Sunday, January 24, 2016

"Working" at home


It starts out great.  You roll downstairs and have a cup of coffee while scrolling through Facebook, and just for old time’s sake, you look at the traffic websites, grateful that you aren’t affected.  You look out the window at trees, and think about how lucky you are to just stay in this beautiful setting.  Well, it’s kind of a mess inside, but still, looking out the window is lovely.

You decide that, with all the time saved on commuting, you can throw in a load of laundry before you get started on your work day.  But as you press the detergent pump thing, it doesn’t spring back very quickly.  Is that because of the temperature of the room (60 degrees)? You decide to start a fire, which is good, because it’s the first thing all day that requires you to be fully dressed.  You go outside to get wood, and it seems as though, since you’re already outside, you might as well take a walk.  That way, your mind will be clear and READY FOR WORK.

After your walk, you go back inside and decide you should probably make another cup of coffee before you get started.  While the water is heating, you remember that it’s freakin’ cold in here, and you forgot to bring in wood.  You go back outside to get some wood, and notice a really cool dead spider on a log, so you pull out the microscope to look at it.  You capture a picture of spider teeth, which is amazing, and wonder if it’s weird or creepy or too self-involved to post it to Facebook.  You can’t decide so you do nothing.  

Then you remember your first question of the day, which was, why was the laundry soap pump so slow?  You realize you aren’t 100 percent certain how pumps work, and feel a little embarrassed by that.  Like, if a six-year-old asked you to explain, could you do it?  I mean, you kind of get it, but is it about reduced pressure in one area?  And where does the spring fit in?  So you google it and get lost in some technical answers, and then find one that makes you laugh out loud.


The sound of your own laughter makes you realize that you haven’t heard a human voice in a while, and you wonder if you’re maybe getting a little bit off, turning into that person.

You decide to get to work, and begin doing whatever it is you do.  For some of us, it’s writing the same damn report:  “The site was vegetated with a forested community dominated by Douglas fir, with red alder and western red cedar occurring occasionally.”  You’ve written this sentence so many times that you briefly consider sticking your head in the oven but decide not to because you should probably clean the house first, leave things in a better state.  You google, “sticking your head in an electric oven,” just to learn.  And then, for old time’s sake, read Ariel.  And so on.

This is why we have coworking, people!  You get to go somewhere, hear other human voices, stop obsessing about weird house abnormalities, and have a little companionship.  There’s a herd mentality that works.  Because you’ll notice: Everyone’s working here.  No one is researching confessional poetry or how soap dispensers work.  Me too!  I’m totally one of the herd!
For this reason, I’m grateful to the Tolt Hive Coworking community.  We’re sponsoring a really fun writing workshop, with all proceeds to benefit the Tolt Hive community.  Check it out!

14 comments:

  1. This made me smile so much, Betsy. And nod, because it's precisely what I do, except for taking pictures of spiders' teeth. I take pictures of the cats, because I "got cats". And the thing is, I don't even work from home, unless you count housework. These are the things I do that make me late for my outside job, which doesn't matter all that much because I make up my own hours there. But still. I wish someone would give me set hours! Because I am a child and can't discipline myself to do it. Coworking sounds awesome. A writing workshop sounds awesome. Wish it was closer!

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    1. Oh, I wish you were closer too! Cats are pretty popular, I hear. Especially on the internet. I think I read somewhere that the internet is made up of 12% ether (whatever that is), 14% whacko's, and the rest is cat videos.

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  2. Coworking spaces! The best. First of all it requires getting dressed and getting out the house. That's a win right there.

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  3. Well, I was GOING to work, but then I had to go google Tolt Hive Community ;)

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  4. Remarkable how we can drift from one thing to another and not realize it. The picture of the spider, by the way, is ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING.

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    1. Terrifying, but also kind of cool, right? Who knew spider teeth were so wicked sharp?

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  5. My friend Kathleen always said that we are not descended from apes but from sheep. I think she may have been right.
    We call this sort of behavior around here "but-firsts". Example I just experienced: I needed to put the groceries away BUT FIRST I wanted to change my clothes. In the bathroom I noticed that I had tracked dirt into my bathroom so I went to get a broom and dustpan but then remembered that the racks and pans for the smoker were now clean and needed to be put up so BUT FIRST I put those up and then I swept the bathroom floor and eventually I did get to the groceries. It's a damn wonder I ever get anything done around here.

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    1. Yep. Sometimes it's hard to tell the "but first" from what you set out to do....

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  6. Yes, cabin fever has various side effects and some are so quiet and stealthy that you do not realize you have them!

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  7. I much prefer the spider to another selfie.

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    1. And spiders don't really get much airtime on the internet. (Compared to cats, at least.)

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