18. LIFE IN THE SECOND WAVE
Whether it's a matter of jumping on the bandwagon or not, Spotify recognises the new norm, working from home, and has compiled 186 tracks to help you through the day(s): Work from Home with British Classics. Starting with a 44-second divertimento for flute, oboe and clarinet, a kind of classical wake-up jingle, and ending with a 30-minute trumpet concerto, your working day is given an audio ambience to help, infuriate, soothe or irritate your efforts to cope as the second wave hits home.
The danger of mono...
Assuming it - the Covid-19 virus - won't go away and that a practicable vaccine is still some way off for the time being, we might as well get used to it. I've started making my own playlists, and (re)discovering music that perks me up, calms me down and brings a kind of balance to the rhythms of my day. Concentration in the Covid-19 era I am finding to be a challenge. It's vital to avoid the monochrome, monolayered, monophonic monotony of computer screen fixation. This insidiously invades one's mind, diminishing alertness and inducing errors. So that's the art - how to rise above this sludge of insensitivity that can be brought on by this new norm.
Finding undiscovered talent
Of course, it helps to work on interesting assignments, and even discover that you actually have more skills in house to offer than you thought. Webinars and Teams meetings are becoming increasingly the medium of interaction, both within and between organisations. Very recently, we were asked to subtitle a 40-minute webinar, including montage. That last addition was a new venture for us but when we realised that Philippa had the experience, talent and software to be able to do this, her Bachelor of Arts degree in Lifestyle and Design at the Willem de Koning Academy bore fruit. And now this activity has been added to our product-service range. A one-stop shop for corporate video communication.
Appetite for learning
The ongoing lack of physical contact is wearing a lot of people down, that's for sure. We're in a long-distance event where the finish is not yet in sight. But there are many sprinters around, overly keen to get to the tape. Patience is not always their best attribute. The long haul can often seem to be an insurmountable hurdle. Even the most positive optimist will feel the strain at some point or another. I still get up in the morning in anticipation of learning something new every day from my work, from the latest insights about Covid-19 or life in the clouds of Venus and so many other things. In fact, I think I probably have more time now than before the advent of Covid-19 to soak in the pools of information that are so accessible from a multitude of digital vehicles. OK, there are risks there, too. Bugs, both digital and physical, have become a way of life, it seems. Yet, still, I'm grateful in this time of an impending second lockdown, for the solace that my work and curiosity affords me. And for the 'discoveries' that are waiting to be found...
- Chris