Objects, Part 2: Q

Corner Rocker. Pictured here is a little bamboo rocker chair in a corner of my bedroom. I use this more than any other chair in my apartment as I primarily work off a laptop placed on my knees. It’s generally difficult for me to sit or stand completely still hence the rocking affordance is a welcome addition. The striations in color and natural fiber material evoke a welcoming warmth feeling that most industrial office chairs can’t offer. A small throw pillow provides some needed lumbar support. The narrow chair back allows me to openly pull my shoulders back both to stretch and as a reminder to not slouch.

All weather-er. This basic chair on the apartment patio is where I often take evening meetings, call friends and family, and have dinner. In these scenarios being in a relaxing place outdoors takes priority over comfort as each individual activity doesn’t span too long of a time period. As a result I associate downtime and meals with the patio space and its furniture. If it’s too cold outside I revert to the rocker chair previously mentioned. As a mass manufactured plastic and steel chair from Ikea, its simplicity gives it strength to hold up to outdoor conditions.

Utility player. Despite being comfortable the couch is the least used seating item in my apartment. It was provided to the apartment by my roommate and because cultural norms of course dictate every home needs a couch. It is positioned in front of the living room TV. As someone who doesn’t even have his own Netflix account, the living room is a space I don’t spend much time in. As the biggest item, however, it does draw one’s eyes and thus greatly shapes the room and provides a sense of coziness. Its size combined with a few pillows allow you to fully stretch out. The size also provides some utility functions as it can be used as an extra bed in a pinch. On the occasion guests are over it provides lots of extra, comfortable seats and becomes a center of entertainment and discussion. Overall it contributes to a relaxing mood when one isn’t busy being a full time employee and student.

The commuter. I forgot to take a photo so this one (source) is representative of my seat on the company shuttle used to commute to work. In the San Francisco (SF) area it is not unusual for companies to provide their own transportation shuttles – particularly between the strip that is SF and San Jose. The seat is pretty basic. It’s utilitarian in that it provides a place to sit on my 35 mile commute which on occasion takes up to two hours. A seat belt exists as required by law. However I can rarely get into a comfortable position and the seats are packed tightly together such that two tall individuals often rub elbows while typing away. The jolts from stop and go traffic and feeling of being in a big box certainly don’t help either. Overall it gets me between two places because few if any have ever said they like their  commute.

Tallboy. Despite constantly moving desks I have managed to hang onto this office chair for nearly three years. I keep it quite elevated from the ground for two reasons. The first is it’s a less drastic transition when switching the desk between standing and sitting modes. The second is even whilst sitting I can look across multiple aisles to see if a teammate is available. In the bottom right of the photo is a footstool where I rest my feet. The swivel makes it easy to turn around to chat with my team and the wheels allow me to quickly move it out of the way when I feel like standing. It’s more than satisfactory considering I rarely sit in it for more than two hours at a time. If you haven’t noticed, I’m generally a fan of armless chairs.

– by Q aka Alex Duong