60 Hours a Week Sitting at Desks - We Better Like the One we Have!

Don’t ask me why, but last night I woke up thinking about desks. I guess it’s because I spend a lot of time at one. It is where I do both my work and my play (computer games). I guess you could say I’m as addicted to my desk as I am to the computer. But that’s another story. The thing that dawned on me is what a pal my desk has become.

Think about it. In our modern world, there aren’t very many people who can go through a day without spending at least some time at a desk. And, they come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. My first desk was a floating desk. This is one where it is attached to the wall without legs for support. Pretty sweet actually. I could freely move underneath it without bumping into the legs all the time. It wasn’t perfect, and did have it’s limits. For example, I couldn’t sit on it. I always wondered how much weight it could take. Another down side to it was that it wasn’t very big. I like to spread my stuff out, so that wasn’t good. Still, for it’s few faults it was still a great little desk.  I’m not sure what ever happened to it, but I am half tempted to get another one like it again someday.

Now I know some people are classic traditionalists. They would never be content or happy with a small desk, let alone one that had to be attached to a wall. Oh no, these people go for the biggest mamba jamba desk they can find. I’m talking solid oak, roll-top, eight fee wide, lots of drawers and hidden compartments; the whole works. The mega desk is impressive. I mean, who would mess with someone with a desk like that. Such presence. Such power. Such authority. Whatever. Having to haul the thing would be enough for me to shun a desk like that as if it were the plague. But, as they say, variety is the spice of life.

What’s funny to me is those little rattly metal desks. What a hoot. Bolt them together, like the old erector set you had as a kid, and hope they stay together. They never do quite feel very solid. You know what I mean. If you are at one of these so-called desks, you have to be really careful to not put any lateral pressure on it or it might just collapse. Uh uh, no thanks, nadda.

And the particle board wonders aren’t much better. I know some of these desks are okay, but so many of them get all funny after a few years. If you spill water on them they go wrinkly. If they take a hard bump in a move you can’t do a decent repair on any broken parts. They aren’t real wood so they just aren’t very strong. And the little dowel things that are meant to hold them together are a joke. They always seem to rip out or get sheared off.

The nice thing about desks, and people, is that there are a bunch of them. If you don’t like the one you are with now, you’re sure to find one you do like eventually. Whether you like a small desk that can tuck away unobtrusively somewhere, or a big monster desk that impresses, or one that is somewhere in between, I’m sure there’s one out there that will be just right for you. As for me, I’m not really that picky. I just need to have one that will hold up under pressure, be faithful and true to me, and allow me some space. Sort of like a good friend.