The Office
I made a rare visit to my "real office," the location of which has recently moved to a new building in Northern VA. Already having had plans to travel to DC for the Einsturzende Neubauten concert, I took the opportunity to drive up early, see the new office, and meet several people I work with on a daily basis, but have never met in person. There has been a lot of recent staff turn-over and new additions.
The office park greets me with a small lake, complete with ducks. A walking path loops around the lake and branches off in several directions toward a number of buildings hidden behind tall trees. The path winds gracefully beneath the shade of the trees and guides me to the steps of a tall office building with mirrored windows that reflect the verdant environment in such a way that the building appears to blend naturally into the forest. Inside, the foyer is wall to wall marble decor. My "real office" has surprisingly tall ceiling and an entire wall of floor to ceiling windows looking out on flowering shrubbery. The ubiquitous cubicles, while nice, new, and necessary, are the only unfortunate aspects of the space.
It is nearly enough to make me miss going to an office everyday instead of working from home. Sometimes I get nostalgic for an office. Going to an office and working among a community of people with whom you share a common goal is such a large part of American culture. I know there are many alternative career options, but it is the lifestyle into which I was born, having had my parents and friends' parents as role models, all of whom left the house for an office. But then I remember all the wasted time. The commute. The office politics. Twiddling my thumbs while I wait for someone else's work to catch up with mine, where as at home I can do something productive while I wait, like wash dishes or other chores. Excessive socializing during work hours. I used to kill entire days with small talk when other coworkers had a down day and needed someone to entertain them. And I will always hate the way my life was a slave to the schedule of commuting and spending eight consecutive hours a day away at the office.
Working at a home is definitely a good thing, despite the solitude and having the specter of work haunting one corner of my house. I do have much less to complain about and consider myself very lucky to be able to work this way. I don't know if this will last forever, but I'm enjoying it while I can. Now, if only I can get a duckpond in my backyard.
The office park greets me with a small lake, complete with ducks. A walking path loops around the lake and branches off in several directions toward a number of buildings hidden behind tall trees. The path winds gracefully beneath the shade of the trees and guides me to the steps of a tall office building with mirrored windows that reflect the verdant environment in such a way that the building appears to blend naturally into the forest. Inside, the foyer is wall to wall marble decor. My "real office" has surprisingly tall ceiling and an entire wall of floor to ceiling windows looking out on flowering shrubbery. The ubiquitous cubicles, while nice, new, and necessary, are the only unfortunate aspects of the space.
It is nearly enough to make me miss going to an office everyday instead of working from home. Sometimes I get nostalgic for an office. Going to an office and working among a community of people with whom you share a common goal is such a large part of American culture. I know there are many alternative career options, but it is the lifestyle into which I was born, having had my parents and friends' parents as role models, all of whom left the house for an office. But then I remember all the wasted time. The commute. The office politics. Twiddling my thumbs while I wait for someone else's work to catch up with mine, where as at home I can do something productive while I wait, like wash dishes or other chores. Excessive socializing during work hours. I used to kill entire days with small talk when other coworkers had a down day and needed someone to entertain them. And I will always hate the way my life was a slave to the schedule of commuting and spending eight consecutive hours a day away at the office.
Working at a home is definitely a good thing, despite the solitude and having the specter of work haunting one corner of my house. I do have much less to complain about and consider myself very lucky to be able to work this way. I don't know if this will last forever, but I'm enjoying it while I can. Now, if only I can get a duckpond in my backyard.