Taking a Stand

A few months ago, I decided to try a standing workstation at my job. I'm a computer programmer; I know I slump and slouch throughout the day. I also know that's not the healthiest position for me.

Because I don't currently have a medical problem with my back, my employer won't provide me with one of those nifty electric adjustable desks that go from sitting height to standing height with the press of a button. (HR gets them regardless of physical condition, but that's a rant for another entry. Possibly.)

I decided it was important enough to me to consider paying for a standing workstation out of my own wallet. I poked around on-line and found a few candidates, but those started at around $400 and went up from there. I might even have considered that kind of investment, but none of the stores around me had anything like those models for me to examine, and I certainly wasn't going to mail-order something that pricey without physically seeing it first. Your loss, Staples and Office Depot.

So one day during my lunch hour I went to Menard's to see if there was some kind of bookshelf or other shelving unit I could easily adapt to my purposes. Nothing I saw there really struck a chord with me, so I headed for the exit. I was about to consider the entire idea a wash until I saw some stackable shelving crates on an endcap near the front of the store.

They're called "Stackübes" (I'm pretty sure they threw an umlaut over the U to make one think of Ikea), and they're fairly basic: a plain, white wooden box, open on the top with handles in two sides. Turn it on its side, and it's a component that can be added to other Stackübes for an entire shelving unit. I spent a few minutes trying both the small and the large boxes on their sides and upside down, and thought they were close enough to what I was looking for that I bought two large boxes and a small one.

Back at work, I put the boxes together and put my two monitors on the large ones, turned upright. Because the monitors are adjustable within a range of a few inches, I was able to get them to just the correct height for my eye level. I put the keyboard on the overturned small box; it was close, but not quite to where I could hold my arms at the ergonomically correct position.

I pulled down one monitor and tried the keyboard on the large box. Put on its side, the box positioned the keyboard pretty much exactly where it needed to be. So that same day after work, I went back to Menard's to buy one more of both the large and the small Stackübes.

It even adds storage space

The next day, I finished my desktop by adding the new large box for the keyboard, turning the small box on its end for the mouse (it matches the height of the large box in that position), and using the new small box (also on its end) for my phone. Strictly speaking, I'm not on the phone nearly enough to really need the phone elevated like everything else, but I felt it completed the setup.

I've been standing with my computer like this for about 3 months, now. The adjustment took only a couple of weeks. I brought in a stool so I could lean/sit for a bit when my legs got tired, but I've pretty much stopped using the stool at all.

The only problem that persisted after those first few weeks was that my feet were a little sore by the end of the day. Not having to consider shoes for being on my feet all day since my stint at Best Buy, my shoes weren't the kindest to me in that respect. A co-worker who also assembled her own version of a standing desk mentioned that she had a simple mat on the floor, and that helped her a lot. Since our floor is a thin institutional carpet on concrete or something just as unforgiving, I thought that was a good idea.

Memory Foam bath mat on top

I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to see what they could offer me, and I selected a bath mat with Memory Foam. It seemed pretty soft, so I gave it a try. After a few days of realizing that it was good but not great, I returned to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for an upgrade.

My next purchase was a GelPro chef's mat. This was more expensive, but I was all in at this point. It's a nice, thick, cushiony mat that has some give to it, but it still keeps a layer of gel between my feet and the floor.

GelPro chef's mat underneath

I considered using only the chef's mat, but since I already had the bath mat at work, I wondered what they would be like together. It actually works really well. The texture of the chef's mat along with the bottom of the bath mat keeps them from sliding against each other at all. Together, I get the softness of the bath mat with the cushioning of the gel mat.

I do take my shoes off when standing on my floor mats. The gel mat says it can resist breaking even when shoes are worn, although it does advise against wearing high heels on it. (Probably good advice for me in any situation.) But slipping off my shoes makes the mats that much more comfortable, and I don't have to worry about cleaning the bath mat as often. That is, unless my co-workers continue to not observe cubicle etiquette and tramp all over my rugs even when I'm standing there in sock feet. How rude!

So now I have my own standing workstation, and it's pretty much exactly what I want. It's comfortable to stand and do my work for the entire day, and I feel like I'm being a little more friendly to my own back. Unfortunately, I don't have the easy option of sitting down that those with the adjustable desks do. I have worked out that if I absolutely have to sit down and even the stool doesn't cut it, I only need to pull down one monitor and my keyboard/mouse. So I won't have to rearrange my entire desktop if I need some chair time.

Of course, nothing can stay perfect for long. Shortly after putting the finishing touches on my arrangement, my department was informed that it was time for our cubicles to be rearranged and condensed (translated: shrunk from 8x9 to 6x9 sq. ft.) so we would be moving into a temporary space, one cubicle row at a time.

