Rolling out the red carpet (not)

And you wonder why I don’t go visit my company HQ all that often.  I had a cubicle “reserved” for my 2 days.  When I got here this morning, there was absolutely nothing in the cube – no phone, no monitor, no laptop docking station, not even a fricking chair.  Just a power strip.  Thanks for the welcome….  And the office is like a ghost town, hardly any conversation or interaction – just the occasional noise that emanates from a stray cubicle or office.  I knew it was bad – I had heard tales of people leaving without any fanfare, without anybody knowing  and without any type of send-off whatsoever, and that doesn’t surprise me.  I kind of forced myself to go round and meet up with a few people that either I have worked with or will work it, which sometimes went well and sometimes was a bit awkward – but at least I tried.  What an absolutely terrible working environment – which is why I would never want to work in this office, and why I should appreciate working in the Seattle office a lot more (despite the many things that get on my nerves there).  Also - in the two stints that I’ve worked at this company, I’ve been to visit here maybe about 4 times and always stayed at the same hotel; but if I have to come here again then I won’t stay at the same hotel again.  It may be convenient – 5 minute drive away from the office – but it sucks: the terrible water pressure, the terrible internet service, the weird smells (I’m sure I smelt some kind of combination of weed and bleach last night), the lack of sound-proofing and hearing everything your neighbor is saying, doing, and watching.  I’m sure this isn’t the first time I’ve had an issue, and this ain’t a cheap hotel (though, admittedly, I am expensing EVERYTHING on this trip), but clearly I am not learning from my mistakes (something that can be said about me on all manner of topics).  With a rental car, I don’t have to be quite so picky about where I stay.  Still, I’d rather avoid coming out here again as much as possible – the last trip was about a year and a half ago, and hopefully the next one will not be any sooner than that.