Is Zoom fatigue a thing? I suspect it will be soon. While I joke that this social distancing is an introvert's dream, I don't like working from home, particularly when others are home, too. Enough complaining, the reality is I have exchanged commute time with more productive activity and, in the long run, I believe I may accomplish things ahead of schedule. With that said, I recognize that my work is far more desk-oriented than the work of most in UC ANR. I've wondered how I would feel about this if I had dairy cows in the lab I ran at Michigan State and had no students to do chores every day. I'd feel differently, for certain.

The original plan for the week was to fly to Atlanta yesterday for a 1.5-day meeting on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Zoom fatigue must exist because the organizers just reduced the meeting to 90 minutes on Wednesday. I feel like I've hit the jackpot, though truth be told, it likely means several additional short Zoom meetings in the future. For now, I will take the win.

I am fascinated by some of the things that have popped up, perhaps available previously, unknown to me. Did you know that some museums offer free virtual visits? And Broadway performers are taping virtual concerts. Even Coachella has a virtual version – ‘Couchella'. It turns out there are alternatives to the constant COVID-19 conversation on network television. During the daily calls that were initiated this week with County Directors, Statewide Program/Institute Directors, and REC Directors, I have learned of several creative approaches to sharing and conducting our important work. I suspect there are dozens of additional strategies I haven't heard about, yet.

How are you doing? Have you found a silver lining in all of this? I spoke with a colleague today who remarked that as a result of travel curtailment and school closings, he has three weeks with his young kids for which he never would have planned. He is making the most of his time with them, in between remote work, in hopes that they remember these three weeks decades into the future. He and his kids went out and planted a tree for each of the kids, as a way of always having something to remind them. I like his approach. Let's all try to do something during this time to remember fondly.