I have been working from home (WFH) for about eight months now and here’s my list of what is good, bad and ugly about it.
The Good
My commute has been reduced from just over one hour to 30 seconds
I get 90 minutes more sleep per night
I can finish my shift, go for a run and be home before I’d normally complete my post-work commute (this still works in winter, the running is just done on the treadmill instead)
Breaks allow me to do or start chores that would otherwise be impossible until I was off work, including:
Starting/folding laundry
Starting/unloading the dishwasher
Baking bread. The office never smells like fresh-baked bread and this is a tragedy.
Sweep, mop
Run down the garbage or organics
Check the mail (the physical kind that comes in envelopes)
I can listen to music while I work (I don’t do it often, but I do it occasionally)
I never have to wait to use the bathroom
I never have to worry about someone else making the bathroom a giant stink bomb
Snacking is easy and convenient
Co-workers and other people cannot walk up to your cubicle and trap you in long, painful conversations
I will point out that the first three items listed are huge quality of life improvements. Almost life-changing, really.
The Bad
Some tools that must be relied on are not great. To be fair, this would be true at the office as well, it’s just that when WFH you can’t just go to someone’s office to have a look because the remote support tool refuses to elevate privileges.
Online meetings. These are often even more soul-draining than in-person meetings. To the person that asks, “Can you hear me?” at the start of every meeting: Yes, we can hear you. If you don’t suddenly start putting your mic between your feet or attaching it to your cat, we will hear you every time! Also, even when people are on video, it can be challenging picking up on body language and other visual cues.
Let’s just say some people are not exactly timely in answering messages
Can feel isolating at times, given the lack of face to face interaction
The Ugly
Knowing that this will eventually end and most people will just automatically go back to doing everything the old way, taking no lessons from what we learned. Or in other words, people will be people.
Overall, I love WFH. I don’t miss the office at all. The air in the office is bad, the commute is long, there are numerous distractions, I am forced into contact with others and this inevitably leads to a series of colds and other bugs through the year.
How many people would want to know when they will die if that information was available to them?
If the universe is expanding, it would only occupy so much space. What would you see beyond the edge of the universe?
Speaking of, what was up with the ending of The Black Hole, anyway? That was probably the most un-Disney ending of any Disney movie ever.
If there is “life after death” (a soul, etc.) why is it so hard for the two sides (living/differently living) to communicate with each other? Why *would* it be so hard? Is it because the living would be all, “Man, life sucks compared to the groovy other-side. I’m killing myself RIGHT NOW”?
What if we really are the only “intelligent” life in the universe?
What if we aren’t the only intelligent life in the universe but the other intelligent life finds it amusing to watch us screw everything up on our planet?
If multiverses exist, what are the other versions of me doing right now? Is at least one of them writing this same list, but maybe in some weird other dimension language? While waiting for his flying car to recharge?
What if we’re living a simulation and in a few short months we’ll find out that whole Trump presidency thing was just a test, haha. And all the horrible other things that have happened in 2020, too.
Like puberty, the global pandemic has been impossible to avoid. But at least this time my voice didn’t change.
While the future remains unwritten and hopefully won’t turn into a real life recreation of The Stand, here’s what’s changed (and what hasn’t) during life in a global pandemic.
Also, I like lists.
Here’s what’s changed:
Work from home. This is the biggie, of course. I started work from home (WFH) on March 18, so it’s been about two months, though it feels like a lot longer. The idea that this would happen at the beginning of the year was absurd. I expect to be WFH at least through the summer, which will mean at least six months total, and it could extend to the end of the year, which would be 10 months total. That’s a lot of commute time saved. UPDATE, November 29, 2021: WFH lasted until I quit in August 2021 (16 months). Service desk staff had to return to campus in September.
Speaking of commute time, I have no commute. I used to ride on two different SkyTrain lines and spend just over one hour traveling to or from work. Now I roll out of bed, cross the living room and I’m there. My commute has gone from over 60 minutes to under 10 seconds.
