我在辦公室住了500天

By+Terry+K++汪亞群

現(xiàn)代社會中，隨著生活方式的多樣化，人們觀念里對“家”的定義也在發(fā)生著改變。家的形式不再限于擁有一所大房子、一個穩(wěn)定的住所。有些人蝸居在小房子里，有些人住在房車里，有些人甚至以垃圾桶為家，下文的作者就體驗了一把住在辦公室里的生活。無論家的形式如何，只要你喜歡這種生活方式，過得開心快樂，不用為了房租、房貸而放棄夢想，那四海為家又何嘗不可呢？

I was asleep when I heard the door rattle against the frame. My eyes flashed open and I sprung upright in my under-desk sleep space. Was it all over？ Had someone come to work early？ I peered over my desk， afraid of what I might see. The morning sun burned through the chicken-scratch1） graffiti of the offices front door， spilling across the labyrinth of desks spread out before me. There wasnt a soul in sight. I breathed a sigh of relief. Probably just paranoia2）. Or maybe not—a breeze blew the front door against its frame， the pygmy3）-like rattle of a loose door jamb. It was the same sound I heard moments before and would hear countless times in the future but never quite get used to.

A little paranoia goes a long way4） when you live in a 10-square-foot workstation. I stood up， stretching my limbs toward the sky like a thawing， cryo-preserved humanoid， neck kinked and back stiff. I bent down to deflate my air mattress. The clock read 6：45 a.m. Under normal circumstances Id still be asleep， but these circumstances were far from normal.

Earlier that week， I had moved into my office. Secretly. I rented out my Venice Beach apartment for the month， packed a few duffels5） with my clothes and prized belongings， and started taking up residence behind my desk， carefully using each square inch of out-of-sight real estate to store my stuff. Not everyone aspires to have their co-workers catching them at their desk in their tighty-whities6）—at 6 in the morning. Believing the best-case-scenario reaction to my being there would be supreme awkwardness， I kept the whole thing to myself. Every morning Id neatly pack away my personal belongings， turning the lights back on and lowering the air conditioning to its too-chilly-for-me 72 degrees—the way they always left it overnight. Id leave for a morning workout and shower， simultaneously keeping clean and in shape while ensuring I wasnt always the first to arrive. Occasionally Id even make myself late to work， blaming the awful L.A. traffic. Just to fit in.

If living in the office seems like too much effort， it was a cakewalk7） compared to making monthly rent payments.

It had been two years since moving to Los Angeles and， like many Angelinos， I was broke. I stretched the definition of affordability by taking a studio apartment8） within 20 minutes of work， cramming my belongings into 250 square feet of glorified tenement9） housing while my savings vanished like a roach10） in the daylight. I put my dreams of traveling and writing on hold11） so I could stabilize my living situation. I figured I could suffer for a bit in the meantime.

By the summer of 2012， those dreams gave way to12） a nightmare. Id been working two jobs—60 hours a week to keep an apartment I rarely had time to enjoy. Then， disaster struck. Company raises and bonuses were frozen. My identity was stolen. I got a hefty13） hospital bill for a surgery earlier that year. With existing student loans， a car payment and my rent set for its maximum-allowable annual increase under the California law， I started to wonder： What happened to my American Dream？

I had little left to sacrifice. Without money， I had two choices： Give up my dreams of working creatively or surrender my time working even more. Either way， the outlook was gloomy. Until I remembered my ace in the hole14）.

A few months earlier， I stopped by the office on a late-weeknight assignment. Everything around the place was closed. The land of business plazas was a veritable ghost town， a blank spot on the map， stripped naked from the daytime bustle. Around that time， the news was filled with stories about an influx of U.S. congressmen taking up residences in their D.C. offices. They were converting perfectly livable， neglected space into their own white-collar Walden15） for the working man. I wondered if I could do the same. But before it became necessary， it seemed impossible.

Yawning myself awake in an empty office， that impossibility disappeared. So what if there was sacrifice？ Waking up with a pumping adrenal gland16） wasnt ideal， but it was better than lying in bed knowing your hours were auctioned off17） to a status quo18） you never wanted in the first place.

