3/19 Chat

[pixy0stix]

Well, I'm home and have my home office set up. It's my craft room normally, so I already had a decent chair and a nice big surface to work. The commute was a bitch, since my dog decided to run in front of me on the stairs and I almost tumbled all the way down. He was super excited to come to work with me today.

[wambam]

Update on my mom: she will not be stuck even if the hospital locks down. They will release her as soon as she gets a Neuro consult. My dad will have to pick her up at the door. So that’s a huge relief!

[Vespasia]

Our third bedroom is tiny and went from being my office while I was in school to an exercise room. Now it's both. I guess it's good in that I certainly can't ignore my bike since it is right behind me!

I'm planning on emailing our department manager later today to see if I can raid my office for a few things that will make working from home easier. I am working with just a laptop and I desperately need a second monitor. Security usually frowns upon people walking out of the building with electronics but they're probably used to it by now. I also plan on ordering an external keypad but that's less than $15 so I will just pay for it.

[glitzy07]

Mar 19, 2020 9:02:11 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Our third bedroom is tiny and went from being my office while I was in school to an exercise room. Now it's both. I guess it's good in that I certainly can't ignore my bike since it is right behind me!

I'm planning on emailing our department manager later today to see if I can raid my office for a few things that will make working from home easier. I am working with just a laptop and I desperately need a second monitor. Security usually frowns upon people walking out of the building with electronics but they're probably used to it by now. I also plan on ordering an external keypad but that's less than $15 so I will just pay for it.

I went into my office on Monday and brought home a monitor, my docking station, and my Skype headset. I'm definitely more productive with those things at home! Obviously each workplace will handle differently, but our director just wanted us to send pictures of the barcodes on things we took home so that they could keep track of what went where.

[isabel]

I am leaving my job on the 25th, but I worked from home Wednesday through Friday of last week and when I left on Tuesday, it didn't occur to me that I basically wouldn't be returning. So, at some point, I'm going to have to go over there and clear out my personal stuff and tidy my desk. It's so bizarre that I won't get to say goodbye to any of my coworkers. Such a strange way to leave a job and start a new one.

[aurora]

I set up my home office in the front living room since H is on the phone all the time and was in the office. Shout out again to the IKEA motorized sit/stand desks: much nicer than my desk at work! (I finally grabbed my monitor/keyboard/printer from my real office since they are switching from optional WFH to mandatory.)

I like being able to watch the world go by out the front window while I work. My office windows are high so mostly I see trees and sky, which is definitely nice but this is better.

[pixy0stix]

Mar 19, 2020 9:04:13 GMT -5 glitzy07 said:

Mar 19, 2020 9:02:11 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Our third bedroom is tiny and went from being my office while I was in school to an exercise room. Now it's both. I guess it's good in that I certainly can't ignore my bike since it is right behind me!

I'm planning on emailing our department manager later today to see if I can raid my office for a few things that will make working from home easier. I am working with just a laptop and I desperately need a second monitor. Security usually frowns upon people walking out of the building with electronics but they're probably used to it by now. I also plan on ordering an external keypad but that's less than $15 so I will just pay for it.

I went into my office on Monday and brought home a monitor, my docking station, and my Skype headset. I'm definitely more productive with those things at home! Obviously each workplace will handle differently, but our director just wanted us to send pictures of the barcodes on things we took home so that they could keep track of what went where.

Yeah, I had an entire secondary set up that I was allowed to bring home. Only one monitor, though.

ETA: I didn't grab sticky notes, though. I'm missing them!

[ohgillian]

Mar 19, 2020 9:14:35 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Mar 19, 2020 9:04:13 GMT -5 glitzy07 said:

I went into my office on Monday and brought home a monitor, my docking station, and my Skype headset. I'm definitely more productive with those things at home! Obviously each workplace will handle differently, but our director just wanted us to send pictures of the barcodes on things we took home so that they could keep track of what went where.

Yeah, I had an entire secondary set up that I was allowed to bring home. Only one monitor, though.

ETA: I didn't grab sticky notes, though. I'm missing them!

I brought home my dock and can't get it connected to my home monitor since I didn't have the right cable. One of our IT guys had me email him a photo of the pack of my home monitor and found me a cable so I can connect! So that was really nice. I don't have it yet, lol, it's still on my desk at work. I'll go grab it this weekend when no one's there. 

[Vespasia]

I wonder how many people are suddenly wishing they had a land line? I technically do through our cable package but I would need a new router for it to work. It wasn't worth it in the past but since I don't really want to give my cell # to all our sites (and won't answer numbers I don't recognize) it would be quite handy.

[pixy0stix]

Mar 19, 2020 9:33:19 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

I wonder how many people are suddenly wishing they had a land line? I technically do through our cable package but I would need a new router for it to work. It wasn't worth it in the past but since I don't really want to give my cell # to all our sites (and won't answer numbers I don't recognize) it would be quite handy.

Get a google phone # - it works right through your cell phone, and you can call and receive msgs that way. Look for the Google Voice ap, download/install and it'll walk you through how to set it up.

ETA: Also, *67 still works to block your phone number if you need to call someone.

[ohgillian]

Mar 19, 2020 9:33:19 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

I wonder how many people are suddenly wishing they had a land line? I technically do through our cable package but I would need a new router for it to work. It wasn't worth it in the past but since I don't really want to give my cell # to all our sites (and won't answer numbers I don't recognize) it would be quite handy.

Oh, I have a potential solution for this! We had the same problem at work-- didn't want clients to have our cell numbers. Colleague told us:

if you really do need to give someone a phone number and you have a Google/Gmail account, you can get a second phone number for free through the Google Voice app. You can text and call from the app, keeping everything separate from your personal calls and messages. Plus, if you set up your call forwarding to the Google Voice number, your voicemails will show up on the app rather than on your office phone. You can always disconnect the number for free, or change it for a fee.



If you don’t have Google there are a variety of similar services. Burner (yes it’s really called “Burner”), Line2, Hushed… there are plenty of exciting ways to get a 2nd number you can throw out later."

ETA: What pixy said. She's just faster.  

[Vespasia]

Thanks pixy0stix & ohgillian ! That didn't even cross my mind, which is funny since I have Google everything else. I will set it up now!

[pixy0stix]

We had a long chat yesterday morning about this, since we really didn't want to call contractors from our personal cell phones. Nothing against contractors, but there's a few of them that I don't want to have my number.

[bugandbibs]

Ditto the rec for a google number. It’s how I text parents who don’t answer their phones or have voicemail set up.

[wildrice]

Mar 19, 2020 9:02:11 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Our third bedroom is tiny and went from being my office while I was in school to an exercise room. Now it's both. I guess it's good in that I certainly can't ignore my bike since it is right behind me!

I'm planning on emailing our department manager later today to see if I can raid my office for a few things that will make working from home easier. I am working with just a laptop and I desperately need a second monitor. Security usually frowns upon people walking out of the building with electronics but they're probably used to it by now. I also plan on ordering an external keypad but that's less than $15 so I will just pay for it.

This is a good idea - I am hating working without a second monitor, it's so annoying! I also don't have a mouse currently, but I had ordered one from Amazon and hopefully it will arrive today. Can you just bring a giant totebag with you and act normal - maybe they won't even notice? 

We don't have a dedicated space either, and it's been interesting/annoying sharing the apartment with my H while we both work from home. I've been mostly at the dining table and him on the couch, but we both have daily meetings and I've been delivering online training, so one of us has to leave the room for those. Our 2nd bedroom door closes completely, but it's freezing in there. The master bedroom has a stupid loft style ceiling, so even if you close the door the upper part of the wall is missing so noise isn't blocked at all.

Also our cat throws a loud fit if we close the door anyway. 

I facilitated an online training yesterday and at one point my H had to creep behind me and grab something, so everyone saw him lol. I don't think anyone cares at all right now but it took a lot for me to keep a straight face and not lose my entire train of thought.

[msmerymac]

Mar 19, 2020 9:33:19 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

I wonder how many people are suddenly wishing they had a land line? I technically do through our cable package but I would need a new router for it to work. It wasn't worth it in the past but since I don't really want to give my cell # to all our sites (and won't answer numbers I don't recognize) it would be quite handy.

Can you get a wifi extender? My office ordered them for everyone who needed them (people who don't have their office set up near their router). I just plugged mine into an outlet and connect it to my router, and now I can plug in my work phone, so people can reach me via my office number and extension. It's pretty great - and much better to have the desk phone on speaker than juggling my cell.

We were also allowed to take any of our work set up home that we wanted, but we have extra monitors at my house, so I just have my laptop hooked up to one. Plus a separate mouse.

[rubytue]

My vet has implemented telemedicine. Which I find kinda funny bc half my vet appointments are because my dog can’t *tell* me what’s wrong.

[breezy8407]

Mar 19, 2020 9:56:03 GMT -5 wildrice said:

Mar 19, 2020 9:02:11 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Our third bedroom is tiny and went from being my office while I was in school to an exercise room. Now it's both. I guess it's good in that I certainly can't ignore my bike since it is right behind me!

I'm planning on emailing our department manager later today to see if I can raid my office for a few things that will make working from home easier. I am working with just a laptop and I desperately need a second monitor. Security usually frowns upon people walking out of the building with electronics but they're probably used to it by now. I also plan on ordering an external keypad but that's less than $15 so I will just pay for it.

This is a good idea - I am hating working without a second monitor, it's so annoying! I also don't have a mouse currently, but I had ordered one from Amazon and hopefully it will arrive today. Can you just bring a giant totebag with you and act normal - maybe they won't even notice? 

We don't have a dedicated space either, and it's been interesting/annoying sharing the apartment with my H while we both work from home. I've been mostly at the dining table and him on the couch, but we both have daily meetings and I've been delivering online training, so one of us has to leave the room for those. Our 2nd bedroom door closes completely, but it's freezing in there. The master bedroom has a stupid loft style ceiling, so even if you close the door the upper part of the wall is missing so noise isn't blocked at all.

Also our cat throws a loud fit if we close the door anyway. 

I facilitated an online training yesterday and at one point my H had to creep behind me and grab something, so everyone saw him lol. I don't think anyone cares at all right now but it took a lot for me to keep a straight face and not lose my entire train of thought.

I am finding these scenarios entertaining. Usually people block their cameras on their computers, but apparently in the age of WFH, we are all going live. I saw lots of cameos yesterday...cats, dogs, children, SO's. 

[msmerymac]

Also, my dad is planning to fly to Salt Lake City tomorrow. I can't even tell you how angry and upset I am about the whole thing, but I have no control over the situation.

I did write my aunt's obituary, though, which I was glad to do.

[was5]

Watching the beginning of Trump's briefing. I'm starting to get concerned that people will forget how he messed up the US response to this because he sounds more "presidential" but then he takes the opportunity to slam the press and how much nicer the press conferences are with social distancing. Of course, he wrapped up his opening comments by saying he shouldn't have said what he said because the press will get him.

I can't even with him.....

[was5]

Mar 19, 2020 10:26:56 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Also, my dad is planning to fly to Salt Lake City tomorrow. I can't even tell you how angry and upset I am about the whole thing, but I have no control over the situation.

I did write my aunt's obituary, though, which I was glad to do.

I'm sorry. It's a terrible situation. Is his flight still happening? Some airlines are cancelling 70% of their flights.

[agnes]

My semi-celebrity aunt is quarantined at her Vegas house. She’s been tested, waiting for results, but they’re backlogged. She’s down playing it saying she thinks it’s just bronchitis. She’s high risk too, because of her age and just recently finished chemo for eye cancer.

