The Virtues of a Virtual Office

The Virtues of a Virtual Office

It's all about efficiency. Gathering a group of people in an office building to carry out their work, essentially manipulation and dissemination of information has certain benefits. The office gives them a sense of team-spirit, it is easy to cooperate and allocate the right person to the right task. The office is, to quote the infamous Michael Scott of Scranton, "like a family". This efficiency of a well-run office might still be unbeatable in certain fields, yet in the context of international cooperation, specialized knowledge work, and all-encompassing social media, it just can't beat the virtual crowd.

december 7. Online

I work in a fastfood restaurant and get most things done. After eight hours of typing and clicking the websites are almost up-to-date and email-correspondence has been dealt with. It was nice not to complain about the massively delayed order and the white coffee they mistakenly brought me.

I am excited about next week's surprise.

January 30. In the green hills of Portugal.

The next couple of days I spent with my friends. It was a fantastic experience: just being around the house, giving a hand to he who needed it, walking the dog, discussing life and literature, and watching the day and some cultural heritage die away in front of the tv at night.


The first morning, I woke up late. My long, healthy sleep and the soft cushions blended in my mind with a protestant twist if you know what I mean, and I asked if I couldn't do something. Fortunately the answer came "yes" and I went out into the hills to carry some wood. A slope had to be harvested the second time this winter. The work wasn't too demanding fysically after all, since Bertu the wood-guy really had a mediterrenean working habit. Every twenty minutes there was a cigarette break, in which I sat down gazing over the valley at the Serra Estrela in the foggy distance. What a life, the life and times of me. Bertu drove an interesting kind of gasoline cart to get to the wood. He let me drive it, too and I enjoyed it a lot. The engine roared as we took the curve.