Where are you happiest? I know there are people who love their jobs and live for them. I don't think I could ever be that way, no matter how much I loved a particular job. I'm just such a homebody. How about you? Is coming home a big relief, or do you work long hours just because you're on a roll?

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Answers

Home. Definitely. Despite the thousand and one things I have to do once I'm at home---home is where MY heart is.--Al

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Count me in as a homebody. I hate offices, especially cube environments. I've only had one job where I had a private office with a door that closed, and this is not that job.

I can also do without people most of the time, and in cube environments, you have people walking back and forth behind you or in your face in one way or the other all day long.

Makes it hard to concentrate. I'm allowed to work at home one or two days a week, and those are my best days. And if I didn't have to work for a living, that would be fine with me... I never get bored at home,whereas I get bored every day at the office.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Oh, at home, at home, at home! Work sucks, sucks, sucks! I related to your inability to grasp the case. I'm doing something at work that is completely out of my league or my area of expertise. (I call it working out of class, but that's a whole 'nother issue.) I resent it bitterly, and I feel so STUPID because I just don't get it. And I don't WANT to get it, either... I have absolutely no job satisfaction right now; I'm just putting in my eight hours and getting the heck out every evening. It's a good thing I have my sweetie go to home to...

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Definitely home. For lots of reasons. 1) I have a hubby at home. 2) I have a puppy at home. 3) I don't often have to deal with idiots while I'm at home. 4) I never get bored at home. (We have a slow season in our office and I really, really hate having to look busy when there's nothing for me to do.) If it wasn't for that little paycheck thingie, you'd never see me set foot in an office again.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

I'm glad to have both of them. My happiest times are at home, especially lately, because my 15 month old son toddles around after me saying "da da! dad da!" But there are times when a project at work gets my attention and then it's a pleasure to stay in that groove into the evening. Balance is definitely most important.

Before moving to Boston, I spent four years in New York, where 80 hour weeks were the norm (everybody says they work 80 hours, but only a few really do - 80 hours means that Monday through Friday you get 7 hours sleep a night, go to work, come home, sleep, and go back to work. Saturday you spend money, and Sunday you work 8 to 1). It was very tiring, and I definitely missed seeing family and friends.

But I don't know if I could stay home full-time, either. My wife spends her whole day with our little boy, and enjoys it. But every five minutes she's interrupted with some new demand from the baby, or from the phone. For me, never having any time spent entirely up in my head would quickly begin to drive me nuts. I need some of each.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

I'm happiest working at home.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Although I like my job very much, I like being at home the best. However, it can get a little lonely these days. (I've been widowed not quite a year.) I really like the people I work with, the laughs and interests we share. I look forward to retirement, but hope to have developed some sort of social outlets by then because much as I enjoy putzing around the house and having time to myself, I like to be around people too. I'll probably join a hiking club and rejoin the Master Gardener's organization as starters.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

sorry to do this but......i am happiest when i can read the journal! anyone else having trouble getting in? i get part of the page and then it says transfer interrupted. i am not much of a computer person and have no idea if this is my problem or not...any ideas? please help....thanks cathy.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Okay, I just e-mailed this to Cathy, but I'll post it here in case anyone else is having similar problems.

I have no idea. That happens to me sometimes with certain pages, too, and as far as I can tell it's a server problem. One other person is having a similar problem, though, so I just axed the "no frames" tag on the top page. People in Lynx are now officially screwed, but I think that might be the cause, because it's the only thing I changed recently. Try reloading -- and if that doesn't work, here are the "back door" links that will let you in outside the frames:

Front page:

http://www.xeney.com/logs/index.html

November journal archive:

http://www.xeney.com/9911/index.html

Hope that works.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Honestly, it's a toss-up.I have a great job working in a small (really small) clinic, with an all-woman staff, who are funny, wise and sassy. The kind of people who would give you kidney without a question. I work part-time (three days) which is a luxury. Home is great too; two easy kids to raise (teens, even) usually laid-back spouse, and a cat and dog...We have enough bucks to get by comfortably; I feel like I have the energy to cover both areas of my life well. I think the idea of a 40 hour (and alot of times more) work week is too much. Far too many people are out of balance emotionally, physically and/or mentally from it. No one has time to recharge anymore...

