Day 39: A home away from home

Right here, right across from this hard-working young fellow – this is my home away from home. I spend 40-plus hours a week in a cubicle and couldn’t ask for a better neighbor. Today, as I hashed out details of my personal life (yup, he knows how to act just like one of the girls) and later found him searching for and printing directions to a gift store that held a very specific candle I was looking for, I became a bit saddened to think about what I’m on the verge of losing. I  don’t know what we’re going to do without each other once I move to HR in a few weeks.

The royal treatment

At least our Christmas/parting gifts to each other took care of the little things. My very own package of Kiwi shoe polish will keep my boots looking good even though he’s not around. His crisp new Associated Press Stylebook will help fill the void of the absence of my grammar-rule filled brain. Yep, we definitely picked out perfect gifts for each other.

But it’s the big things that matter. I won’t get to see my wonderful friend every single Monday through Friday morning anymore. And we both know all too well what the other end of the building can do to work friendships. You start off with good intentions of keeping in touch, and then, well, we’re not even going to go there yet.

So, in order to make sure we don’t sever ties, I’m going to pick up a new hobby. In 2011, Greg’s goal was to run 100 miles per month. And today he made it for the last month of the year! Every day at lunch time, he turned down offers to grab lunch with me and go run a bunch of miles instead. I guess it wouldn’t kill me to exercise on my lunch hour, too. So I invited myself along. I assume if he preferred a peaceful, quiet run, he would have told me so. But he didn’t, so it looks like I’ve found myself a New Year’s resolution: run.

In a few weeks, I’ll move away from the people who’ve grown to be great friends over the past couple years and into a new neighborhood with hopes that they’ll be just as amazing to work with as Greg and many of my other coworkers. It’s bittersweet. But now that I’m going to be a runner, we have a chance at survival. 🙂

Long story short – friends are what make a home away from home – not the dreary confines of a cubicle.