Day 118 - the last business day of the month

 Today is the 6th day of the 17th week, the 28th day of the 4th month, the 118th day of my incessant babbling [and of 2023, with only 240 shopping days until Christmas], and:

• Biological Clock Day - a reminder that no matter what the clock says, our body systems, our sleep-wake cycle, and our moods are impacted by the "real" time 
• Childcare Professionals Day
• Clean Comedy Day - One time when Grandmom Hughes stayed over with us, before my daughter was born and we had a guest bedroom, we watched 'Animal House'.  She laughed at it with us, but then in a later conversation, commented that she wasn't impressed with the comedians who starred in it.  Why?  because it is easier to get a laugh by being "dirty" than it is to say something that is just funny in and of itself.
• Great Poetry Reading Day
• International Pay It Forward Day
• National Arbor Day
• National Blueberry Pie Day
• National Brave Hearts Day
• National Cubicle Day - I've worked in cubicles more times than I have had an office, because I work in support.  An office is a wonderful luxury and I prefer being in one, but other than a status symbol?  Someone not in sales or in a position that requires intense private conversations really doesn't need an office.  My senior management always seem to appreciate the fact I wasn't jostling for that office space, even while some were denigrating for not playing the political game well because I wasn't sufficiently promoting my importance.
• National Hairball Awareness Day
• National Historic Marker Day
• National Kiss Your Mate Day
• National Superhero Day
• Occupational Safety & Health Day
• Restoration of Sovereignty - marks the end of the American occupation of Japan in 1952
• Undiagnosed Children's Awareness Day
• Workers' Memorial Day
• World Day for Safety and Health at Work

Quote of the day:
"The best way to enjoy your job is to imagine yourself without one."

~ Oscar Wilde, Irish poet and playwright  ((who was often accused of being an idler))

Today is a gloomy, wet, miserable type day with almost constant chilly rain falling.

And I am in the office today.   Alone.

Now there has been an awful lot of talk about why remote work and even hybrid schedules are under attack, why employers want their employees back in the office full time.  Different reasons are cited:  

productivity, cultivating a strong company culture, showing commitment and even the fact that surrounding businesses that make money off of the workers are struggling.   But employees aren't buying what the employers are peddling - productivity actually increased when so many were working from home, for example.  Why?  because all that time and energy eaten up by the daily commute actually got applied to what needed to be done.  

I'll grant that having folks come in regularly so that everyone is around is helpful for strengthening ties, and have advocated an "all hands on deck" Wednesday to accomplish that.  But for an office that does basically support. and a sales staff that sees their clients at their locations, having someone here every day seems superfluous.    And if the reason for coming into the office is to build networking and a company culture, then that goal is certainly not being served  by having one person sit in the office alone for eight hours!

So, here I sit.

However ...    

Today is payday.  It is Friday, and the weekend beckons.  Not that I have plans other than to rest up and enjoy living a 2nd life.