Right now, I work from home. I've been doing it for about a year. Most often, when people ask what I do and I tell them that I work from home, they respond by calling me lucky or fortunate or quietly (but conveniently loud enough for me to hear) curse me under their breath. For the most part, I agree. Working from home is cool. I get to roll out of bed and walk less than 20 steps to my office. I don't have to shower before getting to work, although it's often beneficial. When I need a break, I can go for a run. Instead of eating out with my co-workers, I can make myself elaborate lunches at home. I get to be a modern American homemaker, cooking and cleaning while my wife works towards becoming a doctor.

While the perks are many, there are also some significant drawbacks. Biggest of them all is the social isolation. I sit, at home, alone, all day, every day. I'm in sales, so I get to spend some time on the phone, but for the most part, it's just me. Every so often, I catch myself talking to no one. I listen to the radio and respond as if the hosts of All Things Considered are actually in my kitchen. Worst of all, I've become that person who talks to their animals as if they're people. It's sad, really. I'll try to engage my dog in conversation while she sits with an absolutely confused look on her face. Making it even worse is the times when I sense that the animals understand what I'm trying to say... When I used to work in a cubicle, there were many things I hated about the job but social interactions got me through the day. Now, if I have a bad call, or a meeting doesn't go my way, I have no one to talk to.

Another item for the "cons" column is the lack of separation between working hours and home hours. For me, this line has been erased and that sucks. I might start working at 7, causing me to mentally check out of work around 3:30 or 4. This doesn't mean that I pack up and walk away. Work seeps in to everything. I remember the old days of wrapping things up at 5 and heading home to shut my brain off entirely. I don't get to do that now...

I long to be back in an office setting. I'm in the process of looking for new jobs and I have a feeling that very few will offer a work from home situation. I'm totally cool with this. My prediction is that around day 3 of a new job, I'll sit down to write a post about how awesome working from home was and how being back in the man's corporate world is crushing my soul. I'll do this because I'm a jackass.