Living at the office remains a unique solution to overpriced housing woes. But there are alternatives. Many working folks， balancing skyrocketing cost-of-living with grounded wages， are employing their own varying degrees of minimalism19）. From starving artists living in their vehicles to the middle class moving into tiny homes， from dumpster-dwelling20） college professors to Volkswagen van Major League Baseball players， how Americans are defining “home” is changing at all levels of the socioeconomic scale.

The traditional definition of home isnt always friendly to the neo-minimalist middle class. The Oxford Dictionary defines the term in a variety of ways， with its fourth listing providing perhaps the most progressive description： A place where something flourishes， is most typically found， or from which it originates.

For folks like me， this essence of home is fundamental to our existence. Instead of “homeless，” I prefer to use the term “home-free.” It champions choice without undermining the challenges faced by those without it.

Indeed， what started as a temporary financial solution turned into a lifestyle. I grew to prefer it. Impending debt morphed into growing savings. Sleepwalking through two jobs to squeak21） by gave way to a wealth of free time. My spending habits ground to a halt22）， my savings ballooned. I gave up my apartment entirely， shed a great deal of my belongings， and committed to a life of salaried simplicity.

My routine became more essential， flustering less and less about meeting the lowest levels of Maslows hierarchy of needs23）. I took off to the Caribbean for two summer weeks to film a movie. I celebrated New Years with a lovely lady in South America. I started reading again. Started writing. Living this way forced me to engage my passions. I socialized more often， spent more time outside. My day-to-day—once orbiting around keeping an apartment—now held gravity to my passions. I was happier.

Living in the office had many unexpected perks. But it was far from a permanent solution. I lived in the office for 500 days. Ultimately， the company went under24）. I was part of the first round of layoffs. I lost my job and my home all in one， but I saved over $20，000 in living costs and 216 hours of commuting.

Recently I found myself waking up before sunrise， but this time it happened slowly， taking care not to hit my head on the low ceiling above me. I looked out the passenger-side window. The moon reflected off the water as the sounds of the swells tickling up against the rocky shore echoed past my Pacific Coast Highway roadside parking space.

I was in the back of my truck， atop a twin-size memory foam mattress edged between a mini bookshelf and multi-functional cabinet. This is my new place of residence， a custom-built tiny home on four wheels， great for overnighting at a series of vista points and national forests along the way to Oregon.

I finished building it before I left the office. Everything I needed—a tiny fridge， a portable butane stove， a sturdy water jug， a paper towel rack—I was fortunate enough to purchase while money was good. Mostly I stay local， picking up odd jobs while writing， pursuing the career Id always wanted but never had the time to try. Its a different routine from the office. Its Henry David Thoreau meets Henry Ford25）.

Its not for everybody， either. But Im happy. On the average week， I pack 20 hours of work into a few days， leaving the rest of my time to write. It lacks the material benefits from my full-time days， but the benefits outweigh the negatives. Now I take my home with me wherever I go.

What more could I want？

我正在睡覺，忽然聽到門碰到門框發(fā)出的嘎吱聲。我猛地睜開眼睛，迅速從辦公桌下睡覺的地方坐了起來。這下完蛋了嗎？有人提早來上班了？我從辦公桌上提心吊膽地瞟過去，對自己可能會看到的東西感到害怕。透過辦公室正門上鬼畫符一樣的涂鴉，清晨的陽光火辣辣地照了進來，灑在面前迷宮般的辦公桌上。眼前連個人影也沒有。我松了口氣，可能只是我疑神疑鬼了?；蛟S又不是，一陣微風(fēng)吹來，門板打在門框上，松動的門框發(fā)出鬼叫一樣的聲音。我剛才聽到的就是這種聲音，今后也會聽到無數(shù)次，可一直適應(yīng)不了。

當(dāng)你住在一個十平方英尺（約一平米）的工位里時，多疑一點還是大有益處的。我站起來，使勁地伸了伸懶腰，就像一個正在解凍的低溫儲藏的人形機器人，脖子酸疼，后背僵硬。我彎腰放掉充氣睡墊里的空氣。時鐘顯示現(xiàn)在是早上6點45分。通常情況下，這個時間我應(yīng)該還在睡覺，但眼下的一切跟正常情況相比還差得遠呢。

那周一開始，我就搬進了辦公室住。誰都不知道。那個月我把自己位于威尼斯海灘的公寓租了出去，簡單地打包了一些生活必需品、衣物和一些值錢的東西，就這樣開始在我辦公桌的后面住了下來。我小心謹慎地利用人們視野外的每寸空間，把個人物品儲藏好。并不是每個人都希望被自己的同事看到在辦公桌旁穿著白色三角褲，還是在早上6點的時候。若他們看到我那個樣子，相信在最好的情況下他們的反應(yīng)都是極為尷尬的。所以，整件事我跟誰都沒透露。每天早上我都會干凈利索地收拾好個人物品，把辦公室的燈重新打開，把空調(diào)調(diào)至讓我覺得凍得不行的72華氏度—同事們頭天晚上離開辦公室時就這個樣子。我會出去晨練，然后沖個澡，這能讓我在保持干凈清爽和好身材的同時，還可確保自己不總是第一個到辦公室。偶爾我甚至還會故意遲到，并抱怨一番洛杉磯擁堵的交通狀況。只是不想與眾不同。

如果說住在辦公室看起來不容易的話，那跟每月交房租比起來，這簡直是小菜一碟。

那時我來洛杉磯已有兩年了，和許多洛杉磯人一樣，我仍身無分文。我在距離公司20分鐘車程的地方租了間帶廚衛(wèi)的單間公寓，勉強也算是租得起房的人了。房子250平方英尺（約25平米），美其名曰經(jīng)濟公寓。我把所有的東西都塞了進去，而同時我的那點積蓄就像大白天的蟑螂一樣唰唰地消失得比什么都快。我把旅行和寫作的夢想擱置一旁，以便能讓生活狀況穩(wěn)定下來。我認為在這期間自己可以稍微吃點苦。

到2012年夏天，這些夢想變成了一場噩夢。為了保住我那幾乎沒時間享受的公寓，我一直干著兩份工作，每周工作60小時。之后，災(zāi)難降臨了。公司漲的薪水和發(fā)放的獎金被凍結(jié)。我的身份信息遭竊。年初做的一次手術(shù)還有一大筆手術(shù)費沒付清，再加上還沒付清的學(xué)生貸款、買車款以及我那每年都以加州法律所允許的最高年度漲幅往上抬價的房租，我不禁開始懷疑：我的“美國夢”到底怎么了？

我已經(jīng)沒什么可以犧牲的了。身無分文，我只有兩個選擇：要么放棄我做創(chuàng)意工作的夢想，要么花更多的時間來工作。無論哪種方式，前景都很暗淡。直到我想到了“錦囊妙計”。

幾個月前，一個工作日的深夜，我到辦公室趕一個工作任務(wù)。辦公室周邊的場所都關(guān)門了。商業(yè)區(qū)集中的地方簡直就是一座名副其實的鬼城，成為夜間地圖上的一個空白地帶，白天的喧囂全然不見。那段時間，新聞上充斥著各種報道，說很多國會議員將哥倫比亞特區(qū)的辦公室當(dāng)做住所。他們將完全可居住卻遭忽略的空間進行改造，將之變成白領(lǐng)工人的瓦爾登湖畔小屋。我曾考慮過我是否也可以這樣做。但不到萬不得已時，這似乎都是不可能的。

在這空無一人的辦公室中，我打著哈欠醒來。這時，這種不可能性消失了。需要付出代價又怎樣呢？醒來時腎上腺素激增并不是很理想的狀態(tài)，但是這也比躺在床上眼睜睜看著時間被拍賣換來你那壓根就不想要的生活現(xiàn)狀要強。

