volume

the ieee computer society is located in an industrial park that is caddy corner to a residential neighborhood and across the street from a high school. the window that my cubicle faces overlooks the rear parking lot, the dumpsters, and a few sparse trees that grow just beyond the fence. the windows are mirrored in that one-way fashion that prevents people from seeing in and also colors the sky a milky grey even in glaring sunlight (and especially on a day like today, when the sky is overcast and threatening rain to begin with). it is the sort of office life that puts one in a mood so down-trodden that it is only justified by the promise of paid time off and health benefits and the hope of eventually getting out of debt. it is a boring job, but a good job. it is the kind of job that one’s parents are happy to see.

today at 10:30, for no particularly discernable reason, a man dressed in slacks and a button down shirt took to skateboarding about in the recesses of our rear parking lot. he leaned into the deep curves and glided over the gravel and spent cigarettes. the air filled his sleeves and ruffled his neatly combed hair. the women conversing in the cubicle next over took a moment to wonder where he had come from (the magazine side of the building, perhaps? the white building with the big, black windows across the way?) as he slid around the corner of the party rentals building and disappeared.

it reminded me of the time, not so long ago, when i saw a grown man outside of the costco clinging to the back of a shopping cart and hurtling himself through the parking lot, his dress shoes occasionally skimming the ground for greater momentum, his tie flung across his left shoulder.

oh, these tiny moments of rebellion. these spirits that refuse to be hushed.