Return to Office was indeed as bad as I thought.
I like to be optimistic. Yes, I thought, I do like working from home and seeing the dogs in morning and getting breakfast with M. And driving an hour both ways to the office to work another 2 times a week will surely feel like an even greater waste of time. But, I wanted to think that this would not feel so miserable. After all, I have been looking for a job for several months and the market may be rough but this is just a rough patch in between now and my new venture. What damage could this actually do to me?
Well for starters, no one is happy. I like seeing my coworkers, they're great, but if no one wants to be there then all that anyone wants to talk about is not being there - myself included. Then there's the news of key people leaving the company; promising a reshuffle of engineers on the horizon all but guaranteeing that no one will be on any project they want to be on. Then there are the logistical problems: the cafeteria is full, the parking lot is full, the facilities are dirty, the coffee machines are broken.
And then there me. I want to give blogging a try. It might be nice, but there is no time. No time for anything it feels like. . . . Let me give a shout out to somethings that made this week bearable. So that at least I don't feel so down about the coming week.
- Latest podcast epesode from Maintenance Phase and If books could kill. Fantastic stuff and made the long wait in stop-and-go traffic nicer.
- The memory palace book. I recently finished it and really enjoyed it. I'll post something about it once my thoughts congeal.
- My coworker N, who provided comforting shit talk in the mornings.