Pastime Worktime

So this afternoon I was sitting here at my desk working on the next redesign of this Web site (coming soon) with the TV turned on in the background, tuned into the Mets/Expos game in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I’ve never been much into team sports, but in the past year or two, I’ve become steadily more intrigued by baseball, and now I’m even happy that the season has started again — I never would’ve imagined this a few years ago.

There’s no shortage of praise for the game’s subtle beauty, but one thing I can say is that baseball is a wonderful game to design to. There is something peculiarly soothing about its ambient soundtrack and its pace that is conducive to long hours spent at the keyboard. I keep my back turned to the set, and when there’s a notable play, I’ll swing around and have a look at the replay. It’s a peculiar but satisfying way to break the monotony of staring at a computer screen. The closest thing I can liken it to is working in one room while a small, well-behaved cocktail party is taking place in the next room, and every once in a while someone comes over to tell you about something particularly funny or notable that was just said. Actually, that sounds weird. It’s more enjoyable than that.