Who are the people in your neighborhood?

Okay...the photo above doesn't really look anything like Midland Street at the moment, but it's the only Midland Street photo I have on my MacBook (I'm out of the studio at the moment...care to guess where I am?).

I am asked pretty often about how I like having a studio out of my home. After working from home for six or seven years, it was a pretty big adjustment to get used to actually going to work. Getting up early was never an issue as I have always been an early riser, but the whole act of leaving the house to go to work was hard to get used to.

My answer is always an enthusiastic yes—I love my studio. I like that there is a distinct separation between work and home, even though at times it makes for long stretches without much at-home time.

One of my favorite things about the studio—and I may have written about this before—is that I really love being a part of the neighborhood. Working at home, you could go for long stretches where you didn't interact with other people and that could be a drag sometimes. What I love about Midland Street is that I enjoy working in an area where, even in winter, there is a lot of activity.

This morning I had to take my truck to the Smith's Auto Service—a mechanic just a few blocks up the street. When I walked in the door I was greeted by my friend Brian sitting there, also having work done to his car. We chat for a while in the garage and then then I had to get going.

I walked down a block or two to say hi to the guys at Sandlot Sports. We're working on a couple of projects together and haven't had a chance to talk this week. I hung out there and visited with Ryan and Adam for a few minutes before heading back toward the studio.

As I was walking, Randy the UPS driver waved me down from his truck. "I just left you a note on your door; I've got something for you," he said. He went into the back of the truck and pulled out a package of business cards. That was a huge help because I wanted to get the cards to the coffee shop this weekend.

After Randy gave me my package I continued on toward the studio, deciding to stop at Lucky's Pub to see what the lunch specials were. When Wayne told me that they had a meatball sandwich, my decision was made. I placed my order and then headed across the studio to kill 10 minutes until my lunch was ready. After checking e-mail and puttering around the studio for a few minutes, I headed back to Lucky's. When I got there my friend Bruce—one of the owners of Lucky's—was there along with another client of mine. We chatted for a few minutes and then I got my lunch and headed back to the studio.

In about 30 minutes I talked to about nine different people about everything ranging from work to family to playtime. This is the sort of thing you don't get when you work at home. I never got lonely or anything, but I would sometimes get a little desperate for human contact, you know? I'm pretty sure that I was so chatty that there were some telemarketers who put me on their NO CALL list to avoid having to talk to me again.

In summary, thanks for a great day Midland Street Historic District. And just think, when the warm weather gets here (in about eight to ten weeks), it will be even more fun. More people, patio beers, sunshine...I can hardly wait.