How do we ease the loss of being on-the-go? The anxiety of there being zero separation between home and work? I wish I had a magic word or fix-it solution, but all I can do is say – I get it.
I hear you. We’re all in this together, missing things we never thought we would. We miss the break room – yes, in all its free snack glory. We miss coffee machine catch-ups with colleagues, the brief reprieve of a friendly ‘how’s your day going’ as you wait for a refill. We even miss the bathroom – I know, that sounds crazy. But our ladies’ toilet has these beautiful painted hearts, done by San Francisco-native artist Dan Andersen, AKA Skid Damunk AKA @SfcFunkd. I’m sure the men miss the “martini glass” on the wall in theirs, but we’ll keep our sprinkle of hearts – sorry, gents.
Our once stark white office was artistically upgraded by @SfcFunkd a few years ago, with a mural in the lobby that is a collage of energy, wavelengths, organic matter, abstract animals and creative/logic sides of the brain. Pyramids represent the pinnacle of engineering, mathematics, geology, geography & astronomy. Bright abstract junction boxes welcome you to the kitchen, and various peek-a-boo art adorns the tops of poles or surprises you around corners, reminding us to always find enjoyment in what we do.
Aside from our office splendor, I miss the exercise. It’s hard to admit, but I may have packed on a few more than the ‘COVID 19 lbs’ in the last few months – so that’s going to take some undoing. But truly, I miss the walk to and from the office, the walks to lunch with colleagues, the walks around the building on a quick ‘stretch break’. These are things I too often forget to do while working from the comfort of my home. And although I wish it wasn’t the case, simply putting on stretchy pants does not equate to a workout!
But most of all, I miss my office. Dan painted a colorful, happy frog on my wall (see an action shot of him in the act, below) – frogs are a personal totem for me, so it’s meaningful and brings me joy throughout the day. Simple things like this – it’s okay to miss them, to mourn them, but it’s important to feel grateful for what we do have right now.
A bit about the artist. Dan Andersen aka Skid Damunk (@SfcFunkd) has filled sketchbooks from an early age. Born, bred and based in San Francisco, his two fathers always supported the process. Graffiti was part of the visual landscape influencing his style and love for letters & design. He believes in artistic outlets to preserve positive messages for community and youth. An AAU Illustration graduate with a forte in aerosol murals & canvas, logo design, lettering, album covers, and apparel, Damunk’s work has been commissioned by offices, schools, storefronts, boutiques, restaurants, private collectors and live demonstrations.
Within Virtana, we have an amazing team who have been able to support our customers through this time, delivering IT stability in the midst of so much unknown. One customer responded to our CTO’s offer for help, saying they’re in a good place since they can focus all their attention on their WFH strategy, versus managing and monitoring infrastructure workloads, which are happily taken care of via Virtana.
It’s been encouraging to see how engaged our employees and customers are while on video calls. Even webinars feel a bit more exciting, to be virtually connected to so many people, all learning together and asking questions as if we’re raising our hand in a town hall meeting like the good ole’ days. I’m grateful for communication technology such as GoToMeeting – where would we be without it right now? And thank goodness we have internal messaging tools like Slack to keep in touch with colleagues on active projects or even share a picture or video of our fur-babies on the #VI-pets channel. These are ways we remain connected in this time of isolation.
There’s truly nothing like human contact and connection, but we’re all making the best of it. And we’re all in this together – which is comforting.
One thing we’ve recently kicked off is a ‘what’s your view’ challenge. We put a call out to employees to send their current ‘office’ view and it’s been so much fun looking at all the different vantage points. From snow-capped mountains to the ocean, brick walls to tall trees, each is unique. Give it a try amongst your team, perhaps it will build on the camaraderie we’re all cultivating from afar and give everyone something to look forward to. Here are a few of our team views from this past week:
Moral to this story – it’s perfectly okay to miss and mourn things that we never felt we could. Talk about what you miss with your colleagues. Stay as connected as you can and we’ll all come out of this in one piece – and hopefully 19lbs lighter.
‘What’s your view, Virtana?’
#wereallinthistogether #humanimpact #helpingthehuman #whatsyourview
Kailani Joy
Marketing & Communications
