homeplaceofthefuture daily log 5087

When you work from home full-time and take a staycation, you have to be intentional about the places in your home you go and breaking up your routine. Instead of crying in your home office at 8 AM everyday take some time with your spouse/dog/kids/partner/whatever on the porch enjoying coffee. I found myself having little to no desire to do anything on my PC and that includes posting my comments about the homeplaceofthefuture and social media. It was a wonderful break until that feared re-entry of email barrage on Sunday night!

Turns out being intentional for a few minutes everyday really does make the homeplaceofthefuture a wonderful vacation destination. Quick snippets of things we chose to do over the past 2 weeks.

• We had a catered summer party with friends
• Some good friends of ours came into town for 5 days and we did all the touristy things in __________ (insert your town here) that locals never do!
• Resurfaced our back porch in an effort to use it more often
• Yardwork! Lots of yardwork
• Took the kids to a waterpark where I felt thin....very thin!
• Went out to dinner every night to leave the house
• Left my phone on airplane mode for a good part of a few busier days as Q2 ended
• Unpacked a few boxes from our move here (4 years later, right on schedule!)

Past 2 weeks or so I started to see the homeplaceofthefuture in a new light and for the moment I see a fine line between work & home. Ideally my home office would be cut off during non-working hours, but it's not realistic with a smaller house and limited rooms. Setting up some things to do to keep me out of this room was a great plan.

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 5057

Unless you travel often for your work from home job, most of us are home and rarely leave. Over the years I have perfected my people watching skills and this morning on a flight I really was fascinated with this woman sitting in front of me on the other side of the aisle. 

It's June -- yet it looked like she just got off the ski slopes coming from Dallas. She opted for the inflight wifi and used it wisely by searching for more travel (something that doesn't require a wifi purchase when you are searching on the provider's app). I thought what a DUMMY and then she started shopping -- have you ever purchased Lululemon clothing for full retail on a plane? Yeah me neither.....but wait there's more, I didn't catch the brand name, but there are apparently $235 backpacks for kids and she bought 3 of them for her grandkids (I'm assuming). 

• Maybe she doesn't get internet at home
• Maybe she stole someone's debit card and she's the identity thief.
• Maybe she's a nervous flyer and this is how she compensates.
• Maybe I've worked from home so long that I forgot that people can shop online outside of their homes these days.
  
  

You can see where I'm going with this....for a 7:30 AM CST flight out of Dallas my flight home was consumed with thoughts of what, how, why?

One thing she did do that I can agree with is give the stink eye to crying kids and their parents. Spending a small fortune on full retail wasn't enough to distract her and the first noise from a kid she had that hawk-eye vision that all parents have experienced when their kids cry in public. Kids are all happy before the plane takes off and everyone loves seeing the kids and smiling at them......then the first "unpleasant" sound comes from the kid and all hell breaks loose on the flight.

Just a weird observation on a random flight outta Dallas headed to the homeplaceofthefuture and back in my black t'shirt.

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 5024

assistance required  - URGENT!

I was a client site in my go to black suit and noticed that our friendly "insert downtown name here" has been invaded by men whose trousers are way too short in order to show off their brightly colored socks.

Please direct them to the nearest MegaBus headed towards the North Pole. Santa needs these guys to finish making toys.

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 5001

I had an old fashioned drag race this morning on what could be the most exciting start to the week ever!

I've posted  before about my daily commute and the perils that await on the way to drop the kids off at school and getting home in time for my usual 8:00 calls.

Let's put it this way - if I'm forced to go 20MPH in a school zone where there is never ANY kids, then so are you! If you try and pass someone in a school zone and not just a subtle pass with a blinker and a slow approach, but I mean and angry, no blinker, jerk of the wheel to get around me - you my friend have poked the bear!

Where the school zone ends the 2 lanes going south to the homeplaceofthefuture merge into a  long one way road at 45MPH, but you're lucky to go 30. Well let's just say after a thrilling green light start Mr. Tahoe put up a good fight, but eventually conceded to a car that hasn't been washed since the second Bush administration - you don't pass people in the school zone!

I got home just in time for my 8:30 AM call on a Monday and I feel alive & awake -- nothing like running on pure adrenaline to start the week, here's hoping the excitement continues - we could all use some excitement lately in the homeplaceofthefuture!

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4991

I love to drive, I love getting in the car with no agenda and no time constraints. 

Previously I have written about my daily and only commute to drop the kids off at school - it's a dangerous commute full of soccer moms, businessmen and school zones....and now they have traffic cameras making sure residents don't go 21 MPH in a 20 MPH school zone!! Ask me about my $200 fine sometime...ROAR

For the first time in 10 business days I had 1.5 hours open during lunchtime. Always one for preventative maintenance I quickly blocked my calendar on Wednesday (day 4989) and guarded my calendar like Gollum guarded his precious and I won!

11:59 AM - left the house
12:15 PM - I got gasoline (even though my car has been full since February)
12:30 PM - ordered 2 burgers from my favorite local, definitely not organic burger place
12:40 PM - drove around like a truck driver, eating burgers with no particular place to go
12:55 PM - returned a book to the library that may have been in my car since February too
1:07 PM - home sweet homeplaceofthefuture home with 23 minutes before my next call

The moral of the story is sometimes you just have to get in the car and go for a drive, turn the radio up or turn it off and definitely turn off your phone - it's a nice break from staring at the screen and fighting the good fight of Microsoft Outlook Roulette.

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4988

I've been reading tweets & blogs from writers I admire and a common theme that I've come across is something called "catch the experiences" in relation to how to come up with new material. 

Honestly in the workplaceofthepast it was so easy to come up with material. Experiences like elevator banter, passive-aggressive signage and having my lunch stolen were regular occurrences. Seeing people in corporate culture is an entirely different show and it was super easy to complain and make observations.

Now that we're in the future what type of experiences am I catching as a virtual employee who never leaves the house? Experiences seem more like questions that come across my mind everyday when it is hard to focus on my J-O-B.

• How full will the mailbox be today?
• When was the last time I took a shower?
• Will I get locked out of the house (again) when I get the mail today?
• Who are these neighborhood walkers and what do they do for a living?
• Does my employer track my IP?
• Seriously when was the last time I took a shower?
• Am I missing out on experiences & life by not socializing with coworkers?
• How soon is too soon to begin day drinking?
• How many hours a week do I sit in this office?

Work from home everyone and "catch those experiences"

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4921

Have you ever travelled by plane to present a PowerPoint presentation and only a PowerPoint presentation?

I have!

..........and I'm not proud of it. I seriously left my cozy home office, didn't wear my uniform and had to see people (eww) just to show a few slides, shake some hands and eat a meal at the airport Chili's.

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4870

federal shutdown today and since there is no mail it looks like I won't be leaving the house at all today!

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4841

There are many things that I would happily sneak out of the homeplaceofthefuture for in the middle of a working day......important events such as lunch, lunch and okay fine another lunch.

Voting wouldn't make the list of top 100 things to leave the office for. I'd rather get my license plates renewed or pay someone else court fees in person in small claims court! Voting is terribly annoying with candidates and their cronies hanging out by the door wanting me to vote for XYZ as I'm walking in. It's rather inefficient and my polling location is a smelly, greasy gymnasium complete with ringworm (keep your hands in your pockets)

Imagine my good fortune when I discovered the absentee ballot years ago! It's like being a mystery donor - who is this guy and why is he voting for the Independents in a Blue or Red area. 

​Anyways go vote and enjoy the homeplaceofthefuture themed voting sticker!!!!