DIARY OF A WORK-AT-HOME-AHOLIC

Hello, my name is Jill and I'm a work-at-home-aholic.

All my life, I've worked in offices or restaurants or
other places far from home. Now, for the first time, I am
telecommuting. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it.
Here is my diary:

Week one: Bliss. Peace. Self-contained, self-sufficient.
I have all I need right here in my home. I never again
have to run for the 6:30 a.m. bus. I never have to return
to the cube farm. This is the day I've been dreaming of.
Did I mention the quiet? No interruptions. The cat is
beside me and the only sounds in the room are purring and
keyboard tapping. Sigh.

Week two: What is happening? Why won't anybody help me?
Am I invisible? My PC crashes every hour. The techno-
wizards back at the office keep ignoring my panic-stricken
e-mails. I've scoured the web for an answer. I've gone
on the message boards and picked the brains of complete
strangers. And still the crashing continues. The cat
cannot help. The mailman cannot help. The noisy guy in
the apartment upstairs cannot help. I am ALL alone.

Week three: Today, for the first time, I fell victim to
work-at-home sloth. Wrote all day in my bra and fat-day
sweat pants. Didn't wash my hair. Brushed teeth at 5 pm.
Who cares? I'm self-contained. Self-sufficient. Nearly
invisible.

Week four: Just found out the boss gave the new guy at
the office a few of my responsibilities. Great! It takes
some work off my plate. Kind of odd, though. Did the
supervisor forget that that was my area? Didn't he like
the way I was doing it? Is everybody in the office talking
about me, criticizing me, now that I'm not there?

They're jealous, that's what it is. They probably think I'm
sleeping in, getting my nails done, watching the soaps on
company time. They say being alone too much can make you
paranoid. But I'm not, really I'm not. Say... you haven't
heard any rumors, have you?

Week five: The annual office party was last night. I
found out about it this morning. Out of sight, out of mind,
as they say. It's okay. I don't like steak and lobster
and dancing anyway.

Week six: Telecommuting has its ups and downs, but it has
convinced me to go it alone... to sever the ties with
bi-weekly paychecks, daily headaches and humiliations.
It's given me the hankering to start my own home-based
business. And, yes, I am terrified. But like the book
says - feel the fear and do it anyway.

However, first I have to find the guts to hand in this
letter of resignation and do it with grace and class.
Without recriminations or fear. Wish me luck.