I am getting more sleep. This is directly related to no commute, as I am getting up an hour and a half later now.
I am saving money. This is related to WFH and having no commute. I am not buying a two-zone monthly fare card (currently $131), plus my use of transit has dropped to near zero. I have been on the SkyTrain twice in the last two months, versus 44-50 trips per month previously.
I am gaining weight. Snacking is a lot more convenient. I am working on this, but I have added 5+ pounds since this began.
I am exercising less. I’ve been doing walks, both on and off the treadmill, but I’ve only done a single run outdoors. I’m just not comfortable running outside right now, even though I know it’s not actually high risk or anything.
Reading time has declined. I am currently five books behind on my modest Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2020 because my reading time used to be during my commute and, well, see the second bullet point. I’m starting to finally read again, so may start catching up on this.
Shopping has shifted online or been severely reduced. I’ve purchased stuff from Apple and Best Buy online (and Amazon, of course) and had it delivered, something I generally would not do (I’d just go to the respective stores). This usually means I wait longer to get something (which is fine). In-person shopping is always done solo and no more than once a week if possible. Shopping in-store is relatively unpleasant now due to physical distancing requirements and some members of the public being indifferent or actively hostile to these requirements. The online shopping experience has varied as follows:
Amazon: The closest locker is closed, so they deliver direct to door. Typically, once they get in the building, the drivers leave packages at the condo door. This means stuff could potentially be stolen. Not good.
Apple: They ship free (yay) via UPS. UPS comes to the building, they try buzzing our suite number (this doesn’t work, as the buzzer number is not the same as the suite number–which they can see if they read the list of occupants next to the buzzer), then leave a note and I have to pick up the package the next day at a store a few blocks away. This is not convenient, but it’s less risk.
Best Buy. They ship through Canada Post (Update: they actually rotate through Canada Post and couriers, depending on availability). If the package is large, the delivery person will leave a key to a Canada Post large item locker in the lobby of our building, across from the mailboxes. This is convenient, and I wished Apple shipped this way, even if it meant a day or two extra for delivery.
What hasn’t changed:
Work is mostly the same. With in-classroom issues eliminated, the actual work I do is much the same as before, I just do it from a desk at home instead of a desk on campus. I like WFH and hope to keep doing it because not having that one hour commute is a gigantic improvement in quality of life.
Still playing Diablo 3. But I’m nearly done getting my final character to level 70. After that, all the treasure goblins in the world will not bring me back (maybe).
Mealtimes and other routines, like a walk at noon. Times and locations have shifted, but the activities are still the same.
And other miscellaneous stuff.
This weekend marks the beginning of the easing of some restrictions, but I don’t expect things will change much for me. Physical distancing will still be in place when shopping and many mall stores will remain closed (like Apple, for example) or will be restricting their sales to things like curbside pickup. I guess we can go to provincial parks again (during the day), though as I type this it’s pouring rain. Normally that’s a bummer on a holiday weekend, but this time it may just help us flatten the curve a little more when so many people are anxious to get out and get “back to normal”–something I suspect will not be happening for quite a while.
Closures continue, though we’re not in full stay-at-home mode yet like California, where its population of 40 million people (more than all of Canada) are literally being asked to stay home and not go anywhere unless it is for an essential service.
Here’s the latest bunch of things I can’t do:
Go out for dinner (all restaurants are closed except for take out and delivery)
Get a coffee (Starbucks is closed. Technically, I still can go because they are keeping stores close to emergency services open and there is one a few blocks from Royal Columbian hospital that’s open, so if society begins to totally collapse and I want a final oat fudge bar, I’m set. For now.)
Go to a playground in Vancouver (the ones in New West are still open for the time being, with signs basically telling kids not to play together which…uh, good luck with that?)
