Are you at work?

[Me-Ike]

I have absolutely no time. I am sitting here in my local library and am working on a paper which is over-due, trying to neatly put on paper what my pal Walter Benjamin had to say about capitalism.

In the background: TrekBBS. It sits there, taunts me with promises of fun, rainbows, and general merriness, while Walter keeps on rambling.

So, instead of giving in and immersing myself in the big no-no, I allowed myself to open one thread and keep an eye on it from time to time.

Are you at work as well? Should you be doing anything put surfing the internet? Do you also belief that times were better and easier when people didn't have the world wide web to distract them and that, therefore, it's not our fault if we are spineless procrastinators?

If you have nothing to say to that ... then just entertain me, dammit!

 

[Miss Chicken]

Nope. I don't work any more. I was granted a disability pension 2 years ago.

It is just after 8pm here. I still have to do the washing up from dinner but that will only about 10 minutes and then I have very little else to do.

 

[StolenThunder]

No - I'm on holiday and enjoying my first days off since Christmas/New Year. Back to studying tomorrow but just a few days a week and at a leisurely pace until term starts again at the end of the month.

 

[Me-Ike]

^ This thread was a stupid idea. Everybody else seems to have a life of free-time and, well, no Walter! No fair!

Nope. I don't work any more. I was granted a disability pension 2 years ago.

It is just after 8pm here. I still have to do the washing up from dinner but that will only about 10 minutes and then I have very little else to do.

Ah, the washing up. How much fun washing up is when there is something else you really don't want to do. I'd do your washing up in a heart beat. Mine as well. Why am I not at home doing the washing up? It would be work, after all.

The conscience is the stupidest invention in the history of mankind.

 

[Etched]

I don't work, I've been on incapacity benefit for three years and I've discovered whole new levels of boredom that I never knew existed. Having nothing to do but surf the net all day may sound like fun but it soon loses its appeal. Right now I'd love to have something I had to do. *sigh*

 

[Me-Ike]

^ As much as I'd love to run free right now, I can relate. What good is all the time in the world when you can't look forward to it? Or put it in perspective by suffering through a paper you really don't care about?

So how about I just send you the details, you write down why it is so damn important that debt and guilt have the same etymological background in German, and I go and have a coffee. If that isn't an offer you can't refuse!

 

[Etched]

^ As much as I'd love to run free right now, I can relate. What good is all the time in the world when you can't look forward to it? Or put it in perspective by suffering through a paper you really don't care about?

So how about I just send you the details, you write down why it is so damn important that debt and guilt have the same etymological background in German, and I go and have a coffee. If that isn't an offer you can't refuse!

Ah German, never was three years of schooling quite so wasted as my time in German lessons. I wish I could ease your pain but sadly I'm a grade A dummy.

Shame there isn't a nice middle ground between having to work your arse off on pointless nonsense and spending you days twiddling your thumbs.

 

[Me-Ike]

^ I am sure you would have thrown yourself on the offered work if it hadn't been for the language differences, so I thank you anyway.

But yes, I have yet to find the middle ground as well. This is just a guess, but having loads of money might help solving that particular problem.

 

[Omnius]

I'm still enjoying my time off till august 19th. I wonder what I'll do today...

 

[Aurian]

I usually work all day But I have 2 weeks vacation right now, this being the first day of the second week. But we are heading outside instead in a moment.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Yeah, I'm at work. Well, if you want to actually call it "work". But at least I'm physically in my office.

I should be writing my PhD thesis, but it's monday, it's too damn hot and honestly my supervisor is in holiday so why should I be working while she is fooling around with iguanas (my precious, beautiful iguanas!) in the Galapagos Islands?

So, TrekBBS here I come.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I'm having a break.

 

[Me-Ike]

Yeah, I'm at work. Well, if you want to actually call it "work". But at least I'm physically in my office.

I should be writing my PhD thesis, but it's monday, it's too damn hot and honestly my supervisor is in holiday so why should I be working while she is fooling around with iguanas (my precious, beautiful iguanas!) in the Galapagos Islands?

So, TrekBBS here I come.

I like you!

Look at this, all you other bums with your breaks and vacations, he is at work.
It's the "at work but not actually working" part I like best. So how do you silence that nagging thing at the back of your mind?

 

[Goliath]

I'm sort of the opposite of iguana tonante.

I'm not at work--yet. I'm still having breakfast. And in fact, it's a holiday here.

But today is the last day I've allowed myself to work on revising my dissertation for publication. So I'll be at work soon, for the rest of the day.

 

[Me-Ike]

^ You make it sound like you will be actually working. You know, sitting in front of your dissertation and not feeling like you are now allowed to escape into virtuality after you've stared at it for five minutes.

I don't know if that is a mindset I can embrace or, actually, tolerate. It makes me feel all funny inside; not the good funny, the guilty funny.

 

[Goliath]

^ You make it sound like you will be actually working. You know, sitting in front of your dissertation and not feeling like you are now allowed to escape into virtuality after you've stared at it for five minutes.

I don't know if that is a mindset I can embrace or, actually, tolerate. It makes me feel all funny inside; not the good funny, the guilty funny.

I will be doing just that.

In fact, I set up my home office in the other room, with a computer that is not connected to the internet, specifically to discourage web-based procrastination.

Of course, I always break down, eventually. But on a good day, I can go for several hours before the urge to come back here and check my email or something overwhelms me.

The internet is a lot like smoking, in that respect.

 

[Me-Ike]

Now you did it. I really feel I ought to check this damn thread less often and write at least one paragraph any time before I allow myself to come back.

I guess I should thank you, but I really don't want to.

Oh well, good luck with your dissertation.

And I like the smoking analogy. Although you make us poor slobs who are proud when they have smoked one thread less look rather pitifully addicted with your perma-abstinence.

 

[TheLonelySquire]

I have absolutely no time. I am sitting here in my local library and am working on a paper which is over-due, trying to neatly put on paper what my pal Walter Benjamin had to say about capitalism.

In the background: TrekBBS. It sits there, taunts me with promises of fun, rainbows, and general merriness, while Walter keeps on rambling.

So, instead of giving in and immersing myself in the big no-no, I allowed myself to open one thread and keep an eye on it from time to time.

Are you at work as well? Should you be doing anything put surfing the internet? Do you also belief that times were better and easier when people didn't have the world wide web to distract them and that, therefore, it's not our fault if we are spineless procrastinators?

If you have nothing to say to that ... then just entertain me, dammit!

I am at work. In my kitchen watching my daughter play. I do have some calls to make shortly and a Skype meeting in a couple of hours.

Get back to work! At least it's capitalism you're writing about.

 

[Me-Ike]

^ Sounds very similar like the work I intend to do tonight. Watching those beers with my friends.

But capitalism, communism, socialism ... they don't make a difference to me right now. The only -ism I am currently interested in is my couchism.

 

[Braindeer]

I am having a rare day off! I've just finished a 6 day week, and then I'm back at work tomorrow - boo

But for now I'm relaxing! I've watched an episode of Voyager, an episode of X-Files, and now I'm pondering going into the city. I love days off!