My vision is finally complete. I won’t deny that it took so long that I wore out my chair but all the cast-offs and things that I wish I had installed (even some luxuries) are there. I have a new chair coming, just another day or two. The one I picked out got nixed by my wife for cost, but if I don’t like my new chair, I will be pushing for an upgrade.

Since the summer time, I have noticed that I have been having some back soreness. I observed that it went away when I spent several days at the hospital. It could be a number of things but I starting with replacing my office chair. I have sat in it a number of hours every day all summer long. And since it was given to me because it hurt the giver’s back, it is my number one suspect.

I was kind of on the fence about the TV and the surround sound. My thought for the TV is that it is a second monitor. It could be helpful in some group call settings, etc. That is a pretty thin reason. The truth is that I wanted it and when I saw one second hand for $12.50, it was a done deal. Once I had the TV, I had to also add the surround sound. I spent the time and expense to wire it up when I was building the space because that was my plan all along.

My piece de resistance is that I found an inexpensive sub-woofer to connect to the sound system. It is the 30 year long fulfillment. In the late 1990s we were denied credit at Montgomery Wards to purchase a full surround sound system. We told my in-laws about it and they immediately purchased it. I was slightly sad every time I looked at it, but the receiver and speakers got moved around and eventually deprecated.

The joke is on Montgomery Wards now, I am doing better than ever financially and they are out of business. I ended up with a much better system anyway. Once I realized that I could buy a subwoofer used at a reasonable price on eBay, it was a matter of the right time and place. Unfortunately, I have been working so much that I haven’t had a chance to really wring it out. The only thing I have done was the Dolby test. But it sounds fantastic with proper rear speaker placement and the subwoofer installed.

The space is truly my happy place. It is where I work (a lot), it is where I record my podcasts and due most of my writing. Now I can turn on football while I am putting in those late nights. It is always the first place I go in the mornings, even on the weekends. I can hide out until people start waking up and then I come upstairs to get the day started officially.

The tapestry on the wall is from my great grandmother. The pillows on the couch were made by my grandmother as part of our wedding quilt (which is now threadbare). The blanket on the couch was actually my wife’s when we first met. The pictures on the wall is my family crest and the other was from my father-in-law’s estate. My coat is an award that I won from a former job for meeting team performance metrics. I am surrounded by heritage, not just cast-offs.

I had visions of promo-ing a movie or reading a book on the couch or beating Need for Speed 2 the second time. That hasn’t come to fruition yet, nor do I think I will spend a lot more time than I already do in there. I would go as far as to say that I already may spend more time in my office than I do in my bed on average.

If I was being honest, I would like to have a little more storage. I would like to have one of those half file cabinets and maybe another under the desk storage drawer. I really don’t think I have any additional room for the file cabinet so that will probably never happen. I could probably add a few more decor items. For the most part, it is done and I am happy.

End Your Programming Routine: Outfitting my office with all of the techno-junk, personal items and do dads has been a pursuit for three years. All of my time building things, research into cables and cards, installing, testing and optimizing has been a lot of fun. In many ways, I am sad to be done but I need to move on. I need to be investing my time and money preparing for my hike next year. I am already feeling behind the gun on my preparedness for this event.