Overheard a guy in a coworking space say he missed having a desk that wasn't also his kitchen table

I was grabbing coffee at this place in Chiang Mai and this dude next to me was venting to his friend about how he'd been working from hostels for six months straight. He said something like 'my back hurts and I'm tired of setting up my laptop on a bunk bed.' It just hit me how different things are now compared to even five years ago when we all had apartments with actual desks. Makes me wonder if anyone else feels like the nomadic life has gotten more chaotic lately or if it's just me.

2 comments

2 Comments

the_ryan16d ago

Ha, that brings back a memory. I had a buddy who crashed at a coworking space in Mexico City for like four months and he told me he started keeping his passport and a change of clothes in a gym bag under his desk because he was basically living out of the hostel next door. He said his whole life was just moving from a stool to a hammock to a hostel bed, never really settling anywhere. He finally broke down and rented a tiny apartment with a real table and he texted me a photo of it like it was a major life victory. Things are definitely more rough and tumble now than they used to be, that's for sure.

fisher.adam16d ago

The four months bit is impressive honestly. I couldn't even make it two weeks in that lifestyle before I started smashing my laptop charger on the floor because there wasn't a proper outlet near my beanbag chair. I had to sleep with one eye open because I kept confusing hostel roommates for coworkers and asking them about their project timelines. The worst part was when I started treating free coffee refills like a civil right. I still have the gym bag habit though, keeps me ready for the next "temporary" situation that somehow lasts six months.