MAN: Good morning. Can I help you?

WOMAN: Hi. My husband is convinced I need a pair of glasses for reading. I’ve never had glasses, so I’m not sure what to do.

MAN: Well, you’ve come to the right place. Have you had your eyes checked recently?

WOMAN: No, not recently. I get regular check-ups from my doctor, but I don’t remember him checking my eyes.

MAN: OK, so the first step is to see an eye doctor and get your eyes tested. If your vision needs correcting, the doctor will give you a prescription.

WOMAN: Do you do this testing here?

MAN: Actually, there’s an eye clinic right next door. It’s on the left. You can go there and make an appointment. If they give you a prescription, bring it here and we can help you.

WOMAN: Thanks. I’ll do that right now.

WOMAN: Hi. I was here last week. I did as you suggested and got my eyes tested. I have my prescription.

MAN: Oh yes. Can I see your prescription? . . . Well, Mrs. Mackie, this shows you certainly do need glasses!

WOMAN: Yes, so the doctor said. He was surprised I’d managed to wait so long.

MAN: OK, so first you need to decide which frames you like.

WOMAN: I don’t want anything too pricey. Just regular inexpensive glasses to help me see better will be fine.

MAN: Here’s what we have in the lower price range. These are plastic frames, and they usually last a long time. I think these would look nice on you. Why don’t you try these on and see what you think?

WOMAN: Oh my, they make me look like a different person! The blue frame looks great with my blue eyes. What do you think?

MAN: I agree, and they are a good price. I’ll take some measurements so we can prepare the glasses for you. It’ll take a couple of weeks for them to be ready.

WOMAN: I’m here to pick up my new glasses.

MAN: Mrs. Mackie, please have a seat and I’ll get them for you . . . Here we are. Try them on.

WOMAN: Oh my goodness, these are awesome! I can see! And the text on my cellphone is so much clearer! I won’t text the wrong person now! This is wonderful.

MAN: Here’s a special cloth and cleaning solution. If you always use this, the lenses won’t get scratched. Just wet the glasses, spray on some solution, then dry them with the cloth. I’d do that every morning.

WOMAN: This is wonderful! My husband will be delighted that I can see now, and that this whole experience didn’t cost as much as he feared. Thanks so much!

WOMAN: Andrew, do you have a minute? We need to discuss who should get the Top Employee Award.

MAN: Sure, Irene. I guess you and I are this year’s selection committee.

WOMAN: I don’t know anything about this award. What is it for?

MAN: Well, the selection guidelines are very broad, and there’s really no definition for “top.” It used to be called Office Choice Award, but that was a popularity contest. Some people even paid friends to vote for them, if you can believe it.

WOMAN: Wow, the award is that important? There are around 70 employees here, but only one person can get the award, right? Unless they make 70 mini-awards, or just give up on the award entirely.

MAN: These ideas were discussed, too. But the award is given during the summer office picnic, and it’s part of the fun. The Top Employee Award has been given for three years now. We can only choose 5 recipients, you know.

WOMAN: Really? This is getting interesting. So who got it last year?

MAN: I think Ginette got it because she decorated her office space so well, and because she made the best cheesecake for the picnic. George also won it because of the spectacular entertainment he lined up for our Open House last Christmas.

WOMAN: Oh, so the criteria are that relaxed? It sounds like we could just draw names out of a hat and then justify our choices afterwards

! MAN: Well, to tell you the truth, that is how Ginette and George and the others were chosen last year! We put everyone’s names into a box and drew 5. Then we came up with reasons for why they are top employees. Oh, and we don’t choose the same people each year, and you and I are not eligible. It’s very democratic

. WOMAN: I’ll say! And everyone’s OK with this system?

MAN: Oh yeah. The award is a highlight of the picnic. Let’s get started. This won’t take long.

MAN: Hello! I’m getting married this July and I’m looking for a wedding photographer. My friend John referred you to me. He got married last September and said you were excellent. I saw your photos and they were beautiful. He also showed me your online portfolio, and I have to say I was really impressed with your sense of design.

WOMAN: Oh thanks, that’s nice to hear. Yes, I remember John’s wedding. I love garden ceremonies. Well, I’d be very interested in photographing your wedding. Could you first tell me the date and location, so I can check my calendar and see if I’m available?

