C O N V E R G E

I never thought I’d settle for a life that was less demanding, so to speak. Of course, here I am at my at-home job in my pajamas, browsing the internet sipping on some coffee I made five hours ago. I live at home, I don’t pay rent, but I do pay the electric bill. My office and bedroom and living room have sort of meshed into one living space as a whole. My little habitat provided with most of the comforts one should want. A couch, a refrigerator with food, a television with more cable channels I can imagine, a small dog for companionship, high-speed internet, a large 24-inch widescreen LCD with accompanying 17-inch LCD for dual displays, relatively quiet neighborhood with various food chains and of course Starbucks.

This is probably a vast contrast from just over a year ago; during the winter I’d trudge through the moderate snow with my lack of proper winter apparel. I worked as a salesman for a computer store, selling parts, accessories and peripherals. We earned commission for all of our sales, bonus commission on any protection plans (extended warranty; but in Massachusetts you can’t call it that legally), as well as a commission based off your departments totals as a whole. Every person meant an extra couple bucks on my next paycheck and you had to find out what words worked with people and what didn’t. It was an interesting way to study the way people respond to the words you used and how you said them. It was hard work, you earned what you worked for, anything more was something you’d have to bust your ass for and that was it. The stress level of this job was fairly high, probably not as high as some but you have quotas to meet for the week, unruly customers who would always want more than what you had given them, competitive co-workers who are looking at the same customers for the same reasons you are. I miss the social aspect of that line of work sometimes. You’d meet some really amazing people and sometimes you’d amaze some people with providing something useful. The days were pretty mixed up too, sometimes you’d get a lot of business and sometimes it would be dead.

Now my days are pretty predictable and I miss walking to work. I do not miss driving to work like my last job which was only twenty-nine miles away, but took me anywhere from forty-five minutes to an hour to get to. I wonder sometimes how exactly I could get a steady medium between the two. Ideally I guess it would be nice to have a room I could use as an office, located maybe a couple blocks away. That I would walk to when I needed to “work” It’d be nice if it were back in Boston; where things are dense and kind of haphazard. Pretty much any other dense city could suffice too. As a consumer, I do respect chain stores sometimes and I do value their convenience but it does get old to see the same logos and colors. Often times when you step into a Walmart, you could pretty much be anywhere in the world. In the denser cities though, you got those small business stores that really respect your business. They might have shitty sandwiches, but at least their coffee is pretty good. Sometimes you’d see this attractive young woman working at the counter and her father busting himself over a stove cooking up orders. In comparison, it feels like some people here just aren’t remotely interested in each other.

I guess mostly, I miss walking around and seeing buildings, people living life and moving through time. Instead of vacant lots filled with bits and pieces of firework wrappings or Styrofoam cups.