This past Thursday was my move-out day. I considered storing my crates in my car for the week, but then I decided that I wouldn't allow them to shake up my new standing regimen.

Temporarily in cramped quarters

Even though we were supposed to let a PC Tech move our computers, I moved all of my own stuff the night before. It's simply easier to set up the computer at the same time as the crates, rather than letting them move the computer first and then try to work the crates in under everything.

My temporary desk is more shallow than my previous one, so it took a half-hour of tweaking the setup. I eventually got everything to fit--well enough, at least, for my week's stay. When I move back to my smartsized cubicle I'll still have the same desktop area I had before, minus one section, and I've already determined my original arrangement will fit there just fine. (I honestly think one thing they're counting on is that a week exiled to the "study carrels" will make us pine for the smaller cubicles.)

Some co-workers have asked how much I spent on this or that item, and they usually seem a bit shocked when I tell them. I haven't added up the total for anyone here for fear of completely blowing their minds:

Stackubes (large): 3 @ $19.99
Stackubes (small): 2 @ $14.99
Memory Foam bath mat:  $24.99
GelPro chef's mat:     $69.99
Total with tax:       $196.93

Now don't get me wrong: I would love to not have had to spend that two hundred dollars. I can find many more enjoyable ways to spend $200, even if it's only to give it to the credit card company to cover some other purchase I've already made. But I don't want to wait for my company to decide they can finally afford to give everybody the adjustable desks we were promised. And I'm at my desk for 7-8 hours a day, 40 hours a week; I don't want to cheap out on my own physical well-being. I consider that $200 well-spent.

Salvaged from LiveJournal: May 1st, 2002

mood:  pensive

music: Jewel

A glimmer of hope on the job front

This morning I got a call from the HR department of one of the places where I applied for a job. Even though I felt there were a few places where I stumbled conversationally (I had just woken up about 10 minutes earlier) I think it went well. She said she's going to pass my file over to the web development area, and if they're interested they'll call later in the week or next week.

The job is in Des Moines Iowa, which moves me 4 hours away from my closest family, but people survive not being in the same city as their families, right? And my parents will be in Utah for at least a few more years, so they wouldn't see that much of us anyway.

Looking into Des Moines, it could be a nice place to live. Big enough to have places to go but not Chicago-sized. Reasonably priced housing and cost of living.

I just dread the process of putting my house on the market, finding a house in Iowa, and acquiring financing. This being a real buyer's market (I count at least 6 houses right in my neighborhood for sale), I'm not optimistic about a quick and profitable sale of this house. And then there's the fun of packing up everything I own and schlepping it halfway across Iowa.

Can we please just fast-forward to six months from now when we're all settled in our new home and completely done with this one? But I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. Gotta get the job first.

Salvaged from LiveJournal: April 19th, 2002

mood:  anxious

Will code for food.

I am sooOOoo sick of looking for a job. It's now been two months since I was laid off, and one month since I've been able to really look for a job. Nothing.

I really detest moving and all that entails, and I'm comfortable in my house anyway. However, I've recently become really discouraged with the job market in the Chicago area. There is such a glut of programmers that every possible job has 20 more people who fit the job description perfectly. So I opened up my search to pretty much the entire country, and I still come up empty. There are only a few areas I'm avoiding, like the extreme South (can't stand the heat) and New York City (can't stand practically everything about it).

I keep going back and forth between I really really don't want to have to move and it won't be so bad; it might be interesting to move to a whole different state since I've been in Illinois since 2nd grade. Right now, that's kind of moot, since I can't seem to catch a break and get an interview.

Salvaged from LiveJournal: February 10th, 2002

mood:  depressed

music: Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing

Why is it that even though I know I don't want to be defined by my job that losing it is such a devastating blow? And also that I really hated it for the last couple of months but I would've much rather been one of the "unfortunate ones" that didn't get the the severance package and they have to show up for work? At least they have jobs in this sucky, sucky job market.

The days of The Man Of The House are gone, but simple economics made me the main provider for my family. My degree got me a higher salary, and my wife will be leaving teaching for a little while (maybe longer?) to give birth to/take care of my not-here-yet son or daughter. So I wish I still had a job I hate rather than be forced to look for a job now. God, I hate looking for work. I hate putting myself up for judgement by another person who may or may not see my potential. I feel like any job I apply for, if I got it I would justify the decision to hire me within 2 months. But it's getting over that initial obstacle that's the real bitch. In all of my on-campus interviewing in 1999, I got 2--count them: two--2nd interviews. Exactly one of them lead to a job offer. It seemed like a good job at the time, but things changed so much. And now I've been laid off from that job anyway.

