Working From Home - Strange New World

Day 312 of working from home…and learning from home…and homing from home…What’s that you say?  It’s only Day 2?  Oh.  I feel I may have been a bit premature with my 5:45 glass of wine then.  Must try harder.

So it’s all a bit odd isn’t it.  For everyone, I know I’m no different.  I’ve got a List of Things to Do and am wondering about adding ‘running a book about how many of the things I’ll actually do’ to the list.  It’s all good stuff.  All this extra time!  Usually I have about five minutes an evening to myself, what with child collecting, dinner, lunches, washing, homework, hair washing etc etc, and suddenly there’s all this time.  I was literally ripping clean clothes from the fellow housemates today as I’d emptied the washing basket yesterday (in scheduled breaks and lunchtime, of course).  I’m saving ironing, don’t want to peak too soon.  I had a bath, cleansing mask and moisturising mask, meditated, watched some TV, and then it was 7pm!  Ha ha, I joke.  It was half past.  So, amid all the worry, I am trying to think of the stuff I can do, books I can read, learning to do, blogs to write.  I’d say be more adventurous with cooking, but you know, delivery subs and all that.  Although it might make meal times more exciting. 

What I hadn’t banked on was the absolute horror of video meetings.  I’m looking down at my screen and the effect is horrendous.  Then we could only see someone else’s eyebrows, not hear someone else and a few were surrounded by the most heavenly light as they were sitting by doors and windows.  Then of course you’ve got no proper visual prompts about when people are going to speak and it was all just a bit horrible.  We’ll get used to it, but I’d rather write a letter! I’ve had some makeup on, straightened my hair, but I was wearing my glasses and I feel like I’m not far off completely forgetting anyone can see me.

The learning at home part is interesting.  There has been high levels of displacement activity in the sorting and organising, and as a teacher I’m literally sitting on my hands and having to keep my mouth shut.  Well almost.  It’s not home schooling, it’s distance learning (at best) and it’s tricky and it’s new and there’s a groove to be found.  Daughter only moved up to high school this academic year and it’s a lot to get on board with.  So, we’re doing our best, alongside me trying to put a full day of work in, and I think that’s all you can do.  Go us.

I thought I’d dip my toe back in the blogging world.  It’s been an age.  I’ve got a few half-finished crumpled attempts in the back of a notebook, so I will try and resurrect them.  I’m sure they were wittier than this.  Forgive me, I’m rusty.

I’m off to do something from my list and do some chin exercises before my next video call and decide what slippers to wear tomorrow.  See you for another thrilling instalment of the working from home diaries soon.