There's No Place Like Home

One of the best benefits (and maybe one of the worst) of working as an Online Professor is being able to work from home. I get to concentrate on my work and not be distracted with many of the normal day-to-day issues that may people tell me about. I do not have to worry about gossip and clicks. I do not have to be micro- managed (expect by my wife). One of the contributing factors for me, when choosing to devote my entire career to teaching online, was the flexibility with my schedule and the ability to work anywhere with an Internet connection. The majority of the time, I would not trade it for anything.

Last evening, I was lying in bed and I began to think of the last time that I actually got in my car and left the house. When was the last time I traveled further than the curb to take out the trash or the back yard to feed the dogs? I started to panic because I could not think of when it was. Was it yesterday? Maybe the day before? I had to have left the house in the last five days... Nope. It had been more than a week since I physically left my house! I was shocked! I could not believe that I could not find a reason to leave the confines of home. As I started to calm down, I tried to figure out why I did not leave. I felt bad that I had not walked my dogs in a week; luckily they had a big yard to play in and pool to swim in. I felt bad that I had no real reason to leave. I have never been a social person, but I am not a hermit who is scared of daylight either. I only leave if I really need to. Maybe, I have everything that I need at home. I do not live in a large house. It is just over 1,500 square feet. I have many amenities that make me happy. There is a swimming pool and spa. There is a 42-inch HDTV, with more channels than anyone could dream about. My garage is spacious enough for me to workout and for my hobbies. It is a nice slice of the American dream.

The more I thought about it, the more I wondered, how long could I go and not have to leave the house? I was not challenging myself; I was just thinking how long I could go. One variable that I needed to keep in mind was the idea that my wife does the grocery shopping and picks up my prescriptions for me. If it were not for her, I would guess that I could go about 10 days. With her, I could probably last a month. I then would be forced to come out my cave and go to a doctor’s appointment or some other appointment that resembles a normal citizen.

You will be happy to know, that I did leave the house today. Of course, it was raining, cold and miserable. As I was holding my wife’s purse, two shopping bags and I am sure a disconcerted look of misery on my face, in the women’s shoes department (which is nowhere near the Apple store), I started to think maybe being Captain Caveman is not the worst thing in the world. Through the haze of clearance tags and pumps, I spotted another poor brother who was stuck in the same predicament as I was. We gave each other the “I feel you man” head nod as our hands were full of woman’s garments and embarrassment and could not muster a smile or wave.

I was happy to get outside and visit the world, but at what cost. I am lucky enough to live in San Diego, which is appropriately named “Americas Finest City”. It’s not like I live in a place where I would not want to explore. I love this city and all it has to offer. The lesson of this troubled tale is to take moment and enjoy yourself. Get out of the house and stop and smell the roses or you will find yourself on self-imposed house arrest.