My managers told me it's not personal, but screw them. I know that the company buying them out handed down a mandate to get all Information Technology out of Chicago and back to NY, but screw them. Short of my wife leaving me, laying me off is one of the most intensely personal things that can happen to me at this point. You're telling me that my skills and knowledge are simply not worth the amount of money you've been giving me. Ever hear of telecommuting? I busted my ass for this company, and I got the boot. Well, screw them.

For anyone overly concerned: don't be. I'll be ok. If I can find some job by May, the layoff package will keep us in food and diapers until then. And I'm not as emotionally unstable as this post may seem. I just needed to vent, and punching the kitchen wall didn't seem to help much. I just felt stupid, and now I have a hole to patch up.

Salvaged from LiveJournal: January 11th, 2002

mood:  lethargic

music: The Celtic channel on Spinner.com

Needed: one weekend.

So it's Friday morning. Boss probably wants me to come into work tomorrow, but that won't be happening. There's a strong rumor that more layoffs are coming on Monday, so I'll be damned if'n I'm working the weekend before getting the boot!

Office Space is becoming less of a comedy and more of a documentary.

Late last night I finally finished painting the nursery. I think it turned out pretty good, with a few reservations. I'll post photos later for those who are interested. Then I vacuumed and steam-cleaned the carpet so we (I) can move all the new furniture (that I've been tripping over in the hallway for the past month) back in. Steam-cleaning carpets at 1:30 AM? It's amazing how liberating it is to not give a damn how awake/productive one is for work the next day.

I'm looking forward to drawing a lot this weekend- I really miss it. I also want to update some on-line photo pages. I've spent my lunch hours this week catching up on strips I haven't seen since November. I missed reading comics, too.

My new snow thrower still sits unused in my garage-- it's even got some tags still on it! There can be no more effective snow repellent than spending $800 on a machine to save one's back from last year's excruciating pain. I guess in that respect, it has worked-- just not in the way I thought it would.

Salvaged from LiveJournal: November 6th, 2001

mood:  discontent

Ever see the movie Hope Floats? I'll probably have my Guy Club membership revoked for this, but I thought it was a good movie. Anyway- one thing that always stuck in my head was how Harry Connick's character described his decision to do odd jobs instead of the architecture he's so good at. He said something to the effect of "Why would I spend all day turning something I love into a job I grow to hate?" This probably isn't even close to the actual line, but I remember the sentiment

I really enjoy working with computers. Given the time, I would actually study new computer languages just for the heck of it! But this accursed job is really dragging me down. This project that we're on has no chance of being done on time, but my mangers are of the school of thought that if you insist something often enough and loudly enough, it will come to pass. Therefore, we're all working these brutal hours.

For the last two weeks, I've worked 12-16 hour days. But not on the weekends- I'm starting to understand what "pushback" is. If management pushes hard enough and long enough, employees start to say "You know what? it's just not worth it. Screw you." I honestly think that if 1) the job market wasn't so soft OR 2) my wife wasn't pregnant, I would have walked by now. Can you believe that? I actually would have considered quitting a job when I have a wife who's expecting!

I'm trying -striving, really- to act and feel how I talk. I say things like "Screw it- I don't care if they fire me. I'm working 8 hours and that's it." and most especially: "I'm not going to let it get to me." But then I don't act like that; I let it get to me. I get nervous that I'll get yelled at for "not being a team player" or "not owning your job" (whatever that jargonbabble is supposed to mean), and I get frustrated that I won't finish my part of the project.

The punch line here is that we're the only group working in this kind of frenzy. All the other groups are pretty much twiddling their thumbs, waiting to see what the upcoming buyout means for the Information Technology group. And the only incentive we've been offered is that if we stay until the buyout is final, we'll get part of the bonus for this year that we wouldn't have received due to crappy stock market performance. That's all. And everyone who stays gets that; it doesn't matter if we're overworked or we're twiddlers.

Anyway, for those who care- that's where I've been. I've fallen behind in my e-mail, my comic reading, and especially my comic writing. That really steams me, because it seems like the forces of the universe are conspiring to keep me from putting out a comic strip. Every time I start to get my strip rolling, something happens to make me set it aside for a while.

I used to like my job, and I like owning my own house and being able to afford a car. But I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a part of me that has been wistfully remembering my starving artist period. I'd still work a crappy job, but at a specified hour I could walk away and do what I wanted. Now, I find myself guilty for working only 8 1/2 hours today. Oh, well. This, too, will pass. Maybe I'll even enjoy computing again some day.