The 2020 #AtoZChallenge (because I am a glutton for punishment)
Besides the alphabet, I hope to write posts around the theme of discovery. I’m wrapping up week 3 of stay-the-hell-home, and in an effort to retain my sanity, I’m trying to approach this bizarre experience with curiosity. What new strategies can I employ to keep from losing my mind? What interesting new things can I learn? What can I discover in my own backyard (besides dog poop)?
For those of you who subscribe to this blog, I hope my much-greater-than-normal posting frequency won’t drive you away. I’ll try to keep my posts short and entertaining, so you’ll want to stick around. Here we go…
A is for Alexa, because this week I discovered how to make Alexa fart. Yeah, you read that right. All the power of a digital assistant built into my TV, and I find it the height of hilarity to tell her to fart. Repeatedly. Dear readers, I even spent $1.60 for–wait for it–the Extreme Farts Extension Pack. I truly wish I were joking. I am a 53-year-old librarian, and 3 weeks of quarantine has reduced me to giggling over synthesized farts. Thank goodness no one has invented smell-a-vision.
If you, like me, have the emotional sophistication of a 12-year-old boy–and an Alexa-enabled device–activate your device and issue the command, “Alexa, fart!” And let the hilarity ensue.
B is for backgrounds, specifically Zoom backgrounds. As a quarantined academic, my workdays are now populated with Zoom meetings. In my never-ending (and doomed) quest to make meetings interesting, I discovered custom backgrounds for Zoom. If you have a green screen or a reasonably powerful computer, you can try them too. Just Google Zoom backgrounds and maybe add a keyword or two to indicate the kind of background you’re looking for. I met with an employee today while standing in the middle of Diagon Alley.
Tomorrow I’ll be on Platform 9 3/4.
If anyone knows how to teach Zoom to fart, let me know.
So how about you, dear reader? What have you discovered to keep yourself entertained during this long, strange trip?
4 Comments
Zeannaroux
Oh my goodness I love this! I do not have an Alexia but I swear I will get one day just for this reason lol. As for zoom, I haven’t had to use it much but I did know about the backgrounds due to some unfortunate experiments people have undertaken online. It does make meetings interesting as long as you know what you are doing lol. This is a great post and good luck on the challenge!
Janet Crum
I’m glad someone else shares my childish sense of humor! Thanks for the kind words.
joylene
I look forward to your posts, Janet! Good luck on the challenge, and hey—I love your hair!
Janet Crum
Awww, thanks! My hair does whatever it feels like doing. I’m really just along for the ride.