Location, vocation, location

I love this photo.

It was snapped by a local photographer using some time-lapse thig-a-majig that's way too technical for this Luddite.

I do know it was taken from a hilly knoll in El Segundo that is favorited by plane-o-philes like myself.

Not sure why I love planes, particularly since I hate flying. And hate is an understatement. Before I can fly anywhere I need to make a trip to the local pharmacy. And if I'm going oversees I usually have to cop some illegal stuff from a guy in the alley behind the Rite-Aid.

Also, I can't sleep while flying.

I always picture some emergency in the cockpit and a crew member calling for any volunteer to help pilot the craft. I know nothing of aeronautics but I've watched enough movies and played some aerial combat video games, and feel confident I could come through in a pinch.

When I was a staffer forced to take business trips, my partner John Shirley would always check the turbulence forecast on his laptop. Then, to bust my balls while downing my double shot of Jack Daniels, he would announce…

"Oh man look at those winds. Those are wing-rippers!"

Like I said, I hate flying.

But I love planes.

Which makes my current work environment so damn pleasing.

You see I'm about a 1/2 mile down the road from the aforementioned knoll in El Segundo. I'm seven stories up. And while I'm not sitting in a private office, I'm in a pretty quiet semi-secluded cubicle, with a similar, if not better, view of the LAX runways.

I shot this in between writing some banner ads for a local colonic clinic.

Not sure the iPhone does it justice. But I will tell you the sight of something as large as a cruise ship lifting off the ground never ceases to amaze. Especially when the big birds, the 747's and the 777's take all of the runway and nose up just before cresting over the hill and the Pacific Ocean.

It all brings up a point about offices, seating arrangements and negotiations with ad agencies.

I've made myself clear about communal work tables on several occasions. There's no need to repeat myself. But I do advise anyone jumping ship or considering a new job offer to bring up the seating arrangements.

Where you sit for 8 or 10 or 12 hours a day is important. It affects how you feel. And ultimately how you work.

Ignore it and it's like getting stuck in a crappy, bed-bug infested hotel room wedged between the squeaky elevator and the rattling ice machine.