Spriha Pradhan, Data Analyst for GlobalNOC’s Business Development and Outreach team, is responsible for interpreting client needs and applying such information to reports and dashboards, including performance analytics. For Spriha, the transition to remote work was difficult and exciting at same time. In the beginning, she missed working alongside her team and having conversations with them in the office. But Spriha said that her team has learned how to more effectively use Zoom to connect socially as well as professionally. Independent work-from-home has also allowed Spriha to focus deeply on her work, which she has enjoyed as much as she did from campus. In fact, free from her previous 90-minute daily commute and office distractions, WFH has given Spriha opportunity to pick up more job-based projects and spend more time with the people in her life outside of work. Here’s Spriha’s home workstation and her office mate “Momo.”
For Doug Southworth, Networks Systems Analyst for International Networks at IU, remote work has allowed him to surround himself with his wide assortment of beautifully crafted, meaningful objects. Behind Doug’s desk at home is part of his collection of old tube radios from the 1930s and 40s, some of which he has restored. Doug uses those radios with an AM transmitter at his house to broadcast his extensive set of Big Band recordings. Doug’s fondness for the craftsmanship and aesthetics of that era is also reflected in the vintage fans on display and a gimbal mounted nautical compass that belonged to his grandfather. Also on his shelf is a framed Thank You from the National University of Laos for leading a network monitoring and troubleshooting class there in 2019. Other items in Doug’s collections include model ships built by his uncle, a variety of bobble head figures, and many, many books. Doug’s WFH view also features a flag from his other grandfather who served in the Army Air Corps during WWII.
David Hunter, Principal Network Engineer at GlobalNOC, has decided "my cat, Isabelle, is irritated, judgmental, and completely sick of me."
In her roles as Director of both I-Light and the Indiana GigaPoP plus Director of Operations for GlobalNOC, Marianne Chitwood oversees 24×7×365 Service Desks, Business Development, Project Management, and Regional Networking. Since pre-pandemic these teams were already spread across two campus locations, communication among the members of her staff didn’t change all that much. Marianne’s biggest adjustment was a relatable one to many during WFH: she and her husband had to get into the groove of being together 24×7×365—which happily now feels natural. Marianne’s children are grown, but occasion distractions come from her 65-pound Goldendoodle, Lola. Marianne has a dedicated office space in her home, but her favorite WFH mode is outside, wrapped in a blanket if necessary, where she gets to enjoy this view.
Representing both good and bad timing, in February 2020, Chris Robb, Director of Internet2 Operations and Engineering at GlobalNOC, had just finished remodeling his basement to include both a new workspace and a board gaming area. The gaming area was intended to host current and former colleagues (including GlobalNOC’s Dan Doyle) for bi-weekly tabletop Dungeons & Dragons on Saturdays. But like so many social activities in pandemic, those game nights moved online. Chris said that during COVID-19 quarantine, his wife and daughter fortunately occasionally amused him by playing a game. Chris also got to put his new WFH set-up, complete with a comfy chair and vinyl to spin throughout the day, to much use in 2020.
GlobalNOC Systems & Software Engineer Nathan Samano was happy to report that COVID-19 related shut-downs didn’t negatively impact him much at all, apart from not being able to get to the gym and instead working out from home using body weight resistance bands. Nathan has enjoyed the switch to remote work in his set-up that includes a 32-inch monitor from Dan Doyle. According to Nathan, “there is just too much XP that needs to be had to be bored ;)” Here is Nathan’s WFH station and his “kill shelf of protein tubs” that colleagues have watch grow in his background during Zoom meetings over the past year:
During the work week, Ben Geels handles systems and software engineering for GlobalNOC. But on weekends in 2020, he and his family practiced extreme social distancing: “6 feet? Pssh, how about 6 miles!” Here is Ben with wife Brooke and daughter Sophia.
Pandemic has also given Ben and Sophie time to develop an indoor-based “unhealthy obsession” with Pokemon Mega Blocks.
Corey Donovan, GlobalNOC’s Manager of Business Operations, and his wife Rebecca welcomed their first child in July 2020. Here is Corey working from home with his special assistant, Theodore (aka Teddy), during a Zoom call:
Pandemic has been a busy time for Dan Doyle, Manager of Network Analysis. Around making sure from his custom-fit WFH station that GlobalNOC’s hardware and software configurations allowed for effective communication across networks that kept the world teaching, learning, researching, and working, Dan took frequent long walks outside with his wife and got to better know his environs. This likely served Dan well in another new role. Recognizing its strategic importance in the COVID-19 world order, Dan also became the local Toilet Paper Baron.
Regional Network Engineer Tony Winkler does not miss the commute to the office and is reveling in this key advantage to working from home.
GlobalNOC system administrator Dan Arveson has used the extra time provided by the pandemic as a chance to scan his grandfather’s slides—a collection numbering 3,966 in total. Dan’s process includes adding captions and metadata. Here is Dan’s WFH set-up and some of the boxes of slides he’s scanned:
Systems engineer Ty Bell and his wife Melissa adopted a daily lunch-time around-the-block walk ritual with their daughter, Maeve. Here’s Maeve bundled up on a chilly spring day in 2020:
Like many during COVID-19 closures, Team Lead for OmniSOC’s security analysis platform CJ Kloote and his wife initially found it challenging to juggle two jobs and two kids, all from within their home. But thanks to a tag-team approach to parenting and a carefully calibrated household routine that for CJ includes an extra-early start to the workday plus two screens with Sidecar, the busy Kloote family ultimately managed quite nicely. They enjoyed mid-day breaks of playing ball and games. CJ also reports, though, that the at-home bustle of the pandemic hasn’t exactly allowed for new projects “unless trying to provide a reasonable semblance of first grade counts as a project.” (editor’s note: it sure does!)
Work-from-home advice from Bill Fulk, a member of GlobalNOC’s Regional Networking Engineering Team: "When time flies, try your best to take the pilot seat." Here’s Bill at the helm:
More WFH advice from GlobalNOC’s Systems & Software Engineering Supervisor Ian Bobbitt:
