Friday, June 26, 2009

my work space - or lack thereof

This post is inspired by Fidgeting Gidget's Views from my Desk. I thought it was a great post idea to show you my lame, sad & pathetic very NON-ergonomic, 1970s style work space. Please don't laugh too hard.


The first picture is taken from the doorway into my office. It's a tiny rectangular shaped office, please don't drool as you admire all that gorgeous, not-so modern furniture.

One thing that annoys the crap outta me, ok, wait, there are 2 things actually...the first one is the size of my desk...who in the hell ever thought that a desk that is ONLY 20 INCHES deep (yes, I measured it) would be sufficient space? Must have been a man.

Note how the trashcan is nearly in the middle of the room - there is NO where to put it so it's both out of the way, yes accessible. Instead it's a nice big, brown, metal eyesore.

The second thing...look at the monstrous size of my desk chair!! WTH? Most would probably LOVE this, however I do not. It does not even fit in the space the desk allows for and I never get to sit back and actually enjoy any comfort it may provide because of the gross non-ergonomic state of my office. I have to sit on the edge of the chair just to be able to type. I moved the keyboard from the pull-out drawer in front because it was too low and I kept having to move the chair in order to type - completely annoying. Now it's on the desk and well, I prefer it there, but it is too high.

So, as you'll see, not a very exciting office. rather dull actually. I try to keep things nice and neat...I'm OCD like that. Note the very large AKA Route 44 Diet Dr Pepper from Sonic. I usually only get the Large size, but had a coupon for a FREE Route 44, so there you have it. I was not able to finish it though before it got crazy watered down. blech!

I love my little "inspirational" sign that says "you are like no other" - I thought it would be a great addition especially since I meet with undergraduate students on a regular basis...hopefully it would inspire "someone" - well, so far no one has said ANYTHING about it. Maybe they've seen it but just not mentioned anything. Anyway, I love it and I got it on Etsy.
And this last pic is of the lovely view I have from my desk...the ladies bathroom. There are pros and cons to this location. PRO-I always know when it's occupied and don't 'waste' a trip walking there only to have to wait. PRO-I know who DOESN'T WASH THEIR HANDS and therefore know to NEVER ever shake hands with them. EVER! Con-constant flushing in the background, although I've started to block this out. CON-odor. need I say more?
I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour of my office.

13 comments:

Fidgeting Gidget said...

Ooh a view of the bathroom! How exotic. I get to find out who doesn't wash their hands by sitting at the reception desk, too. Sick.

emilysuze said...

That is some seriously sweet furniture in that totally awesome office of yours.

Baby P was in my lap while I was looking at the pictures and he seemed hypnotized by that carpet pattern... :)

bella said...

I share a wall with a restroom, so I definitely understand the "flush factor" and have actually learned to tune it out.

Have you ever thought of using the round table as your desk and moving the inadequate 20" desk around so the back of it is facing the door? Thereby making yourself a little cubby, but still having room for your grads to sit with you? Am I even making any sense? ;)

Julia from Dozen Flours said...

I'm with foobella -- there's a few things you can do to improve the layout of your office. You can pull your desk away from the wall and line it up that you're looking out the door instead of at the wall. Find a small area rug, bring in a few plants, hang some posters, even an old kite from the ceiling. Get creative! I will admit that it is dated but there's a lot you can do to improve it... an cheaply too. Look for fun, colorly kitchy things at garage sales to decorate the walls and shelves.

Teach.Workout.Love said...

LOL niceee totally reminds me of mine!!!

*krystyn* said...

Oh...I guess I should have prefaced this with, I'm not really looking to decorate or make major improvements to my office, but am simply sharing the hilarity of my office location. There is 1 plant - it's in the corner as you walk in - can't see it in this pic - I think it's fake though. Not sure, although I've never watered it and it's still there, so must be.

Also, I make such a crazy LOW amount of money in this position as my true pay comes via FREE tuition, so there is NO way I'm forking out a dime to decorate this space...just can't do it. If it were a "real" AKA 40hr/wk job...maybe.

Thanks for looking!

Anonymous said...

Oh, my old office was right across from the kitchen. I knew all the office gossip, but people didn't think that maybe they should keep their voices down because I was working.

As to your office, I was thinking that chair was way too high for the desk. I too hate having the keyboard on the little pull out drawer. And if I was one of your students, I'd like the sign, but not say anything about it.

*krystyn* said...

Amy-oh yes, I lacked to mention that my legs don't fit under the desk in that chair, but then the chair doesn't fit in the desk opening either, so it's just stupid all the way around.

Travel & Dive Girl said...

I'm jealous of your space, but not your furniture (ha ha) - at least you have a door (albeit facing the bathroom). I sit in a cube outside of both the men and ladies washroom and as you know, there's a lot of cons. I think my space is what keeps me grounded, yet dysfunctional...

Freebird said...

Oh, I feel for you. The size of the desk along would drive me batty more than anything.

Heather said...

Ah yes. Fabulous office . . . I'm a therapist in community mental health and I wish I could take pictures of the office we work in . . . we try to add a little charm with our own "decorating." Currently have some of my son's "art" framed on my wall as well as some wild life pics. But the actual furniture? Horrifying. Kids are constantly looking up into space only to declare, "Hey, you've got dead flies in your lights!" yep, lots. My chair dumps me out or suddenly loses height, all the client chairs are mismatched and I won't even try to describe how the size of the desk and monitor messes with any attempt at ergononics!!! Feeling your pain:)

MOMSWEB said...

This was hilarious, but hey...at least you have a desk (lol).

~**Dawn**~ said...

I think it is so cool to see where people work & live! We know all these little details of each other's lives and I always get a picture in my head but wonder how accurate it is. I shared some photos of my desk a while back but not the whole office. I may need to file this idea away...