My Cube World

I work in an office where there's cubicles. Cubes are not a terrible thing. Really.

There's no music here. I hear Rod across the partition, talking on the phone, Chris across the way, talking on the phone. Occasionally, a mutter from down the way, and other keyboards here and there, rattling away as someone types something (hopefully work related, unlike this). The outer door squeaks a little as someone opens it, then slams as they go on through.

The hum of my laptop as it sits there in front of me, someone's chair creaking just a little as he rocks back and forth, a scrolling mouse-wheel being turned and turned... crackles of paper as someone shuffles their pile around. There goes the MS Windows "sound" as someone starts up their pc. And the sound of ice cubes falling as someone drinks down the last liquid in their plastic to-go cup.

There is music here, but it's the music of the day, the music of the office. The stillness, the silence, is about to drive me bananas. I walked to the breakroom... Coffee is free, but both pots were at the bottom with black, nasty looking contents. So I dumped out the dregs, and started a fresh pot. I walked to the front lobby of the building, and looked through the glass walls into the parking lot - there were a couple of ladies I do not know out there, smoking, or talking, or something, and I didn't want to intrude, so I restlessly returned back to the breakroom, and waited for the pot to finish brewing.

When my cup was finally filled, I walked back down the hall, and into the office. I was thinking, it's two days until Thanksgiving, and what is there to show it? Decorations? Well, Anita's cubicle still has that one sad little strand of jackolantern lights, hanging there dismally. Otherwise, there's nothing to indicate that it's fall, or that Christmas is only a month away. The office hum is still there, but no jingle bells, nothing to make me merry.

I am just not feeling it. I have this overwhelming feeling of needing to be out there. Anywhere. I look at the cup from Wendys. It says, collect 32 coupons, and you can get a Free one-way ticket to anywhere AirTran flies (or collect 64 for a round trip). I'm ready to go... Ready for a change. My itchy feet are wanting to roam.

And yet, I am stuck here. Murmurs from the other cubes battling the soft hum of my laptop. Someone daring to break the monotony with a whistle, but the tune wasn't very long (maybe 3 seconds). Now the snap-snap of fingernail clippers. And, life goes on.