September 21, 2020

1. An old dog can be taught new tricks, because I can now use Zoom–and many of its features– with confidence.
2. However, I still am old-fashioned enough to want to keep a binder at the ready, since I like to jot down notes on paper as I am speaking with individual students.
3. I am vain about my appearance, because I will never attend a Zoom meeting without fixing my hair and applying a touch of makeup, and maybe even putting on a pair of earrings.
4. I am really enjoying wearing pants with elastic waistbands all day long.
5. I am really enjoying not wearing shoes all day long.
6. Even though the kitchen is steps away, my goal of starting to prepare dinner during my breaks from work is rarely going to happen.
7. I can get very easily annoyed with members of my household who ask me why I haven’t started to prepare dinner during my breaks from work.
8. I can get very easily annoyed with members of my household who ask me to assist them (“Can you wash out my water bottle?” “Have you seen the sewing kit?”) while I am working.  Clearly, having me available at their beck and call during the first several months of quarantine has now spoiled them rotten.
9. I can get easily distracted by birds and squirrels. Serves me right for setting up my desk right beneath a window that faces the backyard.
10. And speaking of the backyard–I realized that I really like attending virtual faculty meetings from the comfort of my deck. 
11. I am often overwhelmed by the vast number of tabs open on my laptop. 
12. Even though we are meeting virtually, I am still pretty good at putting an end to mischievous behavior of my students. For example, Instead of gasping in horror at the PBR beer can clutched in the hand of a young man, I just coolly and calmly asked him to move the can offscreen, and he complied.
13. When a student tells me that he didn’t join the Zoom meeting because he was out with friends, I am capable of holding my tongue and not scolding him for not making school a priority.
14. When a student tells me that he didn’t turn in any work for the past several days because he was at the beach with his family, I am capable of holding my tongue and not scolding his parents for not making school a priority.  (OK, OK, full disclosure: I wish I were at the beach, too.)
15. I really don’t need to project my formidable voice during a Zoom meeting.  It’s not a classroom, is it? There’s not a back row anymore, just screens, and my laptop microphone is remarkably sensitive. Old habits die hard.
16. I miss my fellow staff members, and believe it or not, I miss teenagers.