Go to work (work from home started on Wednesday; staff are only going in on an as-needed basis)
Buy groceries between 7-8 a.m. (reserved for seniors and those at risk, though I’d only shop this early if I was doing it in a dream, anyway)
Go to The Other 11 Months local NaNoWriMo weekly writing group (postponed indefinitely for obvious reasons, though I haven’t gone for quite awhile due to my extended writing slump)
But to not go all Negative Nellie, here are things I can do:
Grab a bunch of free games from services ranging from Apple’s App Store to gog.com
Buy Serif’s line of excellent Affinity software for 50% off
Go outside, provided I practice social distancing (as a bonus, the weather has finally been sunny and mild this week)
Ride the bus for free and enter through the rear doors (to promote social distancing)
Purchase a Nintendo Switch (just kidding, this thing is sold out everywhere)
Buy the new iPad Pro with LIDAR! Why would I want an iPad with LIDAR? I do not know.
The next phase of this pandemic will be interesting. Everyone will adjust to the restrictions and the novelty of it will keep things interesting for a few weeks. But I suspect a lot of people think it will also be over in a few weeks and if it’s not…what next? People lived through years of war, but in our hyper social media-dominated world, will we as a society have what it takes to keep it together if all of this starts stretching past weeks and into months?
As of tomorrow, I am working from home until [no date specified]
Things I can’t do because they are closed:
Buy a book at Indigo
Buy an iPad at an Apple store
Buy a Surface Pro at a Microsoft store
See a movie at Landmark Cinemas
Have a stiff drink at any bar to try to forget about the pandemic
Exercise, go for a swim or play a sport at any indoor public facility
Things I can’t do because they are no longer allowed:
Gather with more than 50 people
Things that are still allowed:
Fretting
Worrying
Pacing back and forth
Checking your temperature
Did I mention fretting and worrying?
The whole thing still seems surreal, but the new wrinkle of working from home (which in a way is a relief as it allows me to avoid the long commute on public transit where I could be exposed to the virus or unwittingly expose it to others) has added a more tangible sense of yep, things have changed.
The question now is, for how long? Optimists say weeks, pessimists say months and I haven’t checked with the nihilists yet. I’m expecting that we will at least be edging into summer before anything resembling a sense of normalcy returns, and I consider that leaning toward the optimist side of things.
I took one of those “answer a bunch of questions and we’ll tell you which careers you are totally suited for” quizzes last week and partway through I suspected they would ask me to pony up a few bucks to see the results. Sure enough, I was asked to fork over $9.99 to learn that I might make a great chicken farmer.
My unpaid conclusion is that I need to get into the job quiz creation business. $10 per result? I could get rich! Slowly, slowly rich.
I may yet be willing to offer money for some of this “career advice” but I’m not convinced the specific site in question is worth the money, meaning I’ll have to do research on these sites first. Once again, looking for work is work, even if I’m not looking for anything specific (yet).
While I contemplate the horror of having to do research (I hate research the same way I hate elevators. Maybe I had a traumatic experience with research when I was a child that I’m blocking now.) I figure I could get the old idea train rolling by just getting out and pushing myself.
Which is to say, I’m going to list a bunch of careers I might (“might”) be suited for that I’m coming up with off the top of my head. Here we go, yay!
Awesome careers for someone (Possibly me, possibly someone else, possibly no one)
Chicken farmer
Pros:
Chickens are small and sort of cute, maybe?
The rich smell of earth, honest and pure
Be my own boss
Chickens might talk back but it’s all just clucking, so it’s fine
Never have to shop for chicken for dinner ever again
Not cooped up (lol) in a stuffy office, sitting at a desk and prematurely aging
Cons:
Chicken poop
Probably have to get up early
Not a life of fabulous wealth and luxury
Rich smell is actually gross, because of the aforementioned poop
Singer
Pros:
Who doesn’t like singing?
All you need is your voice
Look, “Friday” was a best-selling single. FRIDAY.
Creative work nourishes the soul
Cons:
Earning a living could be challenging, resulting in starvation and death
Autotune can only go so far
Would need musicians or have to steal music or something
I have run out of time (I am writing this on my lunch break, which may be ironic), so I will add to this post soon(tm).
