I’m working from home because….no reason actually? I’ll explain in greater detail below if you are curious, just heads up my life has changed and I am going to be grumpy about it and that grumpiness is going to affect allllllllllllllll my posts.
I work at literally the last office that needs to close for a health scare. Let me count the ways:
- Only 6 employees
- All the employees are young and generally healthy and live with people who are young and generally healthy (with one exception)
- Only one employee takes public transit, the rest of us drive ourselves
- We are in a dying area of town, only half our building is rented and we are surrounded by empty storefronts, don’t even see people walking from the parking lot to the office
- No one has traveled internationally in months and months and months
But yes, theoretically we could all more or less work from home. And more importantly, my boss is a bit of a health nut and was getting increasingly stressed. So he decided to order us all home. 2 of my co-workers, also stressed, were thrilled. Myself and another one (who is the one that actually has a worrisome health person in her family, but has acclimated to health fears after years of them) went “well, okay, I guess”.
So now I am at home and this is TERRIBLE for my health! At work I have social contact, I have a standing desk, I have healthy snacks, I have all kinds of good things. At home I am going to give myself carpal tunnel and eat too much just out of boredom and generally be miserable. So get ready for a lot of complaining.
The only good thing is that stress is contagious, and man is it nice to get away from all those stressy people at work.
Speaking of! RULES FOR DCIB COMMENTS!!!! Stress is unhealthy and unproductive. If you want to talk about “blech, stuck home from work, so bored, watching this TV show”, that is fine. If you want to talk about being afraid, and stressed, and spread news stories, that is NOT okay. There are other places for that, this is a happy place for gossip and movies and songs and abstract thinking. If I feel like your comments are veering in the wrong direction, I will gently nudge you back.
And now I am going to eat a banana, in a desperate attempt to bring my at-work healthy eating habits home with me.
dontcallitbollywood 
I know well how it feels. First day of the lockdown here in Sicily and I already lost the count how many snacks I had. And it’s only 4 p.m
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Exactly! I’m trying to distract myself by watching the roofers work on the building across the street, but I really really want a soft boiled egg. Even though I just ate a banana.
At least I am still sticking with healthy snacks, I’ll be in real trouble when I start craving the cookies hidden in my freezer.
On Tue, Mar 10, 2020 at 10:51 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh oh. This could be a good time to find those lamb samosas you liked so much! Definitely not healthy, but delicious and delicious food makes me happy!
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Oooo, yes! Since I am working from home, that means I can do “lunch out” on Devon. Okay, that’s kind of fun!
Also, I think I may need to set aside some time this afternoon to clear out my misc. room so I can use my desk or work table. That’s also fun!
Alternatively, try to build a wobbly tower of books and create my own standing desk. I hate sitting!
On Tue, Mar 10, 2020 at 11:20 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Do it! Clear out the room and have a goal of how much you are going to donate/throw out. I did that a couple weeks ago and it felt so good. Decluterring is fun!
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I’m on my way! I cleared off the table and built up a fake standing desk, so that’s fun, and I’ve got two big things to donate when I get a chance to donate.
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Yay! Perfect! Can we see pics when you are finished?
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Sure! I’ll give you an update tomorrow, as I continue my insanity inducing loneliness. Today I got to have a pleasant conversation with a stranger while walking the dog, and that was it for human contact.
On Tue, Mar 10, 2020 at 7:31 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Will it help to mention that I will be coming through Chicago a week from this Thursday? Hubs and I are taking Amtrak to California to visit a friend in a (so far) healthy place. Washing our hands and bumping elbows in greeting all the way, if course!
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Yes, that is super fun! We will have to see if we can arrange a meet-up.
On Tue, Mar 10, 2020 at 11:24 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I do hope things change for you soon, and for all of us. I work from home and love it! There is less structure and routine than an office space, which has pros and cons. As for the unhealthy outcomes of what it lacks, with motivation you can create it. Balance, I tell myself. Having said that, I’m already late for a walk and fresh air by the river, but here I am browsing!
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Thanks!
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I’m stuck home AND doing income tax.
I’m thinking of risking death and going to a museum. I suspect there will be no long lines.
—
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Do it! Or at least take a walk. Thank goodness I have Albie Dog pushing me to get out.
On Tue, Mar 10, 2020 at 12:16 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Ack! Apropos of nothing, I have forgotten the name of the film about the “first” rebellion against the British. The one with the hero who can hold his breath under water forever and the really, really, evil Brit.
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Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy. So proud of myself for figuring it out from your clues.
On Tue, Mar 10, 2020 at 12:41 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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If you need something to entertain you, check out Ski Jumping/Ski flying. I am just having lunch and the restaurant has Ski Jumping/Ski flying competition on (I have no idea which one) and I am weirdly mesmerized and frightened.
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Yes! I should try background sports! I know I will go crazy for lack of human contact unless I have the TV going, but I need something mindless enough that I won’t be distracted from work-work.
On Tue, Mar 10, 2020 at 2:24 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’d quite like to work from home for a while because I have reports that need writing but I know in reality I’d get cabin fever within a week and worry a lot about my mother.
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See, what’s gonna kill me is that blurring of home/work. Especially since I take the blog so seriously, so I already have a bit of blurring going on, “home” isn’t a place for relaxed fun, it’s a place to feel guilty I’m not blogging. And now it’s going to be that, plus the place where my work phone and work laptop are sitting, judging me.
Anyway, I’m gonna dig out the room that I’ve been using as misc. boxes room and try turning it into “office” and see if that helps.
On Tue, Mar 10, 2020 at 3:26 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Can’t hurt…
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I’m also at home because my doctor advised me to self quarantine for two weeks to be on the safe side after flying 20 hours from India. I’m self-employed so it’s not a big deal but I can’t go to a coffee shop to work or to the supermarket or anything and argh. And I’m too distracted to watch movies.
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Blech, that would drive me crazy. I’m not going to work, but I can still walk to the grocery store and do whatever I want. Heck, this weekend I am taking a train trip.
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I’m out of quarantine and I’m going to a movie (1917)! Yay! I also got pretty sick of rattling around at home but I’ve cleared out two of my closets. I’ll be back at work next week to try to prepare in case I have to teach students remotely. It’s going to take a bit of work to figure out how to do this, but it’s the kind of teaching challenge I like.
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Just worked my last day in the office for a while, said stay well and see you on the other side to my co-workers.
Work from home tips: a separate space is a good idea if you can swing it. Even if your commute is walking five feet it helps to preserve “home” space. Definitely figure out your ergonomics. Get a better chair if you have to. Stop for lunch and walk away from the computer. Albie will get you outside, good Albie :).
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Albie is so good! Living creature, gets me outside, helps me strike up conversations with strangers we pass so I can talk to people.
My routine at the office is to just blur it all together, I usually don’t take lunch, take mini-breaks and open the blog on a different screen, and so on. But yeah, I think I’m gonna have to say “I am taking lunch now” and walk 5 feet and watch a Frasier episode and then walk back. Thank goodness I no longer live in a studio, I would go insane.
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I always admire people who can work from home, because I’m terrible at it. Having a separate work space is a definite necessity for me. GOOD LUCK!
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