Moving

I try to avoid writing about work too much, for various reasons. One is that so many people get burned when they write about something unflattering, or even proprietary, and then post it in a public space. I don’t think anyone at work knows about my blogging, or even cares, but it would be easy enough to figure out my screen name in one way or another. Given that I use it all across the interwebs, it’s feasible that a search could be constructed to pop me up (although my various self-Googlings generally show otherwise) and cause me issues. Another reason is that I generally get the bug to blog about work when I’m at work (Like now. Shhhhh.). Bad practice, that; aside from using business time and resources for personal use, I run the risk of being keylogged or running afoul of other corporate security measures. I feel guilty, but only a little.

Anyway, my work situation has changed somewhat. I’m still at my same level (lower management, woohoo!), but now I have an office in our new, shiny production facility. I like the office. It runs about two-and-a-half times the size of my old cube, though I am now lacking shelf space and filing cabinets that were built into the old locale. My desk is arranged such that I have screen privacy, at least. I was moved because the majority of people and functions that I cover are now at this building, leaving a couple at the other facility that I will now manage mostly at a distance, until one of them moves and the other is absorbed by another manager. Overall, it’s better for me in terms of work and career.

On the other hand, I miss the people a great deal. I’m a well-established geek, and the lab folks provide a much greater wealth of conversation in that vein than do the office or production crews. I’d share and discuss books, rant about movies, or even talk comics and gaming with a few. Now, I’m unlikely to see them with any regularity. Hell, even the guys I talked sports and did fantasy football with aren’t going to be moving at any point in the near (or even middle-distant) future. Being that real social interaction has never been my strong suit (I can work my way through a gathering, but chit-chat is not my style), this break represents a solid loss to me. I don’t have a lot of close friends. Hell, the number dropped by a quarter a few years back when one couple dropped out of the picture. Even, “positive acquaintances” have been hard for me to come across, but this group represents a big mass of my comfort zone.

This all makes me sort of ambivalent about the move. Sure, my work will generally be easier, and I’ll have a lot more contact with the corporate side of things. I’m likely to advance faster and produce better solutions overall. The problem is, though, that I don’t value those things quite as much as I could. I’d get there anyway, most likely. I want convenient access to my friends, dammit. They’re harder to come by.