MAN: Sure! It’s July 2nd, and it will be at my parents’ property in Halifax. It won’t be as fancy as John’s wedding, but they have a beautiful backyard overlooking the ocean. My fiancée Sarah and I wanted something outdoors.

WOMAN: Hmmmmm . . . it looks like I am unavailable on that day. I’m flying away to shoot another wedding. Now, when you checked my online portfolio, you must have seen my colleague, Cindy Shin’s work. Would you be interested in having her shoot your wedding?

MAN: Oh, that’s such a pity. I guess I should have called earlier. Yes, I’ve seen her work, and I liked it as well. Her work bears a lot of similarities to yours.

WOMAN: It certainly does, and that’s because she was my mentor. I’m looking at her schedule and she happens to be available that day

. MAN: That is really lucky! Would prices be comparable?

WOMAN: We charge the same rates, and we offer three different packages. The basic package starts at $3000. It includes an engagement portrait session and complete wedding day coverage, which covers everything from getting ready, to cutting of the cake, dancing, and guest portraits. In addition, we charge travel costs, food, and lodging when the ceremony is out of town.

MAN: Basic is fine with me. That’s already slightly over my budget, so I’d rather not be tempted by the other packages! Do I choose which photos I want printed? Is printing included? WOMAN: Of course. You’ll receive a link to an online photo gallery of the best 200 photos within 3 weeks. You can pick out the 50 you like.

MAN: That sounds great. I’ll talk it over with my fiancée and get back to you in a few days. Thank you very much!

A group of protesters gathered at the local racetrack yesterday, asking people to sign a petition they intended to take to city hall. The petition requested that a newly erected billboard advertising the racetrack be removed. Protesters claim that the sign, with its blinking lights and animation of a racing horse, is highly distracting. Jillian Smith, spokesperson for the group, pointed out that the human eye is naturally attracted to bright lights and movement. She said that, when you’re driving on the highway, that’s a very bad thing.

Smith went on to say that using a cellphone while driving is now illegal because of the distraction factor. Therefore, she said, roadside billboard advertising should also be illegal, especially when it is designed to take our attention off the road.

The owner of the racetrack initially refused to comment, but, when pressed, he insisted there was nothing wrong with his sign. He pointed out that there’s no law against it, so he sees no obligation to take it down.

Police could neither confirm nor disconfirm that roadside billboards are a contributing factor in highway accidents.

Harold is a sales executive at an export company. Every day he spends two hours on the road getting to and from work. At work, Harold spends his day talking and texting with his clients in China and India. Every week Harold uses a hundred dollars of gas and spends 10 hours stuck in traffic in order to talk to people who are in another country. Surely he could do his work from home.

The question is: Why are we still commuting? Why not allow people like Harold to commute online rather than through our often-clogged transportation systems? If we did allow people to work from home, other economic benefits would follow. We would spend less on gas and more on leisure, education, and other consumer goods. Community restaurants and coffee shops would thrive. More importantly, there would be benefits to the environment with a decrease in gas consumption, especially in urban centres.

Perhaps we are still commuting because corporations still associate productivity with physical presence and hours spent in the office. Clearly, though, corporations could also benefit from employees working at home. With staff working from home, corporate offices could be smaller and hence cheaper to run. Productivity per employee might also increase. Employees would be more able to work at times that might otherwise have been spent commuting. They could also tailor their work schedule to fit their family lives, which would improve their mental health and wellbeing.

It seems that online commuting would have a positive impact on families, corporations, and our society as a whole. We might well wonder, then, why we still encounter traffic gridlock in almost every major city.

Experts say there are four key difficulties with working from home. First, corporations fear offsite employees will be more easily distracted and work less. Second, many managers are concerned that they will not be able to manage staff when their staff are not present in the corporate workplace. A third issue is that the office is not simply a physical location. It is also a psychological space in which a team can develop a sharp, shared focus on the tasks at hand. People who work in the same space can think together and share ideas. Finally, the collective workspace helps staff to feel they belong to a community or culture. They will care more about their company’s product or service.

So, will we always work in offices? Younger people increasingly ask to work from home. The younger generation has been raised in a socially networked world in which connections, culture, and creativity are no longer anchored in a geographical or physical space. Perhaps, as some in this generation are already saying, the office will become outdated.