I get annoyed when I see ads or commercials that show people "working from home," and they're always

[Redstone]

all relaxed, no shoes, one hand on a laptop and the other petting their dog or playing with a kid, like having your office in your house is just a walk at the beach, yeah, right; my office is in my house, but it's a REAL OFFICE (800 square feet worth, not a corner of the kitchen), and I do REAL WORK there...

except for today, when I took the PowerBook out to the screen porch and worked in the warm sun and cool breeze, while Mrs R folded clothes sitting in the chair next to mine and the puppy slept on my feet, and I had a beer at two in the afternoon because, well, who's going to tell me I can't...

Oops. Disregard prior rant.

Redstone

[asthmaticeog]

1. I was *always* that relaxed when I worked from home.

The two years I made my living doing graphics commissions on a laptop in my living room were among the best two years of my life. I probably could have kept it up if I'd pounded the pavement and advertised instead of just relying on word of mouth, but that would have defeated the purpose of "hardly working." ;)

[Redstone]

2. I can't always do what I do on a laptop for various reasons, but today I got lucky.

Maybe you should try again? You're never too old.

Redstone

[asthmaticeog]

3. It's not a matter of age, not at all.

I'm in a crummy market for print graphics, and a lot of my old contacts have moved on to other towns. It was easier to get started back then, since I'd come out of an advertising job where I had lots of interaction with clients who needed freelancers for event collateral and whatnot. Now I'm an Art Director for a news mag, and I only really interact with reporters and editors, they keep my department totally insulated from the advertising end (thank the fates), so if I tried again, I'd be doing it pretty much without a starting client pool. Anyway, my 9-to-5 suits me well enough that I don't miss my former independence TOO much. If I'd ended up in a corporate branding or marketing job or any other business-casual type situation, that'd surely be a totally different story, though. :shrug:

Glad you got lucky today. You should try to force that scenario more often, it's such a joy to work that way.

[Redstone]

4. I still love the precision and obsession with detail that's required for print work. Web stuff is

so crappy in comparison; crappy 72 DPI JPEGs and GIFs that you can NEVER hold in your hand and say "damn, that's nice and sharp and crispy; I did a good job on that."

But we do what people pay us to do, yes?

Redstone

[Auggie]

6. Hey asthmaticeog...

I came from an ad job too and am in the same boat -- I feel your pain. The freelance is out there, you just have to outsmart the competition.

[slj0101]

19. My dream is to get to that level.

A few more years of classes and office dronery, and I'll be well on my way, unless I'm able to con someone into letting me do drafts for them for money.

[texanwitch]

5. I work from home.

I said no pets would be in the home office, the pets had other plans.

I like from home.

[Redstone]

9. I've been doing it for (Good God) 17 years. My first office was 8 by 8 feet, but fortunately

had a large closet. I built the business to almost $200K per year of billing out of that room.

Maybe it's time for me to downsize?

Redstone

[texanwitch]

11. I thought my home office was small.

Mine is 10ft by 10ft.

It is big enough, the animals like to hang there.

Sounds like you are doing great.

[Redstone]

12. Yeah, I went from the 8 by 8 feet to 16 by 20 feet, now two rooms, one

16 by 20 feet and the other 24 by 28...lots more equipment these days.

It'd be nice to go back to the simple days, but that never works.

Redstone

[texanwitch]

13. LIfe is change.

I really don't need anymore space, a long table and a couple of cabinets is all I need.

I am just happy to be working from home.

[Kat45]

7. When I worked from home, I enjoyed being able to work half naked

when it was hot in the summer. (I didn't have any AC back then.) I can remember a really hot day when I was wearing nothing but panties while doing a phone interview with a member of Motorhead. (I did not share that fact during the interview.)

[Redstone]

8. Probably better that you didn't. That might have taken the interview in an

unfortunate direction.

Redstone

[fizzgig]

10. i love the rare days i get to work from home

nothing beats sitting in my robe with my coffee and cigarettes with a kitty on my lap.

and yes, once it gets late enough in the day, i will indulge in a beer or two while i'm wrapping up

[Redstone]

14. Christ, yes, if you're not working at home you can't smoke in the office anyomore, can you?

Although I don't smoke in my office; it would gum up that expensive equipment.

But I could if I wanted to, and that's what counts.

