This past Friday t.o.night Newspaper said goodbye to our home for two years above Queen St. East’s Curzon pub; we’ve endured a lot of seat shuffling over this time as advertising sales reps, the editorial team, and our Publisher/VP moved their desks around the office in order to find that perfect equilibrium between noise levels and heating/cooling air flow from the overhead ducting system which seemed to culminate in the great thermostat war of 2010/11. All in all, the move pretty much just came down to our lease coming due at the end of August, and the operation outgrowing the retro-fitted apartment that we had tried to make so cozy… with IKEA furniture, and John’s fake wall – John, if you’re reading this… walls are more than just 2×4 studs… they have surfaces.
Suffice to say when we first looked at the new location, we weren’t too sure what to make of it. Strip away the now-lain carpet and the fresh paint and you would’ve been able to see the remnants of an old art gallery with accent running lights still adorning the walls where possible masterpieces once hung…. and a glossy waferboard floor. John seemed right at home during our first tour of the place, though the barren studded walls of what eventually became his office may have had something to do with it. I almost didn’t recognize it upon first entry Monday morning.
Yes the plants are fake, the furniture is still IKEA, and everything smells like paint… but the space doesn’t seem so constricting as our old locale. There’s enough room that we could easily squeeze in a few more desks in the main room as the operation continues to grow, and – as much as our E-in-C Jodi would hate to agree – the editorial room in the back can most likely sit 4 (possibly 5) people without anyone having to sit on top of one another (Jodi is quite adamant that she is comfortable with the three desks currently in there).
Time will tell how things roll from here on out where the operation is concerned, though I think everyone in the office is already fairly aware of my next motion for upgrades:
Flat-screens.
60″ Flat-screens.
:D
