A Sea of Gray @ NYTimes.com

On my first-ever Take Your Daughter to Work Day, my dad brought me to an Intel campus west of Portland. I attended meetings where folks discussed architectural plans for a new fab (one pressing issue: water fountains that could serve 1,000 people quickly and without waste), and I got to spend time chatting with an engineer at his cube.

My dad encouraged me to consider engineering, trying to tempt me with the fact that every engineer also had their own computer (I know, this sounds ridiculous now). Plus, Intel had just built a fantastic new cafeteria and the campus even had a sand volleyball court.

I couldn’t get over the sea of gray cubicles. I could tell other people were around, but I couldn’t see anyone else. It didn’t help that at that at 5’2” I hadn’t yet hit my growth spurt. The place hummed, but I felt like an insect trapped in a hive. It wasn’t how I wanted to work.

I also noticed that nobody ever actually played volleyball.

16 years later I work in a sea of gray cubicles. They’re the short kind, so you can actually see people’s heads. And still, this isn’t how I want to work.

My time in the sea of gray ends of February 23rd. I am looking for a place full of life. A place where people collaborate. A place where conversations aren’t just held in cafeterias. A place where people actually play volleyball…metaphorically speaking. Maybe I’m looking for your company. Maybe you’re looking for someone like me.

Cheers,
Abi Jones
email: abi@jonesabi.com
portfolio: jonesabi.carbonmade.com