Life of Wry

Grateful for the tech wizards who figured out this technology. Video conferencing goes back decades, but, now it’s a couple clicks on a free app… shockingly simple, enormously robust.  Thanks to the global pandemic, video chats, video meetings, video socializing, video celebrations, video everything have all become mainstreamed and commonplace…a daily part of life.

Zooming’s become a verb.

I do believe we’ve crossed into a new paradigm of communication. The technology’s not new, but our reliance on it sure is. I’m guessing as the pandemic wears on and on, and we continue to have to remain distanced, that people will grow more and more comfortable with remote communications and soon will favor it. Like…. I don’t want to have to go somewhere for a meeting if I could just as easily hang out at home, not have to mobilize, not have to be totally presentable. It saves a ton of time and works beautifully. Especially those 7am meetings. And the 7pm meetings. We’ll have a meeting next week to which 60-80 people will show up.. and no cars, no parking, no gas, no room set up (and no room fees), no refreshments.  Is that great, or what?

This morning, we came up with the idea of having a 50th wedding anniversary party for Teri and Chad.. in a week! We “planned” the whole thing in a flash. Nearly thirty people–from all over the country–will be able to be there. And there will no additional planning, zero travel, zero cost.  Of course it won’t be the same as having an in-person party, but it will still serve a huge part of its purpose.  We can’t travel anyway. Can’t get close to anyone safely. But we can be zoom together.

Now zoom’s an adjective.

I was on a two-hour phone bank zoom this morning, calling voters in Pennsylvania about supporting Biden and Harris. Jim and I hung out with Monica and Dror for an hour and a half this evening after dinner. Then Peter logged on to say hi, and we hung out for another hour and a half (if you’re counting, that’s five hours of zoom time).  Not unusual at all these days.

And look how cozy:

Just like he’s here with us..