Thoughts on Working From Home

I can't believe it but it has almost been a year since I've started working from home (beginning in July 2009)! While the company's initial decision to close the office was wrenching, I  understand the wisdom behind it. Inititally not having face to face work camaraderie was difficult. The huge upside is that I get more done now because I can set my own schedule. If work is stressful planning a gym trip midday is very easy to do. Also, because I don't have a direct report I feel more free to explore additional opportunities for the company. The other great thing is that temptation to spend money eating out for lunch is greatly diminished. The slow cooker and I are now close friends. I really enjoy smelling a soup or stew cooking as the day goes on.

My only complaint is that the upstairs neighbors seem to set their dog off exactly when I have a conference call. It's almost like a machine: the bark is continuous (a three second pause), the same pitch and really, really loud. Of course saying "sorry about the dog in the background" isn't the most professional thing. Generally the route of ignoring it and hoping the other end doesn't hear serves best. My current workaround is sandwiching myself between my closet door and the French doors. (Now though they've busted out the jackhammers on the construction site across the street). The overall noise though has somewhat mitigated as earlier in the summer there was construction happening in three directions so I can't complain much.

Complaint of the Day

Currently my shower drain is not draining. This is frustrating because:
- I can't shower at home now (unless I want to shower in tepid water from the day before).
-I'm forced to go the gym (to use their showers) and perhaps exercise (argh) as an offshoot

We've run into this problem many times before with the shower, consequently we've learned the drain cleaner brands quite well.

Here there are in order of preference:
1) Drano -usually the most expensive but seems to be the most effective. The red color the bottom implies a sense of urgency which I like - as in 'drano to the rescue.'
2) Liquid Plumber - doesn't work too badly, and is usually slightly cheaper than Drano. The grey color of the bottle intended to look like piping however, makes you more likely to ignore the bottle in the grocery store
3) Liquid Plumber Foam - this stuff doesn't work nearly as well as the sister cleaner or drano. The foam however, does look pretty cool.
4) Generic - half the price, half as good