Things around The A.V. Club’s TV show are heating up in all sorts of ways. We’re based in Chicago, land of unchanging cold. So when it gets warm here, people become nearly manic with joy. I am relieved that it’s cold-drink season because a couple of weeks ago, Neil DeGrasse Tyson was given my coffee mug as a going-away gift (something I am quite proud of), so even if I wanted hot drinks, I would have to drink them out of my bare hands.
This week’s episode is titled “Endless Summer” as we look at film studios’ modern habit of spitting out summer blockbuster type films all year long. The writer-director team of Rough Night, Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello, stopped by to tell us about the process of making a movie versus a television show—they’re also writers and co-executive producers on Broad City. We learned that TV networks can be real prudes about dildos. We’ll keep that in mind.
Summer blockbusters put me in the mood to sit for two hours without moving, one of my favorite pastimes. In honor of this, I would like to share with you, my reader, my picks for Best Places To Sit In The Office, Summer 2017.
Top of the list is definitely the pleasant beige couches that occupy the center of our office space. I am a big fan of sitting there for two hours. Like many couches, these two couches are comfortable and large. You can comfortably sit on them for 120 minutes with a laptop and finish up some work. There is even a large wood coffee table between the couches that I enjoy putting my feet up on. But every blessing comes with a caveat. It’s never been explicitly expressed by higher-ups as to whether or not one can or should put their bare feet or socks on the couch. I, for one, would never put my shoes on the couch, but I worry that my colleagues think I am some sort of uncouth Kellyanne Conway when I put my bare feet on the couch.
Outside of our office is a small “patio” area that one of my colleagues said resembles a forced labor camp. I have never been to prison or seen labor camps but from what I imagine them to look like, I’d say our patio is 20 percent nicer. There’s a large fence that does block out most of the sun and huge letters that spell “WORK.” Despite or maybe because of these things, I enjoy being in the labor camp for two hours because there is a lovely bench, which is chained to the building, where you can get direct sunlight. The outside area also receives full, uninterrupted wi-fi, which I don’t think you get in prison.
To be honest, I would not choose to sit at my desk for two hours. I find office chairs uncomfortable. My chair is especially annoying because it’s always caught in a nest of computer cords. This is my cross to bear since I’m closest to the outlets. I also feel that my posture worsens if I lean over a desk for a long period of time. The upsides to the desk are my small but mighty jade plant—a very nice indoor plant that I highly recommend for any desk or home—and my framed photograph of Shonda Rhimes from the “Black TV Renaissance” episode of our show. Shonda watches over the jade plant and me, too.