So I recently got a chance to work from home for the first time since moving to Amarillo.

Not by choice of course, my oldest stayed home from school sick.

Normally I relish these opportunities as it allows me to catch up on things and work ahead on some other stuff without being bothered all the time.

I've worked from home plenty of times when I lived in Austin and it was amazing. So quiet and peaceful. Maybe a little rustle of the leaves, a few birds chirping. It was nearly zen like for the most part.

However, after working a day at home in Amarillo, I couldn't wait to go back to the office. Who would've thought the office would be a quieter place?

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SIRENS

I'll tell you what. I don't know that I've heard SO many sirens at any point of any day as I heard during the middle of a weekday. I could be in the middle of something, then BAM, the screaming sound of a first responder pop off and startle me.

Ok, I understand people are in trouble and need help. Maybe a fire has indeed broken out somewhere. I was just truly amazed at how many different times I heard those things. It had to have been at least once an hour. Seems a little disproportionate if you ask me.

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SLAMMING CAR DOORS

There was about a 2 hour period where I kept hearing car doors opening and shutting. Not your normal, easy closing of a car door. These were hardcore slams. I know a lot of people like to go home for lunch to get away from the grind, and I'm all for that. However, it seemed like there were a lot of angry people during those lunch hours. Let your frustration out for sure so you go back to work with a clear head. Can you please just wait until you get inside?

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DELIVERY TRUCKS

It wasn't but just 20 years ago that if you saw a delivery truck coming down your street, it was exciting. UPS, FedEx, or DHL were typically your only ones. Fast forward to today and it amazes me how there are any brick and mortar stores left. It had to have been every 10 minutes, I could hear a delivery truck of some sort cruising down my street. You hear them stop with their squealing brakes, the truck engine shutting off, the cargo door flying open.

Then you hear them shuffling to someone's front doorstep, the scan to let them know their package has arrived. Back to the truck where they restart the engine and the quick acceleration as they head to their next destination. What I came away realizing is we rely WAY too much on online shopping. And yes...two of those delivery trucks stopped at my house. Hey, leave me alone. I have a baby on the way and people keep buying things for her.

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AUTO/MOTORCYCLE WORK

Ok, this one is hands down the most annoying one of them all. It amazes me just how many people are doing mechanical work on their cars or motorcycles throughout the day. It felt like half my neighborhood runs an auto repair shop right out of their own home. You could hear tools dropping, engines revving to epic levels. Time for the test drive after doing the work? Most annoying. Let's see how hard and fast we can push this thing right out the gate. I swear at one point I put on noise cancelling headphones just to mute the noise and distractions. Now I wonder if my sick kid was calling for me and I missed it.

Long story short, it's almost as if the daytime is busier than nighttime here in the 806. Seems a bit backwards because of the amount of people who are locked down at work for 8 hours a day. Maybe Amarillo IS a bustling city...we're just missing it all while we're in the office.

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