Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Making it work

Why it's great to work from home:

  • no driving in traffic
  • flexibility
  • you don't have to make friends with, let alone talk to, coworkers
  • you can surf the web without having to click over to your Word document at a moments notice

Why it sucks to work from home:

  • better things always come up
  • screaming children in the background of important phone calls
  • cringing when the phone rings
  • not knowing any of your coworkers
  • always feeling the nag of work

I should be grateful. I called my boss and asked if I could start working again after a 9 month hiatus. He lined me up right away. But this time he told me he would get me a cubicle and a computer so I could come in once a week. My heart stopped. Having my own cubicle means commitment. Commitment means responsibility and responsibility means anxiety.

Before John was born I suffered from some pretty bad anxiety surrounding my job. I had a real issue with feeling totally incompetent in my position. When it comes to archaeology I still feel like that.

I am pretty good at faking it. I think because I enjoy some aspects and not the rest. I am not passionate about it. I do not retain facts like my colleagues. I like the big picture. There is not enough big picture in a field dominated by minute details.

So I am trying again. It is a means to an end, not a way of life. That's what it is--a way of life for most of the professionals. I am content to sit at the computer and do the writing but don't ask me to commit my life to it.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Something to learn

I can't put my finger on it, but there is something to learn about life from this place:

Maybe it is the glistening fixtures that are repeatedly wiped down by the clean cut boy carrying a dish towel and broom.


Maybe it's the number of smiling employees eager to fulfill their part in the whole process (the picture of efficiency).
Maybe it's the simple menu.
Maybe it's the uniforms that hearken back to a simpler time
It could be enjoying the company of loved ones...


Whether it be the sparkle, the well polished employees with their effortless positive attitudes, or the company of family, I felt like I might have stepped into a Disney-run business for a brief moment.
Then I tasted the fries and realized it might just be heaven.