Writing Spaces

Where I like to write has changed a little over the years.

I think part of it is that I spent a little while searching for what I had in college. For a couple of years I worked for the physics lab and the computer science department in various low-level research and programming jobs. The best perk of the job was access to labs and private spaces at night. There were public computer labs of course, but these were private spaces, places where I could go to be alone and work.

That’s been a little hard to find as a working adult. I do have my office at home, though there can be a lot of distractions from media, from pets, and from the urge to see what my wife is doing when I’m home. Truth is, I kinda like the little red haired girl and can find it hard to work when I could be spending time with her (at least some days).

Coffee shops kind of work but they don’t have the same privacy or nesting comfort. My labs were personalized, and had much better chairs, or crappy trash picked couches which were somehow a million times more comfortable. Even trips back to campus making use of spaces like Buckeye Donut or the Union isn’t the same.

Occasionally, when I’ve had to stay late at my work for another reason I get a taste of that feeling, though truthfully if I’m staying late at work it’s because I have something time sensitive and involving that doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for personal endeavors.

I gave some thought to renting office space, or even a storage container but the expense seemed more than a little impractical, especially given that I had plenty of nice spaces to work.

But lately, as a consequence of being part of the sound team / technical support for my church, I’ve found myself working here late nights, installing OS while trying to write blog posts, or even taking time before Sunday morning to write. It’s not quite the same nest as labs were, but I’m able to infuse a little of my own color into the booth, including a fractal background for the worship computer.

And a lot of nights the church is empty and quiet and once I get used to all of the weird creaking sounds it can sometimes make, it can actually be a great distraction free place away from the world. And there’s something that just feels right about writing in the sanctuary.

I’m sure the instinct to change will take hold of me eventually (there’s talk of my moving my office to the basement though our cat would need to be a lot better behaved before I really consider it). But for the moment I am happy to have a little back of that feeling of college, of quiet nights spent mostly in the dark, working on my projects.

Where’s your favorite place to write?