Sunday, January 10, 2016

Sunday, January 10, 2016

On January 14, 2009, we took Mattie to the top of the Empire State Building! This was a first for Mattie and he found the whole experience intriguing. There were NO crowds that day in the building, which made it super pleasant. We did not wait in line for an elevator and we freely and easily could go from one observation deck to another. Mattie was in NYC to start his experimental immunotherapy treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Before the process started we took Mattie around the city for a tour. 


Quote of the day:  Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worse kind of suffering. ~ Paulo Coelho

We are trying to adjust to being home, but both of us are very tired. While we were away Peter's office moved out of DC and into Northern Virginia. Today, we ventured to his new office do some unpacking and to set up Peter's space before tomorrow hits him and he gets swamped at work. This is a photo of Peter's old office, the one we packed up in December. I believe a before and after photo is crucial because of the stark contrast between spaces! 

This is Peter's new desk. Gone is the traditional office with walls, privacy, and your own space to work in. This work space is what is popular.... the open concept. I like this concept in a home, but not in a work space. To me this space looks like a newsroom, with rows and rows of decks and people typing away trying to capture the latest and greatest news sensation.

Fortunately Peter worked in an environment like this when he did consulting, but if I had to work here, NOTHING would get done. The noise and distractions would do me in.

Peter's old office space had shelves and places to display things. There is NO SUCH area now. So literally I started decorating the windowsill. To me, this was needed to break up the stark white walls and environment. It was like walking into a hospital room.... that antiseptic look, which is okay in the short term but if you have to spend any length of time in such a setting, you do want to transform it into your own. But I am stunned with what the 21st century office looks like and also the lack of decorating on walls and on decks today. They are identity free! You can't tell one person's deck from another, there is no personality or character inserted into one's space anymore. That is the norm, but it seems less than normal to me. You should note that all the trinkets around Peter's work space are things he collected on business trips. So to me they are very work related, but yet capture Peter's interests and character. 

This is the view Peter has from his office desk. Get the picture of the open concept? So open that exposed ceiling beams and things is the look!

I can't wait to hear how Peter reacts to his first day of work in this new space. For me it would be a massive adjustment, but for Peter it most likely will be stimulating and exciting.