have a knack for this! One fellow had a 2-year-old son with the most-amazing Roman name - better than any Emperor! Cute Chihuahua too!
They are weary of seeing me and other interviewers at one house on 4th Avenue. Can't say I blame them!
Thursday August 27, 2020: Curtis Park and Edge of Land Park
I finally got Unit 1 of the house on the corner, but didn't get Unit 2. The folks in the tall house by the park were having a back yard get-together, and I could have interviewed them if I yelled over their tall fence, but I didn't have the heart to do that.
Starting to use more proxies. More time-consuming, definitely.
Finally met my supervisor for the first time. Thin wiry guy. Gave me some extra forms. Said my completion rate was suspiciously high: 30% instead of the usual 20%. Don't know what to make of that. Not really sure how a completion rate is even defined.
Interviewed my two next-door neighbors on the east side. Still need to locate 2 of the other neighbors.
Wednesday August 26, 2020: MLK Blvd. Corridor from Highway 99 South to Cuny Blvd.
A bit of the 'hood. Some language problems: Vietnamese and Spanish. Big barking dogs. The day started nice, talking to a mother and her kids in Section 8 housing. She seemed so placid and calm.
There was a desert of single-person apartments in the afternoon where either no one was at home, or the people refused to cooperate. Folks divided into these small apartments seem much more suspicious that folks in the leafy-green neighborhoods closer to the city center. Amused by speaking with a Guatemalan fellow, though. He may have been sleeping in the afternoon. Spoke Spanish in a sing-song way I now recognize as a Guatemalan accent.
One highlight was a battered old apartment building - Section 8 housing again - but where the people I talked to seemed so nice. They had had a fire there recently, so some of the inhabitants had recently moved to other apartments. They warned me that a lady in one apartment had Covid-19, but fortunately her apartment wasn't on my list. (The manager announced to some of the other residents that the woman's test wasn't available yet, so it's not yet certain if she has the virus).
Big apartment complex at the end of the day (near Gabe's house), with lots and lots of little kids playing games and speaking Spanish. Interviewed a Honduran. I handed him my iphone to enter birth date information, because there were just too many dates. Big family in that apartment! I also interviewed new in-movers from LA. I could tell I made them nervous.
Tuesday August 25, 2020: Luxury Apartments and a Scattering in Oak Park.
For being resistant to an interview, the man seemed nice enough. "Be sure to vote in the coming election! We need new leadership!"
The first time I've knowingly run into a likely Covid case. Surprised me that it was in the luxury apartments. The fellow cracked open the door and explained the respondent had a fever. He had tattoos on his chest and there was some kind of plastic sheeting hanging just inside the front door. With big eyes, he whispered "I don't want the illness to spread." I stopped any effort to interview. I just wish the fellow had worn a mask.
Monday August 24, 2020: Curtis Park.
A little luck today using proxies to fill in gaps, like the New Hampshire in-mover.
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