# Well, it looks like it's time for me to go back to working in the office **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 6, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165 "2021-08-06T18:28:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/1 "2021-08-06T18:28:04Z")
…because I need to steal more printer paper! So, what trivial reason do you think it will be to make you think about going back to your office? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/2 "2021-08-06T18:33:39Z")
Somewhere, in some obscure office up a forgotten stairwell and down a never-traversed hallway, an administrative assistant will have brought a big box of donuts. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/3 "2021-08-06T19:03:01Z")
There’s a lovely lake surrounded by a walking trail near the campus that I walk daily in the cool(ish) months. On campus there are several 6+ story buildings, all linked with cat walks that provide my exercise the rest of the year. Plus we have a museum quality art collection that graces pretty much every wall so there’s tons of beautiful things to look at. ---
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/4 "2021-08-06T19:30:52Z")
Wow, what serendipitous timing for this thread - I just went back to my office today to retrieve a backup laptop of mine that had been gathering dust in my locker for the past one and a half years. When we were ordered to begin working from home back in March 2020, I waffled over whether to take this laptop home or not, eventually deciding against it because I thought the lockdown would last just 6 months. Had I known back then what I know now, I _definitely_ would have brought it home then. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/5 "2021-08-06T19:41:21Z")
Is going back to the office to get away from my wife’s vacuuming every day trivial enough? (Obligatory Monty Python clip…) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wYwB3lJAbYY/hqdefault.jpg "Beethoven (sub ita) - Monty Python") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYwB3lJAbYY) ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/6 "2021-08-06T19:53:49Z")
I love to go out to lunch, and there is a Japantown and a Little Saigon within easy driving distance of my office. I’ve been back at my desk for a month, and have had several nice lunches of tempura and sashimi, and today I just had a comforting bowl of pho. Where my home is, there are only a couple of good places, and I’m sick of them. And sick of my own cooking, too. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/7 "2021-08-06T19:59:18Z")
There’s a Thai restaurant a short drive from my office that had the best Pad Thai. I used to go there weekly, and I haven’t been in a year and a half. I hope they’re still in business. There’s also a good Pho place in the same strip mall as the Thai place which I miss, but not as much as the Pad Thai. Oh, and an Indian place also a short drive away that had excellent lunch buffets. And, how could I forget, an Ethiopian place that also had outstanding lunch buffets. I’m hungry now. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/8 "2021-08-06T20:02:36Z")
I no longer have a parking pass, so I’ll get a nice walk in from off-campus. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/9 "2021-08-06T20:40:54Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Somewhere, in some obscure office up a forgotten stairwell and down a never-traversed hallway, an administrative assistant will have brought a big box of donuts. I just realized that it’s more than a year since I’ve eaten a doughnut. Huh. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/10 "2021-08-06T20:54:21Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > I’ve been back at my desk for a month, and have had several nice lunches of tempura and sashimi, and today I just had a comforting bowl of pho Ah, yes, that’s another reason: the food court has this hole-in-the-wall Chinese place, that does the best “crispy beef” I’ve ever had. I keep trying other places, but no one else does it quite like they do. And since this food court’s business was about 99% from the offices around it, which have been 99% empty for a year and a half, I have no idea if they’ll still be there… ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/11 "2021-08-06T21:12:58Z")
Most everyone got kicked out of the library in March of 2020, given laptops, and told to work from home. I left some cute Cthulhu plushes in my office. Now we are going back to the library, on Monday, August 16. So I can look forward to seeing my stuffed Lovecraftian horrors, once again! Sadly, the nearest restaurant, a Brueggers, has gone kaput. Fortunately, there is still Subway and Panera, so it won’t be so bad… ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/12 "2021-08-07T03:13:34Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I just realized that it’s more than a year since I’ve eaten a doughnut. That’s why you’re depressed! . (Seriously. I dealt with ‘Distanced Depression’ last year by dropping in to our Gourmet Kosher Doughnut Bakery once a week) ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/13 "2021-08-07T10:40:40Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > what trivial reason … I need to charge my iPhone? ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/14 "2021-08-07T10:49:36Z")
I go into the office about once a week to water the plants. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/15 "2021-08-07T14:10:30Z")
Delta came along just as our dusty desks were getting a spring cleaning. I’ll go back and put fresh batteries in the wall clocks. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/16 "2021-08-07T15:22:39Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > So, what trivial reason do you think it will be to make you think about going back to your office? Because my commute on the subway is the only chance I ever get to do any reading. Unfortunately, I’m afraid of the subways, given the low rate of mask regulation compliance and the total lack of enforcement of the regulations by the NYPD, who, on those vanishingly rare occasions when they make an appearance, will also not wear masks. None of them. So I get to and from work by bicycle, weather permitting. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/17 "2021-08-07T17:44:11Z")
Not even an open bar would make we want to ever go back to an office again ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/18 "2021-08-07T21:36:55Z")
Once in a while I’ll remember how handy it was to be able to bring my excess produce to work. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/19 "2021-08-07T23:45:32Z")
It looked like the office was going to force me to start commuting in September. The same day I had to go in to get my parking pass and photo ID (I was hired earlier this year), I received an email asking me what I really preferred: office full time, office 3 days and home for 2, home almost full time. I had planned to go for the second option but; traffic seriously sucks to this location and there is no public transit option that works for me, and delta variant covid has me very, very wary. So I explained why I would prefer the third option. Fingers crossed that I get it. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2021, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165/20 "2021-08-08T00:25:14Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > So, what trivial reason do you think it will be to make you think about going back to your office? Well, won’t it be nice to have dibs on all the goodies left in the office fridge? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-it-looks-like-its-time-for-me-to-go-back-to-working-in-the-office/948165.md?page=2)