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

um, neither? my dorm room is great, my room at home is great, my school job involves abusing stupid lab users (if it tells you to change your password, change your password! don't IGNORE it!) and playing snood but isn't terribly fulfilling, but the theater? man, that's where i'm the happiest. i know that i sound like a terrific geek, but there's something wonderful about our arena theater. safe, warm, womblike. it's nice because my friends are there, i can come and go as i please, and i get to play with power tools. and we laugh a lot, which is always a plus.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Home! But honestly, with 7 dogs, 4 cats, 2 horses, 21 acres, a big yard, lots of flowerbeds and now snow to shovel I think I get more rest at work. I love my work tho, don't get me wrong. When I was forced to stop working 60-70 hours/week after suffering head injuries in a MVA I started my own clinic and now work 35 hrs/week with the best clients and staff imaginable...and since my parrot child lives at the clinic and I can bring my dogs and my laptop to work (and we have always had a microwave beth ) it's like a home away from home.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Home: husband in calm friendly home mode, books, music, garden, my own computers, cat, other ass't animals, videos, soft couch, the refrigerator, the ability to bail at any time to go somewhere else.

Work: husband in busy irritable work mode, my irritating fluff-head boss, artificial light, bad cafeteria, people people people, too much to do in too little time, can't just up sticks and leave whenever I want.

No contest.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Home, Home HOME.

Lately my job just stresses me out and bores me at the same time. I have a thousand things to do since my coworker quit and they all bore and frustrate me to death.

At home I've got my dogs who love me, my house which I love to work out, and my man who loves me more than anything.

All day long at work I look at the clock so I can see if it's time to go home.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

...my home away from home --- on stage...unless i want to lie around naked and eat ice cream, then i'd rather be at my own flat...

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Every day at work seems more back-breaking. Are we really supposed to do this until we're 65? Were our forefathers just more equanimical about rotting their lives away at a job? I pray daily to the great god NASDAQ that my company becomes the new AOL and I can take my options and live on a nice little annuity...

So, um, I guess I'd pick home...

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

I love my job, but my home is my favorite place. Home is where the laps are filled or made. I get little boy on my lap jabbering a mile a minute about whatever happened in his day, I get two kitty cats lovingly fighting for space on my lap where they will willing endure hours of petting and being told what pretty love babies they are, or I get an offer of a lap to sleep on from the hubby man. I like the smell, quiet and privacy of home.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

Home, definitely! Don't think I was made to work in an office. I hate being trapped inside all day. It makes me want to run out the door screaming! At home, where I spend all my time now, I am never ever bored, the country sights and sounds and smells are wonderful and the peace and quiet are perfect for inspiring creativity. The garden looks good, things get created, I am happy, hubby is happy, life is good. In contrast, when I was trapped in those 4 grey walls all day no-one was happy and it was hell.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 1999

On the best days, the two of them kind of blend together and the office is home away from home. But that's because I've got a job that's challenging and fun, and because of my colleagues, who I'm proud to call my friends first - the lot of 'em.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1999

Hmm.. they blend together because Ron and I *both* work at home. It has its ups and downs, like who wants to get a really good marketing idea at 11 p.m.? And the office looks like the file cabinet exploded. We can always clean it "later", right? Later usually comes at tax time, or some other important paper-hunting time.

But whenever we go out, it is a huge relief to be back home, usually since anywhere from here involves a 30 minute or more drive. :-)

-- Anonymous, November 18, 1999

beth and cathy--sometimes when i get "transfer interrupted!" in the middle of a page, it means that i have an old copy stuck in my disk cache that was interrupted halfway through loading. try holding down shift while you click reload, or if you're in frames, hold down shift, right-click in the offending frame, and select "reload frame." (for netscape users...i don't know how MSIE works.)

-- Anonymous, November 19, 1999

I love being at home and dream of retiring at 45...but I like work too.

I'm lucky to have work I like, with people whose company I enjoy. (I'm a technical writer.) There's pressure, but it isn't the get-this-done- this-second kind, and I'm not on call 24 hours the way I was when I was a programmer. My work has a lot of the fussy little tasks that I enjoy as an anal retentive type.

I've been home for a week now after foot surgery (have I mentioned this enough here?) and while I'm not ready to go back, I have to admit I'm starting to be bored and am looking forward to the return of normal, ie, work life.

If I did win the lottery or something I probably would find tasks to do to keep myself busy - I guess I"m sort of a sheepdog type. And of course with any luck I wouldn't be on crutches, which is really what's making this time at home less fun. I have bulbs to plant!

-- Anonymous, November 19, 1999

Right now -- neither.

And you know ... that answer scares me.

-- Anonymous, November 22, 1999

Work is sort of a nice place to be but it is not home, unless I am working from home. I like my job but I love my home. So, I guess home wins! When I work from home, I get to enjoy the company of my pets during the day. When I work in the office, I get to eat lunch with the team and my best friend. I like the people at work very much and they are all great to be around.

However, home wins, no doubt.

-- Anonymous, November 22, 1999