This Conference Call's a Beach

Since we're all teleworking due to the world's present difficulties, my teammates and our immediate supervisor have a conference call each morning to check in with each other, ask questions, and let each other know what we're up to.

I may or may not cry on the days it's cancelled. Quarantine is doing strange things to people, and you have no right to judge me.

I will readily admit I tend to talk a lot on these calls. I have issues, man. I have a lot of stuff going on. Also, I was trying to deal with the IRS for a few weeks, and that was stressful. I fully deserved some venting time for that.

(No offense, IRS. Thank you for depositing my stimulus check this week.)

But some days I'm not the one talking for hours on end. Sometimes it's my turn to say, "Yep, entering invoices today, that's all," and then sit back and politely listen to my coworkers talk about the frustrating reimbursements they're dealing with, or which payroll thing didn't get processed correctly, or what needs to be entered as a journal entry...

Finance is a large and terrifying machine. I am but one cog. I know my particular spins and whirs, and everything else is a mystery to me. So although I try to pay attention and do the verbal equivalents of nodding understandingly, my mind wanders a bit sometimes.

But you know what helps you pay attention during meetings?

Doodling!

And you know what I've recently pulled out of storage to help mark up digital invoices?

My Wacom drawing tablet!

And you know what the IT Department forgot to uninstall on my new work laptop?

Paint 3D!!!

I drew a picture of a beach during our call one day and emailed it to my boss and teammates to brighten up their dreary, rainy, isolated day. I don't know about them, but it sure cheered me up!