Who would have guessed it?

Another day in the big girl household and the two female occupants are still talking - result.  However, there is seemingly competition for the WiFi and who will have the most virtual chats in one day. School lessons or meetings? Let's hope the WiFi can cope with this excessive usage.

My daily usage at the Museum would be emails, a touch of social media and looking for stuff on the interweb.  Add to that occasional facebook usage in the evening with a periodic skype and that is practically my limit. So the last ten days have been a major learning curve for me as I chat to people across the County and the Region.  Yes, I have entered the virtual world.

My first dilemma occurred with the initial invite to a 'zoom' meeting. Luckily, the word LINK stood out and I managed to join 17 others for a countywide creative arts discussion. What I hadn't appreciated was the etiquette.  Apparently, my frantic hand waving is not the way to get noticed, that I needed to 'mute' when not chatting (cue birdsong and kettle boiling background noise) and remember not to sit near a window that makes you look like one of the holy throng when shrouded by sunlight. Impressed? Well I certainly was. This was followed by GoToMeeting (Connect with anyone, anywhere) a link that was sent in an email full of numbers and letters. Tick, managed that one too. Mmmm, not bad, getting the hang of this now. Someone mentioned 'slack' (One platform for your team and your work) but was put off by the name. And yesterday if was 'Whereby' (Freedom to work from anywhere) which was refreshingly simple.

So in my excitement I decided to book a subscription to zoom, after all I had mastered this virtual malarchy. First team meeting yesterday using this facility. Link sent - sorted. Team notified and prepared - sorted. At my dining room table on time, with coffee and ready to host - sorted. Arrival mid-meeting of a very large bee which buzzed around the room whilst the team chatted. Could have been worse, I might have been joined by my rather large cat.  Wildlife at its best. Not bad for my first week.

 But as I need more practise using zoom, I thought I would arrange a Saturday evening get-together with a group of friends from around the UK, all of whom are in their own houses.  We've agreed to meet at 8pm with a glass or two of something to chat and make each other laugh. Invites have been sent. And obviously, this all in the name of research. But after my first week working at home I think I deserve a bit of light relief. What could go wrong?

 Happy weekend everyone!

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