The current pandemic has been filled with loss and panic, and we have all struggled. But humans are resourceful. We have learned to manage many things from home we never thought we’d have to. One of those things is the Zoom meeting.
From In Front Of to a FaceTime
I was introduced to this form of virtual get-together by one of my writers’ groups. We used to convene once a month in the meeting room at a pizza parlor. Now we get together every other week in our own homes via Zoom. It has been a way to continue our critique capabilities and to see on a computer screen those friendly faces we used to see once a month.
I belong to three writers’ groups, and all of them have continued with some consistency through Zoom. A group of my retreat mates from Highlights Foundation workshops also has occasional Zoom gatherings.
I even met with the editor of my novels virtually to get her take on the current project I am working on.
I’ve also had Zoom chats with family members.
While this may sound well and good, there have been occasional glitches.
“Sorry… We’re getting some feedback…”
One of our writers’ meetings during the hectic holiday season found all of us told we were “unauthorized” to join the meeting. I ended up having to open a new Zoom account that night before I was allowed admittance—a full hour late.
For my first few Zoom assemblies, I joined with my Kindle. The only down side was my inability to see more than four participants at a time. I had to toggle back and forth to make others visible.
Once I had set up Zoom on my laptop, I was able to have the “gallery view,” that Brady Bunch/Hollywood Squares image of the entire assemblage. But as meetings continued, other down sides occurred.
In several meetings, participants complained of a terrible “vacuum-cleaner type noise.” They tried to figure out who might be running a dishwasher or a blender. No one was. Me? I didn’t even hear the noise described.
After this complaint popped up in three different meetings with three different groups, I came to the conclusion I must be the culprit. Could it be the fan on my laptop? I did an experiment with my “Noodlers” group. When they reported the noise, I switched to my Kindle. Noise gone. Problem solved, but I lost my gallery view.
My son suggested the noise might be from vibration of my fan rather than the fan itself. My next experiment was the use of a quilted placemat under my laptop during meetings. Problem solved. Back to gallery view.
“Did you dye your hair?”
Another quirky occurrence when using the laptop was a purple hue in my video—including my hair. Others in the meetings were convinced I had died my brown hair purple. And apparently, all my clothes were purple as well. It became cause for some good-natured teasing, and low-tech person that I am, I knew no way to fix it.
During a particular 1PM meeting, I realized at one point, my hair was brown again. My black sweater was black. All the participants agreed, colors were back to normal I thought my problem had somehow resolved itself—until I needed to look at my notes.
I turned on the overhead light—and the purple was back. Earlier that meeting, I had been using the bright sunlight outside my window for light. So, now I know the change of hue is somehow caused by a combination of my laptop video and my artificial lighting. I don’t know how to change that. Since I can’t use sunlight on cloudy days or for evening meetings, I will continue to sport purple hair.
We’re in a pandemic. The semblance of purple hair is not a cause for concern. I can deal with the teasing.
And I Zoom on!
