The pandemic is in full swing, and it’s impossible at the moment to travel back to Bangkok and the office. Dad’s recent passing brought me home to Florida, and there is no indication whatsoever when Thailand will allow return flights. AID is graciously allowing me to “work remotely” from my home in Florida, but I’m a field operator who’s paid to move and pound the dirt.
After several weeks of “Zoom calls” with its plethora of cubical commandos and mental masturbation, the walls are closing in. Bangkok is 12 time zones ahead, and I’m up most of the night working on Asia issues. I haven’t traveled in 4 months, and being stationary for that amount of time is out of character. It was after a 4th Friday night pint at Pareidolia when it suddenly struck me that my current leash to work was time/internet access and not space. The pandemic had temporarily eliminated the necessity of location in the employer-employee contract. While this contradicts every work norm you’ve developed over the last 40+ years, the truth is that everyone has jumped on board and is now embracing it as the “new normal”. WTF? I loaded up the Ram the next day with camping gear and would relocate my office to the West Coast (kids), Yellowstone, and the Dakotas for a few months until the snow flies or I’m cleared to return to Bangkok. My biggest surprise was that I’m one of the few or first to figure this out, as the national parks and travel infrastructure were virtually COVID-empty during the traditional high season. As far as the future of remote working, my guess is that once the pandemic ends, it will take its place in history with Bell Bottoms and the Blackberry.
What Next? 
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