The big move

Today marks the start of a new era, at least for the editors and graphics people where I work. We are moving to a new location, which we affectionately call "the Annex," mainly because this sounds better than "the warehouse," which is in fact what it is. Naturally there was some resistance at first to the idea of moving to a warehouse, but our objections were soon soothed with the assurance that if we did not move, we would have no jobs. Enthusiasm for the warehouse ran quite high after this.

And who knows -- in time, we might even forget that we are in a warehouse, forget that there is but one lone window, forget that there is no receptionist to let in visitors, forget that there is no one to empty the dishwasher each morning, and that we must do these tasks ourselves.

For weeks we have been consumed with important logistical questions regarding the move and the new building, like whether we will have an ice maker, how many ice makers we will have, approximately how much ice these ice makers will be able to produce in a certain period of time, what happens if global warming expands far more quickly than anyone expected and the ice makers do not produce enough ice, etc.

We have also debated such critical matters as the superiority of fancy instant coffee versus high-quality ground coffee, and which we should have at the Annex. Fortunately we have been able, as mature adults, to come to a consensus on such matters even though our opinions still differ, one result being that we will have both fancy instant coffee and high-quality ground coffee.

Other concerns that have been brought up include: There are so many handicapped spots in the parking lot. Can we park in some of them? (Answer: If you do, and you get a ticket, we will deny that we know you.) Who will get the cube by the lone window in the room? (Answer: Not me.)

Remarkably -- and callously, I might add -- no one has seen fit to relieve us of our actual work projects, or extend our deadlines, in order to allow us to focus fully on these issues. And so we do our best to keep up with our heavy schedules and, at the same time, come up with solutions to difficult problems, like who will buy the milk each week for our cereal.

And who will let the visitors in the door.