Downtown

So, I'm working downtown now. It still is part time as it isn't easy to disconnect from 20 or so years of work and coding. I have my corner set up, and most of this is just what I found here and on the last day of access to my old building. I "shopped the big store" and went from cube to cube looking for equipment I might need in the near future. Good thing too as I needed some of that stuff.

Most of the area here is pretty sterile, probably because you have sherpa all your stuff in, likely by public transportation. ¨Don't carry in what you need to carry out.¨ That is one of the reasons why I wanted to shed some of my old responsibilities. I've been 24x7 since the day I hired on with the company and have had to carry around my computer all the time. Never a break other than those times where I was simply out of reach of an internet connection. I really enjoyed those times. It felt good being able to put the computer into the drawer and go home without it. (I have plenty of computers at home, but none of them can connect to work.)

I was extremely anxious my first day there. I had my route planned out and I knew which subway stop was closest to the front door. I'd made the trip with Bennet earlier in the month to check out the timing. I know I was overly stressed about it, but this was one the few significant changes that I've had in my career, even though it was with the same company. Of course, the week previous I learned that the group in Schaumburg were moving the modems for one of the ancient programs I maintain on the first day I was expected downtown. OK. so that was to start at 6am. I have to be on the last bus at 9am....  I turns out my first day downtown was started by sitting at home waiting for modems to be reconnected to the network, and then later IM-ing with people in Schaumburg as my bus rode by the office on the tollway and  continuing on the subway. I guess that is the way it goes. I know that this might seem a little obsessive but I find the establishment of a routine important. It frees up my mind to start thinking about other things than the mundane tasks of life. 

I made my way past the guards and concierge of Motorola and stood in front of the banks of elevators that Motorola has to the upper floors. I entered them with a realization that some of the changes I wanted in my life, desperately wanted, for the past few years were just starting to happen. Aside from a few training sessions, I really didn't know all that this was going to entail. All I knew is that it was different and would use some of the newer tech in the industry. The company was moving aggressively in this direction and I might as well be a part of it. My manager just happened to be at the elevator when the doors opened on the 39th floor. He greeted me, rather surprised at the coincidence, and changed his plans to find me a place to sit. The area was white and looked very different than what I expected. I was put in an spot that wasn't my ideal, as the main walkway goes right by my station, but I also am the father of 4 children so I'm decent at blocking out distraction.

After I was somewhat settled and had cooled down a bit....ok, I need to explain that. It was a warm day and I was nervous and I sweat. It is one of my most disliked traits and I have a lot of self-loathing about it. I don't like to sweat and I do it so freely. So I'm sitting there, trying to cool down because I'm soggy. (Goll, I hate that aspect of my body.) I have to steal a look out the window. There are windows everywhere. I must say that during most of my career in Motorola, I've spent in artificially lit, windowless rooms that one could play soccer in if it wasn't for the cubes. The only exception was when I worked in the "Parts" building and there I could look out and see an earthen berm. These latest moves to the corporate tower (Schaumburg) and now downtown, where windows were everywhere, was a significant change to my established work environment.

My first week only consisted of a few meetings. I met another manager, the one I would work with during my 6-month stint downtown. I only had two days that I actually worked downtown that week. Much of it was a bit of exploration. A friend that worked on the 40th floor met me and showed me the "game room" that had some sort of game console there. When I asked her if she ever saw anyone play on it, she responded no, that we have work to do. No one has time to waste playing games. Another friend of mine in Schaumburg and I discussed this later as we decided it was a test by the corporation. As soon as anyone touched a controller, they were never seen again. They can't have people playing video games on their time. Like Schaumburg, they had a small kitchen area and at lunchtime a company came in with food and sold it there. I will be bringing my lunches in. They do have granola bars, fruit and hot chocolate there for the taking, so I know I won't starve. 

XBox. Only games are Minecraft and Madden Football. Meh.

My second week was like the first, but I customized my area a bit. I brought in the equipment I took from the old IL02 building and set up my monitors so I have the setup now, as you see in the first photo above. Overall, aside from the fact that I feel more isolated from home, it is just a place to work.

One of the glass rooms on the floor. You can write on the windows. In fact, most of the walls in the place can be written on with dry markers. It is kind of cool.

I want to write a little about the actual commute, a way to see into my completely broken brain. I have three options to get downtown. I could drive. That would take well over an hour on a day with no traffic, and about $18 to park. I could take the Metra train, at a cost of $18 when parking is taken into account, but it would only take an hour and 15 minutes on the train. (20 minutes to drive the car to the train station and back, not included.) Or, I could use the new Pace bus / CTA train. It takes about 2 hours total door to door. It costs $4.50 per day. I chose the cheap method, even though it costs me about 20 minutes more than the next most favorable option. Here´s the thing. I have wanted this new bus/train combination from Elgin and I´m very glad they finally have it. I want to support it. The buses are nice and the trains are passable. While I´ve been politically conservative most of my life, I´ve always supported public transit. I think it is a great way of getting from one place to another in some circumstances. As a side note, they also added a new bus from Schaumburg to Motorola/Zurich. I used to ride the bus to work in Schaumburg but it stopped a mile short of my work and that last mile to work, I had to walk. While my legs were strong, I often got caught in the rain and was stressed about not getting there in time to catch the bus home. I´ve also had issues with missing the bus and I think my wife had to come pick me up a few times. I can´t say it was all a wonderful experience, but I really don´t mind riding public transport.

One more downside that I´ll share. One morning I got onto the train and there were already two people in the car, clearly homeless. As I sat down, the smell hit me. I scrunched down in my seat and covered my nose with my jacket sleeve. Then I just sat and watched as others came on and realized what a joy an unwashed human smells like. At one point the train stopped and the doors were held open, giving us all a break. I would have moved to another car, but it was a very full train, and those that left for other cars eventually came back. The entire population of the car was jammed into one end trying to escape the sleeping ¨Bog of Eternal Stench¨ that greeted their noses. The woman sitting in front of me had her hat firmly placed over her face. Even though it wasn´t an ideal situation, I thoroughly enjoyed watching people.

I wanted to go to the floor above mine, the 40th floor and I thought it was wasteful to use the elevator for just one floor. Seems once you get on the stairs, you have a long walk down. All stairs are only for emergency exit. Bummer.

Watching people is fascinating to me. I´ve seen so many situations just riding the train. I´ve seen young men trying to get young women´s attention. I´ve seen couples that are so in sync, that conversations were held without words being spoken. I´ve seen so many people like myself just trying to get through their day. It doesn´t surprise me that we have different experiences and political views from rural to urban. Urban settings make you see people differently. You need to get along and it forces a type of empathy upon you. You can´t isolate yourself nearly as easily. You are in direct contact with people all the time. Their well-being directly affects yours.

And how many people, do you think, does it takes to wear down a metal grate? One of the escalators I take has seen so much foot traffic that the metal has worn down. That is just one of my musings that I have.

Kind of a blah post. Sorry.

The Willis (Sears) Tower from the eastern facing side of the building.