Yesterday, my company held a mandatory get together for all the offices in our region. It was such a big deal that all the offices were officially closed and an email was sent earlier in the week telling us that going without a good reason "will send a negative message to us [the principals], [our] peers, and [our] colleagues." We actually had to speak to one of the four principals directly if we felt we had a good reason why we couldn't go. In my case, I've been so overwhelmed doing the work of 3+ people (being the only lighting designer for the whole firm), and am so far behind on one project that I told one of the principals that I can't look any more negative to my team than I already do. I needed the time to catch-up with that one project in particular.
So, yesterday was the big day when most everyone else in the office hopped on a bus at 6:45 a.m. to head to the other primary office's location. All I can say is that, from my misophonia perspective, yesterday was pure heaven! I didn't have to crank up my sound masking device because the front doors were locked; so there wasn't much traffic going in and out by the reception desk. There was only one other person on the mezzanine floor with me and, save for a few comments towards me from the other side of the partition, it was fairly quiet. I didn't even have to hear the "clop, clopping" of hard soled/heeled shoes above my head. I could focus on my work with no earplugs, no music, no white noise. Just me and the soft whoosh of the HVAC ducts around me. It was probably one of the most productive days I've had in a while.
Around lunchtime I walked around the office to see if any of the other people around would want me to bring in some lunch (I was so focused on my work, I decided I needed to take a break to get some fresh air.) There were only about seven or eight of us in the office, one of whom said to me, "I didn't know you were here too. You're so quiet!" Of course, I'm also so isolated in my little alcove that I doubt he would've known that I was in the office even on a busy day.
I got so caught up in my work that I didn't even realize the time until the "party bus" came back around 7 p.m. and people came in the building laughing, hitting a gong, and just making a lot of ruckus in general. It was clear that at least some of the people had one beer too many on the bus ride back. At one point, someone kept making a loud "clocking" noise (for lack of a better term) with his tongue. I tried peering over my partition like one of those prairie dogs popping up from a hole to see who it was but I couldn't tell. If I didn't know better, I'd think that the person was doing it on purpose to annoy me in retribution for not going with the rest of the group on the office trip. I decided to plug myself into my loud music and try to finish up what I was doing. So much for my productive peace and quiet... I guess all I can do is look forward to my quiet couple of days to myself during Thanksgiving and then hopefully another quiet week at the office the week between Christmas and New Years...
So, yesterday was the big day when most everyone else in the office hopped on a bus at 6:45 a.m. to head to the other primary office's location. All I can say is that, from my misophonia perspective, yesterday was pure heaven! I didn't have to crank up my sound masking device because the front doors were locked; so there wasn't much traffic going in and out by the reception desk. There was only one other person on the mezzanine floor with me and, save for a few comments towards me from the other side of the partition, it was fairly quiet. I didn't even have to hear the "clop, clopping" of hard soled/heeled shoes above my head. I could focus on my work with no earplugs, no music, no white noise. Just me and the soft whoosh of the HVAC ducts around me. It was probably one of the most productive days I've had in a while.
Around lunchtime I walked around the office to see if any of the other people around would want me to bring in some lunch (I was so focused on my work, I decided I needed to take a break to get some fresh air.) There were only about seven or eight of us in the office, one of whom said to me, "I didn't know you were here too. You're so quiet!" Of course, I'm also so isolated in my little alcove that I doubt he would've known that I was in the office even on a busy day.
I got so caught up in my work that I didn't even realize the time until the "party bus" came back around 7 p.m. and people came in the building laughing, hitting a gong, and just making a lot of ruckus in general. It was clear that at least some of the people had one beer too many on the bus ride back. At one point, someone kept making a loud "clocking" noise (for lack of a better term) with his tongue. I tried peering over my partition like one of those prairie dogs popping up from a hole to see who it was but I couldn't tell. If I didn't know better, I'd think that the person was doing it on purpose to annoy me in retribution for not going with the rest of the group on the office trip. I decided to plug myself into my loud music and try to finish up what I was doing. So much for my productive peace and quiet... I guess all I can do is look forward to my quiet couple of days to myself during Thanksgiving and then hopefully another quiet week at the office the week between Christmas and New Years...
RSS Feed
