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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
Some days, when the walls are closing in, and I've not laid eyes on another human being for over a week other than my spouse and the few silent, masked souls wandering the aisles on a Tuesday morning at Walmart, I feel that this pandemic--already entering its sixth month--is never going to end. I feel trapped. Trapped in a situation over which I have no control. How long must I remain sequestered? When will I be able to safely visit and wrap my arms around my elderly mother, my sons and my grandchildren? When can I venture anywhere without the vital mask and hand sanitizer? How many more will die and/or suffer the ravages of COVID-19 before an effective vaccine becomes available? How can this possibly be happening in the 21st century? Trapped. Trapped in a nightmare. Unable to escape. Unable to move forward. Time marches on, and yet, it stands still. Remember bibliophile Henry Bemis in the "Time Enough at Last" episode of Twilight Zone? Henry finally gets his wish to be able to read whenever and whatever he wants; however, he accidentally breaks his glasses, so his plans and dreams are shattered. He's all alone with nothing enjoyable to occupy his time. At some point during this pandemic, each of us, unfortunately, can relate to poor Henry Bemis. Time was on our side, but COVID-19 reared its ugly head to impede our hopes and ambitions.
August 4, 2020
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Talk about how the events of recent months have affected either your work or your ability to work.
It's been a huge challenge working from home and not having the in-person contact with colleagues and students like I would normally have. We've been doing our best to stay connected online, but it is a challenge, and not the same as in-person. It's also been a challenge to learn new technologies. For example, there are so many different platforms that can be used for working together online - Microsoft Teams, Skype, Webex, Zoom. It's been a little like drinking from a firehose and trying to figure out how best to use these resources, their limitations, etc. Which one do you use?? Sometimes, you have a choice, but depending on the group you're working with you have to adjust to a different one. I've been trying to jump in and just use them, learning haphazardly as I go along. When possible, I do try to sign up for workshops, or read through/watch materials I find online so I can better understand these resources and how to use them. I've been using remote desktop to be able to access my work computer from home (so I still have access to our shared drive and other files on my work computer). However, sometimes the connection doesn't work and I have to go to campus to restart my work computer. So far, that has worked to resolve the problem, and I know my colleagues have been having the same issue sometimes. Our team at work will often joke to try the "good ole restart" when something isn't working right. Most of my colleagues are pretty savvy with technology, but for a couple others I know it's been a huge challenge. Also, depending on what kind of internet we have at home, that can also make a big difference. I think we all try our best to be patient with each other and realize that technology is a great resource, but it's also not perfect and presents it's own set of challenges.
July 6, 2020