Cubicleship?

John just turned around and gasped that his friend got killed in a car accident. He was in a state of shock. "Unbelievable", he kept saying, while nodding his head in sheer dismay. I tried comforting him with some consoling words, but I know that wouldn't help much. Time is the only healer.

As I returned my focus to the computer screen, I felt sad for John. I kept thinking about him for a while before I was able to continue with my work. While most of my thoughts concerned wishes for him to feel better, one thought stood out. I was the first person he shared this information with. It made me realize that he was probably the first person to know many things in my life too, maybe some really important things as well.

As soon as I find something interesting in the news, I simply turn my neck and let him know and we share a laugh, a sigh or conflicting views. Sometimes, I will just ask a simple question like - what word can I use to say "bear the weight of" and he will promptly answer "sustain/withstand?". Its not that I didn't know, but I just felt lazy to think or tap my keyboard and took the advantage of his proximity to me. So, it makes me wonder if proximity is the key to cubicleship? It probably is. I will never call him on a Saturday or even think of him telling him something when I am not in office. But, is cubicleship underrated? After all, I spend 10 hours in office 5 days a week, and that makes 2600 hours a year. On an average, we think of 60,000 thoughts in a day so its not hard to figure out that we do end up sharing a substantial amount of these thoughts.

I work in a small firm and everyone except John and I has an office to themselves. I have often dreamt of having one to myself. But now it makes me think twice. I will have no one to talk to about the most relevant and insignificant topics. Today I understand the importance of cubicleship. I wish there is a word in the dictionary for the same some day.