The thing about working from home....

Most everybody are aware of the advantages and disadvantages of working from home. Everyone who's ever done it - or are considering doing it - has read the articles, attended the lectures, saw the programs, and searched the websites.

The advantages are myriad:

• not owning an alarm clock (or at least being able to never set it.)
  
• your commute consists of a stumble, a bathroom break and a cup of coffee.
  
• 24/7/365 Casual Fridays.
  
• staring blankly into space for up to five minutes without warranting a slap to the back of your head.
  
• actually taking that 20 minute nap at 3pm instead of just dreaming about it.
  
• being able to listen to your awesome 80's mix at 90dB vs soul-deadening muzak.
  
• kickass coffee - none of that vending machine pissy watery stuff.
  
• being able to spend an inordinate amount of time chasing after that pesky fly.
  
• taking business calls while essentially nude.
  
• farting without conscience or consequence.

The disadvantages are numerous:

• no steady flow of income.
  
• no vending machines (you have to get cleaned up, dressed, and drive to the gas station to get that Snickers bar.)
  
• you're your own IT department.
  
• no free PostIt Notes (or staples, paperclips, rubber bands or those little notebooks that you never use.)
  

But here's the biggest disadvantage of working from home: ISOLATION. There is no-one to talk to. No cute little membership rep to flirt with. No office gossip. No gatherings at the local watering hole on Fridays after work. No water cooler. No Monday-morning quarterback. No birthday celebrations. No office pools. No uncomfortable urinal "'sup"-"'sup"'s. No crappy/NSFW/thisissofunny emails. Nothing.

It's one of the reasons I got so thoroughly absorbed in this whole cliched Facebook phenomena, even though I consider myself way too old for it. That little red notification thingy, or that little (1) next to your Inbox are minute little godsends. In my specific case it is exacerbated by the fact that I have an unnatural disdain for telephones (that's another posting in itself....) I even have Skype and a nifty little web cam on my computer, but even that is a little too close to telephonic [sic] conversation to me. Nothing - NOTHING - beats personal, human-to-human, direct contact. Nothing. I'm even contemplating naming my one, lone, very-well-taken-care-of potted plant Wilson....

In short: working from home can be an appealing but very lonely endeavor.....