“Wash your hands…I can’t…arms too short.”

“It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf, German aviator

As we finish up a second week where most of LITS is teleworking during Emory’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, it is reassuring to know that our colleagues around the division are finding ways to cope with this adversity while still working hard to keep the lights on. In this piece, you will hear their stories.

Advice from a Dinosaur

Jen Doty (research data librarian, RESC) appreciated this good advice from a skeletal dinosaur while on a walk in her neighborhood, “Wash your hands…I can’t…arms too short.” It’s good to see that her neighbors are keeping their sense of humor.

A Little Talk Goes a Long Way

This story comes from Maria Brooks Flowers (resource management specialist, WHSCL):

My week started with my daughter (Kera) screaming at me. I had gotten a schoolwork packet from her teacher over the weekend along with websites for online activities. So, on Monday I say, “let’s start with reading this story and answering these questions.” She starts screaming. I ask, “what wrong with you?” She says, “that’s not how we do it. WE have to go to iready.com first.” She then proceeds to tell me the class schedule. Okay.

Kera is serious about her work!

An hour later, I was ready to run away from home. She didn’t like the way I was helping, she wanted to take a break every five minutes, and she was touching stuff on my desk, ugh! I had to take deep breaths and think for a minute. Finally, we had to have a talk. We looked over her assignments, agreed on what was going to be done first, set up breaks that could be taken between each assignment, and stated no TV until the end of the day. So far, it’s working. My assignments take longer because I have to stop every now and then to help her. Kera’s breaks are asking Alexa to play Kids Bop songs so she can record herself dancing! I really do appreciate all the work that teachers do. God Bless them.

All Stick No Carrot

“Since my family and I have all been home together for the past few weeks, my son has become so unruly from cabin fever that I’ve had to resort to extreme measures for discipline,” says Jimmy Kincaid (communications architect, EASI). “I’m afraid it’s all stick and no carrot at this point.”

Jimmy’s son’s name is Beren Kincaid. He’s 13 and in 7th grade at Crews Middle School. The art shown in the video is Shinkendo. Beren began his training when he was 7, and studies the following:

• Shinkendo – https://www.shinkendo.com – Japanese swordsmanship
• Aikibujutsu and Aikido – https://aikibujutsu.org – hand-to-hand arresting, joint-locking, and throws
• Toyama-Ryu Battodo – http://www.toyama-ryu.org – military art of sword drawing
• Bojutsu – the long staff

Their local dojo is run by Nayef Smith (manager, network monitoring, EASI) and can be found at: http://www.japaneseswordsmanship.com. Wayne Ortman (director, network services, EASI) and Jimmy are senior instructors.

Jellyfish are very relaxing.

Jimmy has personally been involved with the dojo since 2008 and makes trips to LA a couple of times a year to train with the masters. The dojo also hosts local seminars in Atlanta once or twice a year. According to Jimmy, “It’s been a great way to stay fit, focused, and bond with my son who really enjoys the wide variety of content offered by these arts.”

Jellyfish Tank

According to Kim Copenhaver (director, access services, ARS), “We have held virtual coffee breaks to foster connection in a remote environment and provide an outlet to share challenges and successes. The live stream of the jellyfish tank at the GA Aquarium has been a go-to stress reliever for some.”

Cherry Tree Blossoms

Cherry blossoms in front of the 1599 building.

Garrett Southwell (lead applications developer, EA) couldn’t pass by an on-campus blossoming cherry tree without snapping a photo. Taken from 1599 Clifton Road this week, he said, “I couldn’t go through Spring without the cherry tree blossoms. Of the four trees, only one is blossoming right now. I’ll be back later for more pictures.”

Physical Distancing

This thought about social distancing from Jason Lowery (assistant director, advancement & alumni engagement, Emory Libraries): “My pastor yesterday said, ‘Let’s don’t call it social distancing. Let’s call it physical distancing. We can still be social in other ways!”

Adds Jason, “I want to remind folks to just ask how others are doing. It makes such a huge difference even after a meeting to just check on one another.”

I Will Survive

Nicole Byrd (PeopleSoft developer IV, EA) has a niece who works at Boston University who shared this hilarious video about having to suddenly convert your class to online learning. Scrolling through the comments, faculty everywhere can relate. There are comments from Canada, Brazil, Poland, Hungary, Australia, Italy, Singapore, etc.

If you have any stories, photos, recipes, pet tales, etc. you’d like to share, please send them to me and I will include them in upcoming newsletters as we all survive!