24 March 2024

Improvise office blinds

I was just working in my office when the afternoon progressed so much that the sun started shining through my Velux window onto my monitor, so I stood up and pulled down the roller blinds. Or at least; that was the idea.

My building is from the 80s, and I think quite a lot of things are original. The single pane glass in my window with a metal window frame. The carpet. The name sign on the door. I think the roller blinds were original as well. And they are covering a south-facing roof window, so they must have been exposed to quite a lot photodegradation.

I pulled the blinds down and I heard a terrifying rip sound. I was left with the rod I had been pulling on in my hand, and the fabric tightly wound around the tube at the top. Oh dear!


The first thing I did was try to block out the sun some other way. I managed to hang my jacket up in such a way it took away most of the light from my screen. Then I emailed estates, who are the designated people to do something about this. I hope they snap into action quite soon. I would think this is one of the cheaper repairs they are asked to perform!


On the same day, in my home office, there was another lighting issue. I have a lamp above my computer; it makes working a lot more pleasant, as otherwise the only artificial light comes from behind. And that lightbulb did what seems to be so common in my house; it decided to go very dim.

It's a bit annoying that material failure is getting in the way of my work! This is not really the time when I can take things easy…


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