It’s mid-afternoon here and we’ve got the blinds closed to block out the sun. Lamps and lights are on, making the color strange. Adam’s flipping and switching a fresh batch of old records in between tasks. Livvy’s taking a nap. Jessica’s on a call. Beth and her sister Amber are working near the ACs, over where Cuppa used to be. I’m toiling away at the last bits of Paperwork, before I hand it over to Livvy to review. In a few minutes we’ll be taking recess, and it’s 50/50 on whether we’ll venture outside.

Adam will probably take off shortly after that. Beth and Amber, near the end of the workday, perhaps. And Jessica S. will hang out as long as Livvy and I do, and then drive us home, where Livvy and I will continue working on our baby show(er), which will continue to be a flood of feelings, most of it a kind of vertigo at the unbroken chain of ancestors leading to us and our unborn child, and also to all of you, our friends and loved ones. I will continue to find it an inescapable wonder that we’ve gotten to share some brief moment of our brief existence together.

And then tomorrow we’ll do something similar.

—Iván

→ Up Next

• Every Wednesday forever (including this next one, August 26) is Weekly Wednesday Worknight. $5, or free for members.
• Mary Ann’s Book Club is reading The Score for August 31 (a week from today!). Get a copy and get reading.
• PowerPoint Party No. 42 is Saturday, September 5. We’ve got a few slots reserved for first time presenters, but otherwise have a full list.
• Summery, Livvy and my every-yearly story- and reflection-driven end-of-summer picture show is going to be on September 22. It’s our favorite event of the entire year. It’s kind of like Glint but a little more essay-ish and with visual aid—or like PowerPoint Party but with less education and more narrative—or like our Old Year’s Resolution Party but with a lot more craft and a shorter time period in review. We love it. Maybe you will too. I just started confirming the final list, but hear, at minimum, from me, Livvy, Michelle, Allyson, Lauren T., Mark, and Madeleine. Link to come.
• A bunch of us are again going to The Moth GrandSlam in support of Madeleine who will again be competing! September 25 at the Newman Center. Get a ticket and mark your calendar.

← August 16–22

Nostalgia

Do you remember the Ted Lasso watch party? Ryan’s elote popcorn, Jessica S.’s peach jelly beans, Jaime’s report of the Perseids? Our walk around the block? How Madeleine didn’t watch anything but came for the company? That as we reset the room we decided to leave another couch out?

Or the uncommon Management-only workday? How Jessica S. appeared at the very end, followed by Gus and Slayton? That the Creative Code Denver meetup again had a good crowd?

The day with Allyson in? Ryan’s brief plant-pickup? The outdoor offsite movie? How you got to meet our friend Tyler, and we got to see Vivian? How the sound was definitely clear enough?

Our recess walk to a possible pediatrician? How Norton abandoned us when he found out how far away it was? The Worknight? How you danced at the first break? That the evening thinned? That we went to Tony P’s for the following break? That at the end we achieved an unsatisfying star shape?

Do you remember Madeleine’s morning energy? Helena’s first workday? Our afternoon harvesting of peaches in the hot sun?

The Friday without any Management in?

Or the Overtime at Lauren S. and Joe’s? The first one with multiple kids? How we got there so late but in time to see the crowd?

Bureaucratic Minutiae

• Five new post-it notes have entered the laminated collection. Three were not really ripe yet, but we couldn’t waste a laminator sheet. The ripest were the two by the microwave, which were laminated along with their crumbs. (If you have never seen this sequence, you can read it while you wait for your food to heat.) A new post-it was laminated right away: there have been a few reports of people getting walked in on in the bathroom; instructions for the proper use of the lock have been added. Writeup by Livvy
• At long last the long lost sticky note modifying the Quiet Cozy Room sign to read Quite Cozy “Kissing” Room has been rediscovered, affixed to the back of the Quite Cozy Room sign which it originally annotated. This rediscovery was the result of what appears to have been an unauthorized sign takedown, the perpetrator of which kindly left the sign face down on the ottoman so as to retain the stickiness of the tape on the back corners, inadvertently revealing the “Kissing” note. Legend has it that the “Kissing” was originally added by Halie—a once-frequent face—whose first kiss with Justin—another once-frequent face—took place in that very room, leading to its renaming (though not its repurposing). It is believed that the disappearance of the “Kissing” occurred around the time of the visit of three high school students of Jessica P., who came to The Company for the purpose of receiving feedback from a few developers and designers then present. Alex P. allegedly removed the “Kissing” from the sign in an effort to not raise questions about what kind of room it was. We have yet to confirm with Alex if he remembers his clever safe-keeping solution, or if that was the result of some other person’s work. In the meantime, we are pleased to report that the sign has returned to it’s previous modified state.
• At Worknight: Mark sorted Ridwell and journaled about [redacted]; Madeleine and Ivan discussed story structures; Lizzie ordered a new journal; Jessica S. read for 25 minutes; Norton reorganized his apartment; Livvy committed name change and posted about the API and started writing Dad’s line through Dad’s birth; and Ivan began reviewing the family history script. Writeup by Livvy
• Finally, a reminder that The Company is a member-supported gathering place. If you’d like to pop in for a workday and you know one of us, reach out to schedule a time and we can let you in for free. If we don’t know you yet, reach out so we can get to know you, or come by an event and say hi.

Photos

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Paperwork is the official corporate communication of The Company, an indie, member-supported gathering place run by Iván, Livvy, and Norton. This issue of Paperwork was written by Iván, and was shot by Madeleine, Norton, Beth, Livvy, and Lauren S. Photo selection and editing by Iván and Livvy. Editorial support was provided by Livvy. This issue, and The Company itself, was made possible by the support of our members, Halie, Drew J., Justin, Mason, José, Mary Ann, Trevr, Allyson, Lizzie, Elijah, Michelle, Jim, Jacob, Mark, Sabrina, Beth, Dani, Chris, Will, Rebeca, Sarah, Alex, Jessica P., Jessica S., Ben, Sam Ad., Christof, Ryan, Lauren T., Madeleine, Simon, Adam, Gus, Lauren S., Earl, Bennett, Sylvia, Morgan, Joe, and Case; and our Junior Associates, Asher and Vivian.

Feel free to forward. Everyone loves Paperwork.