[Patsy Baloney]

Mar 19, 2020 10:21:44 GMT -5 rubytue said:

My vet has implemented telemedicine. Which I find kinda funny bc half my vet appointments are because my dog can’t *tell* me what’s wrong.

Ours is doing car-side service. Pull up, a tech will come out and get the pet out of the car, take it inside, do the exam, etc., and bring it back out to your car. I thought this was pretty genius. Minimal interaction and they can still do a full exam on Fluffy. 

[rubytue]

Mar 19, 2020 10:48:27 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Mar 19, 2020 10:21:44 GMT -5 rubytue said:

My vet has implemented telemedicine. Which I find kinda funny bc half my vet appointments are because my dog can’t *tell* me what’s wrong.

Ours is doing car-side service. Pull up, a tech will come out and get the pet out of the car, take it inside, do the exam, etc., and bring it back out to your car. I thought this was pretty genius. Minimal interaction and they can still do a full exam on Fluffy. 

Yes. That’s what they are doing if you have to come in. We have a heart worm test tomorrow, which we obviously need before mosquito season, which is any day now. So I called to check the status, and heard recording about curb side service and telemedicine.  The telemedicine part cracked me up(bu is really cool!)

[Pom]

I tried watching the WH briefing. Trump is STILL busy talking about how great he is, how hard he's worked. I guess campaign rallies are now considered briefings? I don't want to hear shit about Biden stumbling. This asshole just mumbles word salads and his mouth diarrhea is endless. I finally muted until Dr. Fauci comes on. Good grief.

[msmerymac]

Mar 19, 2020 10:36:34 GMT -5 was5 said:

Mar 19, 2020 10:26:56 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Also, my dad is planning to fly to Salt Lake City tomorrow. I can't even tell you how angry and upset I am about the whole thing, but I have no control over the situation.

I did write my aunt's obituary, though, which I was glad to do.

I'm sorry. It's a terrible situation. Is his flight still happening? Some airlines are cancelling 70% of their flights.

As far as I know. SLC grounded flights due to some damage after the earthquake yesterday and I was momentarily hopefully he wouldn’t go, but they reopened yesterday afternoon.

The memorial is Saturday morning. No one is happy it worked out like this, but it did.

[Patsy Baloney]

Mar 19, 2020 10:51:39 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Mar 19, 2020 10:48:27 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Ours is doing car-side service. Pull up, a tech will come out and get the pet out of the car, take it inside, do the exam, etc., and bring it back out to your car. I thought this was pretty genius. Minimal interaction and they can still do a full exam on Fluffy. 

Yes. That’s what they are doing if you have to come in. We have a heart worm test tomorrow, which we obviously need before mosquito season, which is any day now. So I called to check the status, and heard recording about curb side service and telemedicine.  The telemedicine part cracked me up(bu is really cool!)

"Point to where it hurts, Spot!"

*blank stare*

[sangria]

Does anyone have a Peloton? Is that a total lifesaver right now? I wonder if they are still delivering them? Going to the gym was my daily social hour and kept me sane. I'm seriously considering getting one. Can you even watch classes? I assume they don't have them live anymore but you could access the library probably right? Thoughts?

[bears]

Is there a way to call Canada for free? My phone plan doesn't cover this and I have a call I need to be on this afternoon and the organization I'm working with doesn't have a toll free number.
Nevermind! Google Hangouts does this!

[pixy0stix]

Mar 19, 2020 10:59:16 GMT -5 sangria said:

Does anyone have a Peloton? Is that a total lifesaver right now? I wonder if they are still delivering them? Going to the gym was my daily social hour and kept me sane. I'm seriously considering getting one. Can you even watch classes? I assume they don't have them live anymore but you could access the library probably right? Thoughts?

A ton of people have them. Search ML for any of the threads. They're offering classes on the ap for free for 90 days.