I want to be where the people are, but hey, I now work from home.
Yesterday I went to the building formerly known as the office, to clean out the few things I needed to retrieve from my work station in response to the GYSO mandate. (Get Your Shit Out.) It was definitely eerie to pull into the nearly empty parking lot, and greet the guard at the front desk, who cheerfully told me I was the THIRD person checking in to the floor that used to hold…I dunno, well over 100 people every day? More?
I collected my wee box of shit, said goodbye to the other two people present, one of whom I like very much and will probably never see again, as we are both contractors and he sees an end to his role coming. I left feeling oddly unsettled, like leaving the building meant I no longer had a job. I still have a job for now, and in general things are looking better, but I really don’t know what is going to happen in the next year.
It wasn’t just my workplace, the entire office park was a ghost town. Businesses are figuring out that they can function just fine with a remote work force (or couldn’t and closed) and all those big office buildings full of cube farms really aren’t needed. I don’t know what the hell that means for the future of commercial real estate, but I’m very glad I don’t work in commercial real estate.
So, I now have to think about making a more permanent home office. First I have to get the six foot cat bed the F out of the way, and soon, and then I’ll shove furniture around for a while, and figure out what I really need.
In the meantime, the Disney Store online had a sale. I currently have multiple bags of various dog treats on a shelf in my kitchen. They are going to have a cookie jar now; they’ll stay fresher and it’ll look far more classy. The Disney Store also had a very adorable 101 Dalmations cookie jar which would have been more suitable, but it was more expensive even on sale, so I decided to save a few bucks and stick with the classic Mickey theme.
I’m very happy with my kitchenware, it fits with my mostly neutral/black and white kitchen gadget theme in general, but it makes me feel a smidge happier.
Sophie woke me at O Dark Thirty again. I was so tired, I just put her on the floor and rolled back into bed – use the potty pad, explode, whatever, I NEED SLEEP DAMMIT! She peed on the potty pad, did not explode, and patiently waited until I surrendered and got up at around ten to six. She was hungry, and needed all the treats. This is why we need a treat jar.
A storm front is coming, and The Dancer is dancing in Tampa tomorrow in another competition, against 40 girls in her age group. My daughter is tired already. Send them good thoughts for safe travel and performances to make it worth the trip.
I’m glad you found some cute things to lift your spirits. It sounds like a very weird time, this GYSO and an unknown future. I really, truly hope that this year you’re able to find some other work where you are truly valued and compensated for your good work and abilities.