Three magic words

There's a scene in It's a Wonderful Life when George Bailey and Uncle Billy are comparing the three most exciting things they like to hear. Uncle Billy says he likes to hear "Breakfast is served, lunch is served, and dinner is served." George chimes in with "anchor chains, plane motors, and train whistles."

I'm thinking my response might be closer to Billy's than George's.

What do I like to hear? The simple phrase "working from home." Few pieces of communication can bring as much comfort to me as those three magic words. There's no commute, no co-workers, and no scraping someone else's lunch remains from the company microwave.

My current employment situation allows me the opportunity to work from home (oh...there it is again...I love that sound) when there's a need. Do you have a dishwasher repairman coming sometime between 8 A.M. and 3 P.M.? Just take the company laptop home and do your stuff from the dining room table. Did the overnight ice storm drop a tree on your car? That's why you always take home the laptop. Did you get a Twilight Zone dvd box set for Christmas? Okay...that's a great reason to stay home, but be careful how you word your schedule change request.

I'm thinking the time is not too far away when I'll be wanting to limit my commute to a walk from the bedroom to the dining room a little more often. The more the price of gas breaks the $3 barrier, the more I'm thinking that way. The trick will be coming up with enough justifications for working from home (Gasp! I said it again!):

*I've got a hacking cough and don't want to infect my co-workers. (Oooh, that's good! Make them think that me working from home (*breathes deeply* Oh yessss...) is in their best interest!)
*My dog has a bladder infection and I need to let him out into the backyard every hour.
*I've got a bladder infection.
*I broke my leg.
*I broke my dog's leg.
*I broke into a sweat going downstairs to feed my dog. It might be a mild stroke.

I think I'm beginning to sound like MASH's Klinger, making up any excuse necessary to get sent home from the Army.

Yeah...that works for me.