OK -- Now I'm curious, as are a couple of other people. What retreat house (or venue) in Eastern Ontario are you attending that has late check-in? Is this a new trend in quilt retreats?
I guess if your retreats were always like that - that works, but seriously --- with the new system, we are paying the SAME MONEY and losing an entire day of sewing. I'm not a fan and will not go there in the future for that reason.
If they dropped the price, I might consider it. The rationale for the late check-in is that they can now rent every night, so technically, they win because they are earning more revenue, and I, the consumer, am the loser.
I'm so stubborn, I'd rather stay home!!!
I'm not sure if I should confess this on the blog, but yesterday? I almost quit! I was extremely excited about my two presentations and looking forward to presenting them. At the end of the second one, I wanted to email everyone and say, "I'm done. I don't ever want to teach again and certainly not on Zoom."
What happened? Well, technology was the principal reason, but then a couple of things came up (nothing terrible), but they didn't sit right, and I was done! I don't want to teach ever again! I went for a walk to calm down. Do you think I'm happy when my internet goes down in the middle of a session? I'm FRUSTRATED beyond belief, and if you, the student, are frustrated, what about me?
The technology? When I started Zoom in 2020, I had crappy internet, and then we had the wires upgraded, and all was good. The occasional drop has happened, but for the most part, all has been good.
Lately, I've been having terrible internet on Zoom. Multiple drops within one hour, and well, I'm done with technology!
To top it off, the microphone on my laptop disappeared months ago, and I really should have addressed that issue when it happened. I also cannot use any Bluetooth device as a microphone because of interference. From what? I don't know.
On my second call, after two drops before we even started, I decided to move the laptop upstairs in the hopes of getting a better connection and tried my Bluetooth device. No one mentioned the sound, and the call did not drop. Then I got a text AFTER the call to say my voice was garbled. WHY AFTER the call? If someone had said something, I could have gotten my hardwired mic. Sigh..............
After my walk, DH took pity on me and grabbed my laptop. It took him a long time, and he dug into some obscure option, but he eventually found a spot where the microphone was engaged/disengaged. I would never have found it, and it was not mentioned in any of the Google searches I used. I used the laptop mic last night at the Virtual Retreat, and it worked like a charm. DH to the technology rescue!
I spent some time with my provider to determine if my Wi-Fi pods are functioning correctly. These are signal boosters. It came back that they were in a neutral position, neither good nor bad, but neutral. This is after me trying to do the Virtual repair myself, which didn't work after several attempts.
So, they are sending me two new pods. That order should be processed within 3-5 days. I kind of laughed as the story of the remote came to mind. Same provider!
How are things now? I had zero issues with the Zoom call dropping last night. Of course - because it didn't matter if it dropped or not! We were just chatting.
I think it might have something to do with the number of people and perhaps running the presentation during the call. I hope to get the new Wi-Fi pods before the next big class, and we'll see what happens.
I will not quit, but I came close!
I didn't get a whole lot done in the afternoon as I was helping my SIL design a quilt, and then we had a lesson on making blocks. She knows how to sew, but I gave her some tips on making the two simple blocks in the quilt.
However, I managed to accomplish some tasks at the Virtual Retreat, which made me happy. After chatting (OK - I was venting!) with DH and SIL in the afternoon and resolving at least one and potentially two of my tech issues, I'm back in business. Phew - that was close!
The little guy and I had a photo op in the forest yesterday. He is so darn cute, even if his face is a mess. I'd better clean him up before he goes back home, or I'll be in trouble!
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| Grandma - hurry up - I can't hold this pose forever! |
And on that note, I have completed my presentations for the UFO Club, and those two groups are smaller, so let's see what happens. At worst, I can now quickly grab the laptop and relocate to a new spot. The ideal would be to be hardwired into the internet in the basement. I get that. Currently, there are no wires, but I suppose if I continue to experience so much trouble, I may need to consider that option.
The silver lining of the day? I went to the library to return a book and to see if I could find anything else. I had popped my umbrella into my bag, just in case. While in the library, I heard thunder and looked out the window, and it was pouring rain! Buckets! But by the time I was done browsing, the rain had slowed considerably, and I used the umbrella to walk to the grocery store, then didn't need it to walk home.
Oops — almost forgot to include the link for the Virtual Retreat here!
Sunday, November 16 -- starts at 3 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81073536036?pwd=uxRqMnK1aSKrmrcSO78w8QQs5g44eA.1
Meeting ID: 810 7353 6036
Passcode: 596838
Anyway, I'm out of here!
Have a super day!!!
Ciao!!!!
We all know technology sucks and yesterday’s drops were not your fault. If you listen to the zoom recording you will hear we were all patient and sympathetic with you, and actually there was some sharing of knowledge about machine function. Cross our fingers that the new pods will do the trick. Hugs Elaine.
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