i see the people at work more than their families do. that always struck me as unfair when they had children. this week i've been at home probably 3 hours each night before going to sleep and 45 minutes between waking up and leaving the house.

what i consider my first 'real' job, solaris system admin for protocol systems in beaverton, is where i first experienced that feeling. as a young 20something i was seeing 30somethings every day all day. these people usually had a spouse and kids and yet i saw them more than they did. i knew what kind of day they were having when it wasn't much important for me to know that.

i still think back to the people i worked with at protocol systems. it was the best work environment i ever had, and most of the time i loved my job. it was in a large, modern, two-story office building and I knew almost everyone by name. I knew each department and what they did. There were a number of beautiful women that i would chat with often. Sometimes I would cruize the floors, checking for problems and when there wasn't any I would socialize for a while. I had "my own cube" with a phone which at 20something I thought was luxurious. I put down an oriental rug that covered the entire cube floor space and made my cube look more like a swanky parlour. i also met my first girlfriend there. after 6 months we had a rough breakup and i left the job. strangely enough, 7 years after i left, i met my second girlfriend because one of the women i got to know there told her half sister about me.