Home Work

I started with this company in July. I decided that what I was doing before (state gov't position - please don't call me a bureaucrat) was not a career. Maybe a career for some people, just not for me. That job was in the city. I took the overcrowded train into work in the mornings and dealt with people who, for some reason or another, chose not to have manners. People who cough or sneeze without covering their mouths bug me. And I am in no way a morning person. I need my morning coffee before I can figure out what to say when someone says, "Good morning." I couldn't understand how people could be so bubbly. Leave me alone and let me read my newspaper/book/magazine. I remember once when my brother and I ended up on the same train. He usually heads into work about an hour before me, but on this day he had to take my niece to pre-school so he was late. I got onto the train and started to read the paper and when we got to the next stop, I saw my brother get on. I called him over and after small chit-chat, we both started to read our papers in silence until we had to get off. He called me later on to tell me how relieved he was that I was not a morning person. All he wanted to do was read the paper and was glad that I also chose to read the paper instead of talking to him the entire trip in.

When I decided to leave my job, it was more than about the career thing, it was also about the commute (but more about the career.) I was tired of having to rely on unreliable trains in the morning. Sometimes they came late, sometimes the heat/AC was broken. I got sick of the commute fast. I wanted to work for a company with an actual parking lot. So I went onto Monster.com, found a great marketing/PR position about 30 minutes away, and here I am.

I love what I do and the commute couldn't be better. Or so I thought.

I just found out that my company doesn't want to own the building anymore. The partners are at the age of retirement. But they love what they do, so they don't retire. One of our clients is a golf course, so on nice days, they head down for a meeting and an afternoon round of golf. As they explained, clients don't come to us, we go to them. Which is true. You could turn our conference room into a greenhouse and no one would care. Our flood insurance has increased, as did our condo fees. Considering the situation, I don't blame them. I was called into a meeting on Friday and was asked that if I could, would I want to work from home? "While you're in Vermont, think about it," I was told. What was there to think about? Do I have a spare room that could be converted into an office? Check. Would I want to wake up in the morning and not have to compete with Ken for time in the bathroom? Check. Would I want to wake up in the morning the day after a major snowstorm and relax knowing that I don't have to rush to brush my car off? Check.

The problem is my total issue with procrastination. Sure, once I have the computer, fax machine, and phone lines set up the goal is to actually get me to turn off the TV after the Today Show and get to work. But then Ellen comes on at 10. And Growing Pains reruns on Disney! What can I say. I love TV. Ooh! I'll also be able to go to the gym during my lunch hour since I won't be so tired after work.

I know that whatever distractions I come up with now are going to be nonexistent when the time actually comes that I will be able to wake up and walk across the hall to work. Someone told me also that if I dressed professionally, I'll be professional. Meaning don't work in my T-shirt and pajama bottoms. I know that as soon as I wake up and shower, I'll be in work-mode.

Is this possible to do or is working from home just one big oxymoron?