Redstone

[fizzgig]

15. and i can't imagine you get dirty looks

when you come back from a smoke break

[Redstone]

16. Not even from the puppy. Beats the hell out of having a real job any day.

Redstone

[Jamastiene]

17. God, I'd love to work from home.

I got the Red State Blues. I've had about all I can stand of them. I would love to be able to work from home and save up money and move to a nice pretty blue state with some smart people. *sigh*

[Writer]

18. I work out of a corner study in my house.

It has built-in cabinets and wooden French doors. It makes me feel so "official," as I perform the official duties of paying the Writer family bills and reading insanely large amounts of online erotica. I suppose I could take my laptop and head to the TV room or onto the porch, but there's something about wooden cabinetry that lessens the guilt. Somewhat. :P

(But honestly, real work DOES occur here... sometimes. :D)

[Redstone]

23. Well, being a writer, you can go compact. If I could just write for a living (God, wouldn't that

be great), I'd have no office at all. I'd have a library, and work in there.

Unfortunately, my business requires expensive, cantankerous equipment. And lots of it.

Redstone

[Writer]

28. Don't you edit for a living?

What expensive, cantankerous equipment do you use, I wonder?

Well, I wish I could write for a living, too. What was once a pipe dream has widened slightly to more of a PVC-pipe dream, but I still have a ways to go.

Writer.

[Redstone]

36. No, I edit as part of what I do for a living. I own an advertising agency. So I write,

design, edit, photograph, do website architecture and functionality, research, analyze, report, consult, and God knows what else tomorrow.

Keeps life interesting, it does.

Redstone

[xmas74]

20. I have a few part time jobs at home

and a full time job outside of the house.

I do wear my pj's while on the phone and the computer but it's no walk in the beach.

[reyd reid reed]

21. When I work from home...

I'm anything but relaxed. I've got kids coming and going, wanting me to do this, fix that, take them here, take them there. I feel like I should be doing laundry or shampooing carpets or washing floors, so there's a little guilt mixed in. Plus, I'm answering the phone and the door and nagging and doing the referee thing -- and then there are the distractions and the rationalizations:

"I'll get it finished in a little while -- right now there are just too many distractions."

So I chat. Or IM. Or post on DU.

Well...I post on DU when I'm not working from home, too -- but I don't do the chat or the IM thing.

x(

[Tracer]

22. I've worked from home for 15 years.

I've got a nice big office with cathedral ceilings and french doors leading to a deck.

I share it with my cats; wear casual clothes and sneakers.

Got a portable phone that I take outside with me when I'm gardening or loafing on the deck. Then when my clients call, I can pretend I'm hard at it (ha).

Wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China.

[Redstone]

24. Yeah, my office has doors (sliders) to the deck too, but I keep the blinds on them closed.

Not only to cut the glare, but also the temptation.

Redstne

[texas1928]

25. I love the work from home commercials, where they are "I'm Making 25,000 a month"

And shit like that. But I ask doing what, Selling crack?

[Redstone]

31. Scams, every single one of them. Pyramid schemes like Amway and Herbalife.

Every one.

Redstone

[LSK]

26. I could work from home, but CSPAN would distract me too much

[Gormy Cuss]

27. I had a colleague who always kidded me about wearing my PJs and bunny slippers to teleconferences.

He was just jealous. Our company had a relaxed dress code and I told him that he was welcome to wear his bunny slippers to work if he wanted to do so. The PJs would have been a bit much though.

always got more work down from home AND had found time because there was no commute. And when I was self-employed and working from home, why yes I could enjoy a cool brew while working on the patio.

[Dora]

29. I worked from home for a while when in grad school.

I'd get up in the morning, heat my water for my tea, get out my cigarettes, then sit down at the computer and light up. I'd work on my thesis for a little while, then I'd do some paid work, thesis, paid work, thesis, paid work. I usually didn't get out of my jammies until 12:00 or later.

It was awesome.

[Wetzelbill]

30. my office is actually a counter.

Right off of my kitchen, in my shitty little apartment, haha.

Dude, last night I called home and was talking to my brother. He was about to go outside and fight a skunk with a sword. I kid you not. I made a blog post on it.

http://blog.myspace.com/billwetzel

[Redstone]

32. Uh, so he's gonna CUT THE SKUNK OPEN and let all the stinkjuice out?

Call the Whit House. bushyboy would think he's a GREAT candidate for the War Czar job, with thinking like that!

Redstone

[Wetzelbill]

34. Yeah, not sure what he's thinking

:)

[flvegan]

33. I'm working from home right now.

Got a cold Amstel open, posting on DU, petting my dog.

Yeah, those ads are SO far off sometimes. *snicker*

[Skittles]

35. LOL

I was on a conference call with tons of people; one guy who was working from home had to step away for a bathroom break - he didn't mute his phone and his cat got right up to the phone and meowed like crazy ...... we were all laughing our asses off. :D

[MichiganVote]

37. Beer? On my job? Oh God...ice cold beer and a meeting with educators

sounds positively wonderful!

[ulysses]

38. heh, no kidding.

:hi: