My Fellow Humans,
I’m casting a wide net here because now we’re all in the same boat, although, let’s face it, some of us have cabins much higher above the waterline than others. We should be really grateful for that. I know I am. There is humor to be found in this crisis, but sadly it’s far from the best medicine.
On a personal level, my workday has changed to working day and night. Like many of you now, I’m working from home all the time, and I mean all the time—emailing, Zooming, Slacking, the whole nine yards of exhausting 21st-century cyber communication. Consequently, the division between day work and night work, weekday and weekend, has started to blur for me. I’m thinking of buying myself seven different sets of pajamas just so that I can keep track of what day it is.
I’m actually getting nostalgic for the office. There, goofing off was relatively guilt-free. Just commuting into the city, taking the train, or driving in and fighting the traffic made me feel like I had already earned a break when I got there. Then, after lunch, time for another break to get me rested up for the big schlep back home. I’m exaggerating, but there’s more than a grain of truth in what I’m saying and what Bruce Eric Kaplan (BEK) has so brilliantly in this New Yorker cartoon:
So, if you—like me—are feeling a bit wistful for the office life you used to lead, here’s four spot-on takes by Dana Fradon, Alex Gregory, Leo Cullum, and Mick Stevens.
Yours in Good Humor,
Bob