Recently, I rediscovered the Dilbert site (http://www.dilbert.com). I have to say that Scott Adams really has an incredible gift for portraying life in corporate America. Having been a tech writer for years in that environment, the comic strips that include Tina, the poor beleaguered writer particularly crack me up.
The last time I checked out the site, I noticed that they’ve got a link to the "ultimate cubicle" on the News page. The ultimate cubicle includes (among many other cool features) a Self-timing Guest Seat, which is "A micro-switch that, when triggered by the seat being unfolded, will set off a timing circuit, which will then dial the extension of the phone in the workspace. This provides the inhabitant with an excuse to get rid of the guest." I was thinking about that particular feature the other day when pretty much every nearby mammalian form was in my office.
James had to set up the creaky old 486 to test out an old (really old) Word macro under Windows 95. So at that particular moment, we had all 4 snoozing dogs and 2 awake humans crammed within 18 inches of one another. One cat was nearby observing. (Being small, she had the wit to stay away from all those big feet.)
Eventually the snoring hounds clued into the thrill of having another human in my office and woke up. They began to cluster and snuffle as dogs are prone to do. There were many moments when I was afraid Cami was going to accidentally turn off my computer with her large hairy butt.
Eventually everybody left, even without the Self-timing Guest Seat. But I am left with a new appreciation for an office with a door.