Once again, I am one of the many folk working from home… not a thing I particularly enjoy.
I’m a social creature – both personally and professionally – and really miss having people around to bounce ideas off and have a bit of banter with. A big part of me needs the buzz of a newsroom, and wee things like being in the city centre and having a choice of places to pick up your lunch – even if it’s usually just the Sainsbo’s meal deal.
Sure, there’s always Microsoft Teams, but it’s no substitute for the real thing of actually meeting people.
I can say this in all confidence because for two years I’ve been talking to people through a screen, including new colleagues who, when I finally met them in the flesh for the first time, surprised me with how tall they were. And I probably surprised them with how old I look – one benefit of not having an HD camera is the way it softens the wrinkles.
Still, needs must and, like everyone else, I have a duty to help stop the spread of the Omicron and keep people safe, including myself. If it means not going into the physical office and staying at home more often, then so be it.
So, I have readjusted to the routine of wandering through to the study of a morning and firing up the ‘puter, ready for the day.
The small silver linings of working from home
I’ve arranged my fixtures and furnishings on my desk, from my light-up model of the USS Enterprise to a wee colourful Buddha that sits incongruously with me being an atheist, but it has a cheery smile. Also, it’s one of those fat Buddhas which is a reminder for me to stay away from the Gold Bars.
And there are some things I can do working from home that I can’t in the office. I doubt I’d get away with my playlist mix of Romantic classical composers and Snow Patrol essentials – Delibes meets dad rock.
Another huge plus is that the commute is now four steps as opposed to me being bus boy of a morning; have free bus pass, will use it, but cannot be hooped in the pre-dawn of a cold winter’s day.
Once again, my work dress code is Midsummer Beer Happening Festival T-shirts and jeans with holes in that aren’t there by design
Once again, my work dress code is Midsummer Beer Happening Festival T-shirts and jeans with holes in that aren’t there by design. And socks are just for weekends again.
So, grin and bear it (no, not because of the jeans, although I can never resist a homonym). Although, I might add one more bit of furniture to the study… a blackboard so I can chalk off the days until I can get back to the level of normality I was enjoying pre-Omicron.
Let’s hope, for all our sakes, that day comes sooner rather than later, which it will if we all do our bit, however much we don’t like it.
Scott Begbie is entertainment editor for The Press & Journal and Evening Express