面對高房價帶來的痛苦，住在辦公室仍不失為一種獨特的解決辦法。但還是有許多可供選擇的解決辦法。很多工作人士為了平衡飆升的生活成本與紋絲不動的工資，都在不同程度地踐行著他們自己的極簡主義。從住在自己車上的饑腸轆轆的藝術(shù)家，到搬進小房子的中產(chǎn)階級，從住在垃圾桶里的大學(xué)教授，到住在大眾廂式貨車里的職業(yè)棒球聯(lián)盟球員，各個社會經(jīng)濟層面的美國人對“家”的定義都在發(fā)生著變化。

對于奉行新極簡主義的中產(chǎn)階級來說，家的傳統(tǒng)定義并不總是很友好?！杜＝蛟~典》對這一詞有多種定義，其中的第四個詞條可能提供了一種最為進步的解釋：生息地；產(chǎn)地；發(fā)源地。

對像我這樣的人而言，家的這一本質(zhì)對于我們的生存來說至關(guān)重要。與“無家可歸”比起來，我更傾向使用“四海為家”一詞?！八暮榧摇币辉~捍衛(wèi)了你的選擇，卻又沒有淡化那些沒得選的人所面臨的挑戰(zhàn)。

事實上，最初臨時性的財務(wù)解決方案后來卻成了我的一種生活方式。我漸漸喜歡上這種生活方式。迫在眉睫的債務(wù)變成了日益增多的存款。之前身兼兩份工作，整天昏昏沉沉地干活以勉強度日，現(xiàn)在變成了擁有大把的閑暇時間。我漸漸地拋棄了之前的消費習(xí)慣，存款開始猛增。我把租的公寓徹底退掉了，把自己的很多物品都扔了，全心投入到一種領(lǐng)薪的簡單生活中去。

我的日常生活變得更加精煉，為了滿足馬斯洛需求層次理論最下層的需求而忙亂不堪的情況越來越少。炎炎夏日里，我飛到加勒比海待了兩個星期，去拍攝一部電影。我在南美和一位美麗的女士共度新年。我又開始閱讀，開始寫作。以這種方式生活使我激情煥發(fā)。我更頻繁地參與社交活動，花更多的時間待在戶外。以前我每天的生活都是圍繞著如何保住一間公寓，現(xiàn)在我的生活重心轉(zhuǎn)移到自己的愛好上來了。我比以前更快樂了。

住在辦公室還有很多意外的驚喜，但這遠遠不是一個長久之計。我在辦公室里生活了500天。最后，公司破產(chǎn)了。我是首批被裁掉的員工中的一員。我的工作和我的家一下子全沒了，但是我節(jié)省了兩萬多美元的生活成本以及216個小時的上下班時間。

最近，我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在天還沒亮?xí)r就醒了，不過這次是慢慢地起身，我得小心點，以免撞在上方低低的天花板上。我透過一側(cè)的車窗往外看。月光照在海面上，海浪輕輕地來回拍打著巖石堤岸，聲音回蕩在空中，掠過太平洋沿岸公路路邊我停車的停車場，飄向遠方。

我躺在我的卡車后部的單人床記憶泡沫床墊上，床墊的一邊是一個迷你小書架，另一邊是一個多功能柜子。這是我的新住所，一個有四個輪子的定制的小家。開著它前往俄勒岡州，沿途在眾多的景點和國家森林保護區(qū)過夜，真是棒極了。

在我離開公司前，這輛車就已經(jīng)打造好了。我很慶幸，趁還有錢的時候，我把需要的東西都買了—一個小冰箱、一個燒丁烷的便攜式爐子、一個結(jié)實耐用的水壺，還有一個紙巾架。大部分時間，我都待在本地，一邊寫作一邊打些零工，從事著我一直以來想做但卻從未有時間嘗試的工作。這樣的日常生活與辦公室生活截然不同。這就像是亨利·戴維·梭羅遇見了亨利·福特。

這種生活并不適于每個人，但我很快樂。一般每周我會把20小時的工作量集中在幾天內(nèi)完成，剩下的時間我用來寫作。這種生活雖然缺少全天上班時的那種物質(zhì)利益，但其益處蓋過了弊端?，F(xiàn)在我不管到哪里去，都可以把家隨身帶著。

生活如此，夫復(fù)何求？