Going Through the Motions

Five feet by five feet is a standard cubicle. That minuscule section is bordered with ninety-nine other exact copies; ten rows, ten columns is one floor of the ten story building, and around this ten story building, there are ten more replicas of this one. Looking at this city of towers one would think gray. One simple word, yet it evokes all that an office building does. Gray is not colorful, not flourishing, not succulent, yes, this is a place of work, professionalism and crucial moments that flow into a larger atmosphere but, office buildings serve a purpose opposite of their facade. If this face was opposite then the work done would be opposite, in a way of creativity and freedom.

Seventeen busy bees typing away in their own miniature spaces. They look cramped and claustrophobic sitting, typing at their desks; all content in their work and not fazed by a fifteen year old walking into the sphere of, click, click, click, and ring, ring, ring, click, “Hello you have reached Wells Fargo, how may I direct your call?” said in an operative, tone.

The floor is an oatmeal sea where lives and joy drown in the mushy expanse. Everything about this world is rectangle except for the toilet seats. This building is like a vast black hole saturated in overweight managers and angry bosses. The waiting chair is stiff and the arms are foam with a smooth black plastic coating. Everything is smooth except the wallpapered walls. They are a rough texture and look organic but are probably a blend of plastic and sticky glue. The smell of musty walls swirl around each cubical while body odor from the neighboring cubical travels over the five foot high barrier and new carpet aroma is added to the concoction of unpleasant smells. This mix of odors convenes below one’s nose and sway side to side until whiffed by the worker. When this fragrant scent is drawn in with one’s mouth, it is dry and abnormal. In the far right corner there is a fake and artificial plant but it the juxtaposition of its suggestion. It imposes a green and natural feeling to the room yet it is hurting the environment because of the plastic and machine used to make it.

The building is a two-dimensional drawing a four year old drew. It is not architecturally appealing nor is it alluring to the common individual. It consists of fluorescent lighting shining from above acting as a sort of heaven, gray dividers boxing in an l-shaped desk, a chair that harms ones back and a computer that lends itself to carpal tunnel, arthritis, and decaying of the brain. These elevated structures provide an operational space for employers to work monotonous hours. Just as they ride the elevator up, the sun shines through the trivial window and as they ride the elevator down, the sun descends into the darkness of the night. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute the workers work. That is it, they don’t see the Giza Pyramids, and they don’t see an elderly Peruvian lady making an Alpaca blanket just to serve her five children some rice. A worker inside a cubical is like a cat wearing a cone, creating tunnel vision and limitations.

Office buildings house workers and that is all they are, workers; in order to be a dreamer one cannot work in a space so degrading, that the only thing brought from it is a monthly pay check. For some this stock of money is put towards travels, getting away from this place to encounter life. For others it is to give to someone else: a tenant, a store clerk, or a water manager; then wake up, go to work, come home, sleep, over and over until the next supply of fresh money comes rolling around. One should not do their job only for the money; one should do it for the joy and pride they get from it. Creative and inventive thinking will get one further in life then sitting in a cubical, typing, going through the motions.

Ever since these workers were in kindergarten they have been sitting in a chair at a table or desk. Kindergarten to twelfth grade, then in college, and then in working life, it is a desk and a chair. People need to get out and hike and run around. Instead of sitting, eating, and working people now a days need to exercise and enjoy the fresh air.

-Emily