nostalgic for the office

Part of my day-to-day is continuing to do some I.T. Consulting. I resigned last October so that I could focus on my leather business but have stayed on for a few hours each week to assist with routine type tasks.

Part of what I do is handle the shipments to our remote new-hires. This involves going into the office, working with the workstation team to make sure we are shipping what the hiring manager requested, test a few things on the laptop to make sure it will work upon arrival, then ultimately take everything from there to FedEx to get things shipped out.

The going into the office part is enjoyable for me. Prior to 2020 I was gung-ho about full-time remote staff. Post-2020, with our entire team (around 200+) being remote full-time, I long for office days with them. There’s an inherent bond that is created when you sit with people for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Work with them. Eat with them. Talk with them. Laugh with them. You build friendships. Translating that to fully remote just isn’t the same. Face-to-face is the best, for just about everything.

The floor where we all sat in the office is empty. And it is a massive floor, a massive building. Directly next to the state capitol building, guess it is about a half-block square. The entire floor is dark, except for the natural light coming in through the windows. It’s really weird to wander through there. All of the lights are off. The meeting rooms are empty. The privacy rooms are empty. The break room is void of any smell (I used to call the coffee in there “Quarter Cup Cafe” because it was a quarter for a cup of coffee, it was terrible but it was office coffee...I can still taste it). The hallways are empty.

When I do wander around I remember where I used to sit, walk past my now empty desk, I remember who sat near me, conversations I had with colleagues, meetings we had in the various meeting rooms, and so on. I can get going down memory lane very easily. All positive memories. As much as work-from-home is convenient, I long for office days now. Even with doing this type of work for only a few hours each week, being able to have those hours with people would be awesome.

When I went in there today I was struck with another memory. One that almost made my eyes water but I’m pretty sure that part of my body is broken (couldn’t tell you the last time I had any type of a cry). As consultants we would park in one of two parking garages, mostly the 5th street parking garage which then offered a nice 15 minute walk from the garage to our client’s office building, the Keystone Building. Between 2013 and the very beginning months of 2020 I walked this route twice a day, rain or shine, hot or cold, 5 days a week.

When it was raining or bitter cold I would cut through the State Capitol building. I could walk an entire city block inside the warm hallways of the Capitol, past the Capitol coffee shop which made proper coffee, around the beautiful Christmas decorations, I think they even had a large tree up outside of the Capitol Restaurant in the lower level that I walked through. It was best during Christmas time. Sometimes there would be a choir singing around the tree, other times a small orchestra set up and performing. It was amazing. I loved it, always.

I would exit on the other side of the building, cross the street and enter the Keystone Building, take the elevator up to my desk, shed the layers keeping me warm and take a few sips of coffee before starting to make my rounds. I’d visit my team, teams I used to work with, a few client managers, and so on. It was a good time. Good work, when it was on-site. The purpose was felt, it was shared.

5 or 5:30pm would roll around and I’d begin to pack up. It would be dark outside already, maybe even snowing. Depending on how I felt I may walk the sidewalk outside to see the Capitol Christmas tree outside lit up, plus all of the other decorations they have up, or inside where it would still be equally beautiful (just not as busy as my morning crossing). My nose would run, my eyes may tear at this point from the cold air, but I’d eventually make it to my car, my 5th or so cup of coffee still hot as ever for the drive home.

Driving home at this time of year, on a cold winter’s night, was always a mix of danger and pleasure. Danger because of the roads and the unpredictable nature of every driver around me, pleasure because of the falling snow, the houses decorated with Christmas lights, the festive nature in the air, Christmas songs playing on the radio.

Arriving home was always welcome at this point in our marriage, really only a two or three year span of time, unfortunately, maybe 2015-2017. Our house would be lit up with Christmas lights inside and outside. It would feel warm inside the house, physically and mentally. It was cozy. Warm. Safe. It was home. And coming home after a long but good day at the office, having a meal with my small family, most likely enjoying a glass of wine after dinner, putting a Christmas record on, reading a Christmas story to Mozzie (who would have been 2, 3, and 4 during this time)...it was all amazing. 

And I miss that time dearly.

Long live the office!