I can work from anywhere now. I’m a graphic designer, which generally means my profession is portable. All I need to do my job is this laptop on which I’m currently writing this. It’s one of the few truly good things about my profession.

Right now, I’m sitting outside in the shade on a lovely, sunny, 70-degree day in Los Angeles. I love the winters here. The weather is the main reason I moved clear across the country. There’s a slight breeze, and strangely, an owl hooting even though it’s broad daylight. Now that I think about it, it’s probably not an owl, but something that sounds much like an owl.

I can hear the slight hum of the freeway a mile away and the more immediate sound of cars driving down the main drag at the end of my street whenever the light turns green. There’s a dog barking in the distance; there is always a dog barking in the distance. There are birds chirping all over the place. The birds in my neighborhood are very vocal. They have a lot to say.

I’m in my backyard, which contains a ridiculously healthy lemon tree that produces more lemons than entirely necessary by a vast margin. They make excellent lemonade. There are plants soaking up the sun in my garden: cilantro, basil, chives, oregano, strawberries and garlic to name a few. They smell good, earthy. None of my neighbors have seen fit to play their music at ear-splitting levels yet. It’s a quiet Saturday morning so far.

My backyard is a nice place to be and I spend most of my days out here. I’m unemployed and have nowhere else to be. This week, I worked on a freelance project. I spent most of my days sitting outside working on my laptop. It was a good week since I had a purpose. Don’t bother me, barking dogs and chirping birds and fake owls, I have work to do. On Tuesday, I sat in this very spot that I’m sitting now for twelve solid hours, working. I only got up to pee. I didn’t eat anything until 9PM. That’s not good.

When I had a real job to go to, I used to want to work from home in the worst way. I tried to negotiate at least one work from home day a week, but they never went for it. I don’t think they trusted me enough. I’m a mainly antisocial person and working from home all the time isn’t really healthy for me. If I did, I would never see anyone. Being in an office forces me to interact with people, which is a good thing. Working from home a couple of days a week and working in an office the rest of the time would be my ideal. Hopefully, I’ll find it soon. In the meantime, I’ll spend my days in my backyard listening to the birds. I wish I spoke their language because I have no idea what they’re trying to say.