From East Coast to West Coast

I'm hardly the newest employee of the Office of Letters and Light, but I am one of the farthest from the home office. I'm a remote staffer, and as such, I do most of my work in the comfort of my own home: Georgia, home also to peaches and boiled peanuts. I sit on my couch, with my keyboard in my lap, and a cat curled up behind my head. 

This week, though, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting my own office for the first time. Have you ever wondered what it's like to visit OLL? it's awesome. Many of you can attest to the fact that it's just plain cool; as a staffer, it's even cooler.

I get to hang out. Eat sandwiches. Good sandwiches. With Dan Duvall.

I get to sit at Chris Angotti's desk while he's out of town.

I can hug Blobby. And Tim Kim. And Chris Baty. More than once. I'm really excited about hugging Blobby though. (Sorry, Tim!) 

Visiting California has been the most amazing experience. I've never traveled out of the South, so this has been something truly different. I've eaten well, I've seen so much neat stuff. 

I haven't written a word. 

I take that back. I've written 33. Or maybe 34. It's just so hard! So much to do. Sarah blogged about distractions, but this isn't your average, day-to-day distraction. This is Alcatraz-level distraction.  

Working in the office is actually a bit like being at a write-in. People talk about word counts, the tippity-tap of fingers on keyboards is the most prevalent sound, and there's a whole lot of coffee-drinking going on. There should probably be an I.V. drip of the stuff running down the wall just so no one has to get up from their desks to imbibe. There are tons of nifty stickers, posters, and of course, Tom Selleck on the walls. He's a very commanding presence, you know. 

The best part of it, though, was meeting the people that we all know and love, but don't usually get to talk to. The toughest part of working from home is that you can't hang out around the water cooler talking to your coworkers about the minutiae of the day. 

So maybe my word count will suffer a bit (and now, our Ticket Master is officially beating the pants off me in word count) but I've gotten to do and see things I've never thought possible. 

Most importantly, though? 

I got to see the back door of the OLL. It's probably the most underrated door on the planet, but it's hardworking, secure, and a lovely shade of green. You should come see it. It's totally the highlight of my trip. 

—Heather Dudley