Thanks to COVID, virtual team meetings are a regular part of my workday routine. During a typical week, I have 8-10 Microsoft Teams calls. I don’t mind them, because my office is pretty cozy. It’s got all the creature comforts one might hope for: lava lamp, electric foot massager, mini fridge, drawer full of snacks. You know: the essentials. If I’m ever trapped in there for a few days thanks to a raging blizzard or flooded roads or a Viking-horns-wearing-seditionist, I’ll be perfectly fine.
I just hate the damn camera that beams a live video feed to my coworkers.
It’s super distracting and more than a little uncomfortable. Every time a call comes in, I feel like I’m prepping for an audition or a first date or something. Gotta check the hair, make sure all the buttons on my shirt line up properly, yadda yadda. Gawd. Yes, I get it, these are normal things you’d do in a face-to-face meeting in a conference room. But at least there, you’re not forced to stare at yourself for an hour, and you don’t have to keep fiddling with a laptop screen to make sure the camera is picking up your best angle.
We can’t eradicate COVID fast enough, I tell ya.
Speaking of, I found out the telecommunications industry is considered “essential” and, therefore, scheduled to be vaccinated sooner than the general public. Which seems kinda silly to me, but a working communications infrastructure is crucial for the safety of the nation, I guess. It’s not like we’re leapfrogging healthcare workers and teachers and longterm care residents; in South Dakota, there are five subgroups in Phase 1 of the vaccination plan (1A – 1E). We’re in 1E…which is only slightly ahead of the general population, in Phase 2. So, I might get vaccinated in April instead of May. Not complaining, though!
In other news, it’s windy as hell. This winter might be a dud in terms of cold and snow, but the Northern Plains can count on brisk winds at least once a week. We are expecting 70-80 mph gusts for the next 36+ hours. Yikes. I don’t mind wind as long as I don’t have to go out in it, so naturally, tomorrow night we’re going out in it. It’s also hard to sleep when the wind is whistling through the eaves and the gusts are so strong they shake the house.
So long as I don’t end up in Oz, I’m sure I’ll be okay.
Mark My Words 
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