Thursday, August 4, 2016

Scribbled - Corner office






Do I want one? Do I want any office? Do I want a job?

Pesky questions.

Lately I have been going to work. Actually commuting. Spending hours reading, studying, analysing, planning, drafting.

Right now it's my volunteer job we're talking about.

It's nice to have an objective that doesn't involve home renovation. It's nice to commute. It's nice to be able to stroll down the hall and talk to colleagues.

It's kind of a job, and not. I come and go as I please.

It's a luxury-hobby-not-a-job job. It's odd.

I get to commute on two wheels.

Maybe that's worth getting a job for.

Is that nuts?

20 comments:

Unknown said...

Well it's either that or you need a hobby.

RichardM said...

I still have an office at the university but I don't HAVE to go there every day. Just when I think that it would be more convenient. It is nice to be able to walk around and talk to others. I also still have an office in the Barrow Arctic Research Center (BARC) and have been spending a bit of time there this summer. Being able to set your own schedule is good and even though your doing volunteer work, it's a nice opportunity to slowly transition to "not working". If that ever happens it'll be up to you.

Peter Sanderson said...

No office... No Rent... Hobby/Business Yes! I used to have 1800 sq/ft in Beaconsfield above the federal post office building on the top floor. I designed the layout and it was just perfect. Beautiful, warm and well appointed. A real consulting firm. Until of course I figured out that the rent, telephone, internet, then of course copy machine lease, fax lease and so on took away about $ 30,000.00/Year from my salary.

David Masse said...

What I think I need is an actual hobby job.

That job could be writing the novel I put on hold almost ten years ago. Of course from the point of view of making some traveling money, it's a long shot. I have also been toying with the idea of a middle course, where I work for a worthy cause as a lawyer, but for a fraction of what a lawyer's services would normally cost.

I think you're right, 'hobby' is definitely the operative word.

David Masse said...

Michael, I always admire your efficiency and solid common sense. If the British were to take over the Keys as part of some brexit mitigation strategy forged by a Republican President and say Boris Johnson, you would be the most appropriate vice regal head of state for the new Dominion of the Conch. That would be my advice, if asked.

David Masse said...

Richard, you have nailed the ideal working lifestyle. The only person I know of who has it better, is my uncle George who still has his office at McGill University and spends his summers in Ibiza.

David Masse said...

Peter you and I were crossing paths much earlier than we thought.

As far back as the early eighties, even when we were living in town far from Beaconsfield, Susan and I were on that floor whenever we went to visit our dentist.

I think you have the best job of all of us, and it clearly affords an opportunity to buy sweet toys and the time to enjoy them.

Well done!

SonjaM said...

I am afraid I have to side with Michael on this one, David. Please get a hobby a.s.a.p ;-) Go write your novel for C.'s sake as long as your kids don't request your sitter services for their offspring! Besides I guess I'll have to talk to Susan about the extension of your honey-do list.

I know I would not want to spend any more time in stuffy offices ever again. No way!

VStar Lady said...

David, it's not about a job, an office or even talking to colleagues ... It's about having goals and a purpose. You need a goal ... Helping others with legal issues might find you a goal, but then again, writing the great American novel might be a goal.

David Masse said...

I think I'm slowly getting to where I need to be.

When I get there you will of course read about it here.

David Masse said...

You are right Karen. There are goals. Some lofty, some practical, and some that will keep me suitably busy. I'll get into a new normal. I'm just not quite there yet.

Canajun said...

I remember going through the same thought processes after I retired; then I'd go have a nap and 20 minutes later the idea was gone. Worked every time. :) But seriously, like Karen says, everyone needs something to do to keep busy so I started up a small home business that lets me work when I want. Doesn't keep me in the lap of luxury but it does keep me busy between golf games and riding, and the beer fridge filled.

bouls said...

Absolutely nothing wrong with what you are doing! In actual fact you are lucky. It doesn't matter what you do with your time as long as it works for you! I am moving into that phase of my life as well and I look forward to the interactions with my coworkers and the perspective they bring to my life. I work with two gentlemen who still have the luxury to come to work when they want, one is 80 years old, the other is 70. If they didn't work I am not sure their lives would be as rich as they are, they love their work and their clients. Consider yourself lucky!

redlegsrides said...

Perhaps its a job that can be done remotely while traveling the world? If not, then perhaps a different way to occupy one's time....point the scooter in a cardinal direction and see what happens?

David Masse said...

That's the recipe I'll be hunting for in a month or two. Whatever money I earn will go into the travel piggybank ;)

David Masse said...

Well sir, I certainly am lucky, of that there is absolutely no doubt.

Along with figuring out the extra income angle, I need to keep myself (really my body) as young as I possibly can. Not a huge challenge, but a challenge nevertheless.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, they are always appreciated.

David Masse said...

Oh man oh man Dom, 150% :) a job that can be done anywhere in the world would be oh so sweet.

Susan and I could find a sunny spot somewhere in Europe, point a little car in a cardinal direction and wander and wander.

Trobairitz said...

As long as you are happy.......

David Masse said...

Brandy that is so sweet. Thank you.

Unknown said...

For commute's sake, David! (Ha-haa! That sounds like a curse.) Anyway, for the sake of that good ol' commuting satisfaction, you could always pretend that you have a job--every day in a different location--and then show up only to discover that the company has moved or has closed or simply doesn't know who the hell you are... :D

Your lawyering for a worthy cause is a heck of a noble idea, man. And heaven knows that this troubled world of ours could use more goodness like that.

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