Working from home blues

    I've been working from home since the middle of March because of the pandemic. In the beginning, it was kind of thrilling, almost like a movie. In order to save humanity, you have to hide from humanity. The biggest duty you have is to not breathe on people or lick doorknobs. It is a job so simplistic that even I was sure I was able to do it...hell I thought it was a no brainer for everyone. 
    It is now December and the thrill is gone. Cleary, I overestimated the general population's ability to not spread a virus. COVID rages on with all the fury of a toddler learning they ate the last piece of chocolate. It's hard to believe I would miss some things in life I once took for granted.

     

    I miss going into work. That's right, I said it. I miss the doldrum of dragging my old, tired butt out of bed, foraging for questionable leftovers in my refrigerator for my lunch, and leaving just earlier enough to be almost late for work. I miss the thrill of walking into the office, not making eye contact and trying to sneak to my office so no one knows I'm in. 
    I can't do that when I work from home. My dogs don't care what time I show up...they don't judge my clothes or my hair. They put their heads in my lap, I scratch them behind the ears, then they go lick themselves and lie down for a 4 hour nap. That doesn't happen at work...at least not that I know of. 

    I realized I need judgment in my life. I need someone to judge what I wear and how I look because if not, I go feral. Sure that shirt might have cooking stains on it and it is unraveling a bit and the collar is separating from the shirt, but hey, it has at least 2 more days until it hits the laundry basket. The elastic on the waistbands of pants might have been stretched to the max, but my spreadsheets don't judge me. Don't even ask where all the bras have gone...I think they went out looking for a new home as they were not used much during the pandemic. 

    Something else I miss from work is the coffee maker which, I swear, makes pre-burnt coffee that reeks a little of gasoline. I miss the "what's that smell" game when I open the refrigerator at work. I miss watching people cruise around the office, desperately trying to look busy when we know they are just slacking off.

    I miss in-person meetings! The ones where I can go in and make inappropriate notes and drawings in the corners of the papers or circle the spelling errors. One of the most horrendous things that have happened in the COVID world are online meetings (which are way too easy for people to schedule). At one point I thought having a meeting with people in different parts of the state/country would be a great way to conduct business. Turns out that online meetings are great at getting everyone confused. You also find out people have NO idea how to use the mute button or they use it too well. 

    In theory, the vaccine will get us all back to work again in the next couple of months. We will all be back in the swing of cussing at traffic lights, looking at our gas tanks and mentally calculating how many days we have until we actually HAVE to get gas, at being stuck in traffic, and dreading the workweek in general. Until then, I will continue to devolve as a human.