A few months ago, I left the company that I have been working with for almost 3 years due to health reasons. I decided to just stay back in my hometown and take a step away from the fast paced life of the city.

I’ll be honest, I was really scared to leave because the company and its benefits are quite good compared to others. Not too great, but still, I think it is somewhat above average. The decision was difficult but it was clear that I needed to take care of my health first. I am the breadwinner of my family and in an Asian household, breadwinners can’t afford to lose their job.

Before passing my resignation letter, I thought about ways of earn-ing good cash while staying in my hometown. I thought about selling vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, and other goods to my friends back in the city. Food here is cheap and I can make a stable amount of money sell-ing those. Then I remembered some-thing. I have the freedom to work remotely! I just need to find the right amount of work and the right kind work! Emphasis on the latter.

Being in the software industry for almost 4 years, it was not hard for me to get some projects going. Not too long after I left my company, I already had some projects that kept me busy while my vegetables started growing! Sweet!

Everything is simple and quiet— too quiet. In my previous work, I real-ized one thing about myself. I AM A SOCIAL PERSON. I kept denying it all these years but I actually like being in the company of my friends and other people. I want to see people’s reac-tions and I consider interacting with good people as one of the things I enjoy in life. I was really scared! I mean crazy scared!

A week before resigning, I constantly contemplated about it. “What should I do?”, I always asked myself. If I stay in the province, I’ll be alone at our house everyday. I’ll have no one to talk to unlike in the office. Who will I talk to when I have ques-tions about stuff? No more drink out/dinner with office mates. Who will I go out with during lunch time? Coffee time? I was uncertain. I know that I might be having separation anxiety and that it will pass, but the thought of working and eating and playing and doing everything alone made me feel uncomfortable. It is probably the worst thing about working remotely.

The first few days were tough and exciting at the same time. I never knew what to expect since I’ve been so used to the 9-5 office lifestyle. My clock needed to rewire itself and get used to this new environment that I have- I need to wake up early to go jogging, then go to the farm if I have some time or if I wake up early enough, then go get breakfast (sometimes, buy them in the market and cook it at home), then start some work on some projects, then clean our house, then do laundry, then feed the dogs, then go buy some food for lunch, then clean the dishes, then do some work again after lunch, then sleep, then buy snacks, then do some work again, then prepare dinner, then play some online games, then work, then sleep and the cycle repeats. It is just anoth-er cycle, the same as my 9–5 office routine.

But even though it is a cycle, something feels different. It’s true, you just keep doing most of the same stuff everyday. But as time passes, and as I accustomed myself to this environment, it became clear that things are different. I now have the time to bike in the afternoon. I can go jogging or biking in the morning easi-ly, since back in the city, it’s hard.

I can go to the farm, or go to the park or go to wherever I want with less constraint on my time. My breakfast is full of random people, but they talk to me–-hearing the stories of old folks, the whining of school kids with their parents, all sorts of stories.

My manager is fun to work with, and I learn a lot from him.

I always see random pennies while cleaning. Now I have a jar full of them.

I get to flex my muscles during laundry days.

I became more appreciative of my three dogs that accompany me when I am alone.

I take out food at the nearby “Karinderya”.

I always get a free scoop of leche flan. Sweet!

The list continues.

I thought that working remotely will render me socially deprived, but to be honest, I’ve never felt more connected to people. The interaction that I get from the office environment is good. But most of the times, it is just full of formalities, seriousness, and stiffness. C’mon, who sits in the meeting room for an hour discuss-ing random stuff that sometimes is not even work relevant? I feel like the office environment is just trying hard to make itself feel social and most interactions are fake. Of course, lunch out, dinner, drinking with the team, these interactions are probably real.

Everyday, I meet new sets of peo-ple and just a simple question from some old granny like “How are you today?” feels so genuine. Or the small gesture of the “Taho” vendor to add more sago makes your day a little bit better. Maybe because here in the province, life is a bit slower; that taking time to talk to people actually needs you to TAKE TIME AND TALK TO PEOPLE- no time constraints, no meeting agenda, just plain human interaction.