The first day of winter is 10 days away, December 21st. This is the shortest day of the year, with approximately 30 minutes of daylight. The bears are warm in their caves, while humans are in full thrall of the whole holiday thing, crushing against each other in malls for last-minute gifts and possibly some nice frozen yogurt at the food court.
I generally don’t like winter because I am not a big fan of the cold and dark. But in the spirit of being positive, here are five things I do like about winter:
If it’s officially winter, we’re less than one season away from spring and t-shirt weather
A little snow looks pretty and gives the world a fleeting peaceful quality
You can skate outdoors if it gets cold enough
No need to run the air conditioner
Risk of a sunburn drops dramatically
Hmm, that’s not really a great list. Let me try a few more:
A warm mug of hot chocolate can hit the spot
Running a base heater to warm your toes is far more satisfying than it ought to be
Watching TV under a thick blanket is nice and relaxing
The obvious theme here seems to be, “Winter is cold, the fun is in finding ways to stay warm.” Some people will argue that it’s easier to get warm than to keep cool, that putting on a sweater will warm you up on a cold day, but taking it off on a hot day may not do much to cool you off on a hot day. This is perhaps true, but given how hot it generally gets here (note to historians reading this in the far future: in late 2019 the metro Vancouver area is not yet a tropical paradise), I don’t find it a big deal to keep from profusely sweating during the summer. And removing layers is somehow better than piling more on.
Anyway, that’s the best I can come up with. To stay positive, we are only 192 days away from summer. Yay!
I’m not sure why, but November was kind of an off month, despite some positive developments.
On the plus side:
Improvements in workflow at work
Ran a 10K
New headphones provide relatively silent sanctuary on public transit
It didn’t really rain that much and up until the last few days, it hasn’t been that cold, either
On the negative side:
Return to Pacific Standard Time has probably led to some kind of SAD. Getting out from work and seeing that it’s already getting dark is never not depressing.
Still not reading as much
Writing has gone from minimal to micromal. Yes, I just made up that word.
Even blog writing has tapered off. This will be post #21 when I’d normally be on post #30.
After a month of Inktober and getting into sketching again, I only did one sketch in November
Fat. Up 2 more pounds.
Pulled two muscles
Not running as much (see bullet point directly above)
General feeling of malaise with working in technology. I’m tired of fixing things. I want to make things.
Have not started stretching
Have not started meditation
I don’t have a witty summary to sum up the two lists. I also have no expectations for December. I hope it doesn’t snow. That is all.
Let’s have a look now that we are eight months into this year of 2019:
World peace: Could be better, could be worse. Trump is still president, so likely to get worse.
Measles: on the rise, thanks to anti-vax paranoids. Thank you, Luddites and irrational fearmongers!
Global warming: We are doomed, pretty much.
Politics: Authoritarianism and despots on the rise, democracy ailing, even in places where it should be strong. This could change–but it could also change for the worse. See the first bullet point.
BC politics: The minority NDP government has proven adept and sane, boding well for the next election, though the general insanity of voters is always a worrying factor. It’s helped that the BC Liberals elected an out-of-touch rich white guy as their leader.
And my own list:
Meditation: Thought about it, but have yet to meditate. Before I can even begin, Pocket has already offered an article on the sinister side of meditation, where you apparently think tranquil thoughts about murdering people or something.
Stretching: Not really. A little here and there, but no concerted effort. This needs to be a higher priority unless I actually reverse the aging process.
Writing: The less said, the better. Which is how I’ve approached writing this year.
Drawing: I think about doodling. Then I never do it. But the doodles in my mind are great.
Reading: My pace is picking up again. If I stay at it, I may end up matching last year, which will be good.
Blogging: Generally running to catch up, as is the case this month where I’m tapping last minute inspiration to get to 31 posts before midnight.
Running: Doing more, and the runs are going well. I have yet to tackle a 10K this year, but will try to before we get fully into the fall weather.
