I’ve been spending time at Independent’s Hall in Old City since the beginning of November. It’s what’s known as a coworking space. Not merely office space rental like your local Fedex Kinkos, but a place created by the kind of independent and creative people it’s meant to benefit.

I’ve been marginally familiar with the Hall since its launch, but I wasn’t intrigued by it for some reason. Maybe because I didn’t bother to find out what it was all about. My loss.

Numerous friends of mine around Philly had suggested I check it out, but it wasn’t until I was down at IFractal in October that I decided to give it a shot. As I was marveling at the great work environment Frank Roche and Sarah Chambers foster on the 7th floor of their building, Frank gave the coworking space five floors below a plug. He said if I enjoyed the IFractal atmosphere, I was bound to like Indy Hall.

He was right. As were the many other folks who’ve suggested it since 2007. Alex Hillman and Geoff Dimasi (along with many other great folks along the way, I’m sure) have done something incredible. Indy Hall is like a creativity garden – a place where good ideas grow, fed by interaction with smart and adventurous people. The kind of people who aren’t waiting for someone else to tell them who to be or what to do.

Even as a relative introvert, I find the presence of bright, creative and friendly people encouraging to my own productivity. Which is unimaginably different from most work environments I’ve been in. Too many people, myself included, find themselves in work environments that are stifling at best. At worst, work environments designed to choke initiative.

The time I get to spend at Indy Hall is like rich oxygen. Something that doesn’t cause my brain to atrophy. It’s the kind of place I would one day like to be on a daily basis, not just in my spare time.

Here’s to that.

Comments

• April 2, 2012, Analog Impulse » blog » Indy Hall expanding: a phenomenal community getting better writes: [...] better var addthis_product = 'wpp-261'; var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true};I have written about Independents Hall (aka, Indy Hall) before. It’s even on my acknowledgments page, along [...]

I’m a lifelong resident of the Greater Philadelphia area. As such, I’m one of those long-suffering Philly sports fans.

I wouldn’t say I live and die with the local sporting franchises, because, quite simply, I don’t — like most people, I have far more pressing matters in my life. Even so, on the occasions I’ve had to bathe in the glow of a local team winning its championship, I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Last year, around this time, one of those teams, the Phillies, won the city its first major sports championship in a quarter century. Many fans like me, who had grown accustomed to disappointment, entered a state of minor ecstasy, as a team full of truly likable players won the World Series. It was a wonderful time, and it’s probably fair to say it put a spring into many a step across the Delaware Valley.

But regardless of the extra spring in my step, I still had to go to work, pay bills, and most of my real-life responsibilities were still awaiting me after the euphoria swept through. In other words, not much changed.

This year, our beloved baseball team reprised its role in the World Series, facing off against the storied New York Yankees. And last night, the Yankees beat the Phillies in six games, adding to Yankee lore and somewhat justifying what has long been the highest payroll in Major League Baseball.

It hurt for a few minutes, as I thought about the missed opportunities that might have tilted the outcome in my team’s favor. That aside, the reality is that it’s over, and for the most part, it was a lot of fun to watch and listen to. And even though I don’t have that extra spring in my step this time around, the day after the end of the World Series — a Thursday, like it was last year — requires the same of me as a normal day would. And so, life goes on, pretty much the same as it always does.

And, in the words of Forrest Gump, that’s all I have to say about that.

the morning after
regardless of the outcome
nothing much changes

Comments

• November 5, 2009, apreziosi writes: I'm also fond of using the "I still have to go to work" line. But yes, last year did give us a lightness of being that is the reason we follow these things. Conversely, today is a little downer, but like all things, we'll get over it. Somehow we identify people and cities with their sports franchises, but that's a topic for something more than a comments section. :)
  
  I'm certainly a sports fan, but I view the games the way I do a TV show or a movie. It's entertainment, and if I don't care for the story line, I can turn it off. This attitude confounds and even angers some people I know. I turned last night's game off at around 10:30, long before the outcome had become official.
  The biggest benefit from the end of the baseball season is that I can finally get to bed at a decent hour.
• November 5, 2009, howard writes: as someone who isn't likely to ever get to bed at a decent hour, i still feel a slight sense of relief at the drama being over -- at least for now.
  
  and i also know those people who seem to actually get angry at the idea of treating a game as, well, a game rather than a life-or-death struggle between good and evil. i mean, i really enjoy the storylines of a great sporting matchup, which is probably why i enjoy sports so much, but in the end, i can't see myself every lining up to jump off the Walt Whitman over any of it.
  
  and since you mentioned writing something longer than a comment on the subject of franchises and their people, i'll be looking forward to it ;)

And speaking of connectivity, I was pleased to see several folks I know from the virtual world at Frank’s birthday gathering. Some of them were previously known to me, some I met for the first time in the real world.

One of the previously known people was Albert Yee, a gifted photographer and friend whose work I’m pleased to have on display at home. One of the first time encounters was Laura Kicey, another person whose photography I’ve admired for some time. It’s always nice to make a real world connection every once in a while. And it’s also nice to run into a few of those connections on occasion.

Comments

• July 13, 2009, Frank writes: Connections...that's what it's about isn't it. I so much appreciate that the virtual world has translated into the real world for me. I feel very lucky for that!
• July 13, 2009, howard writes: me too, Frank. my real life circle of friends has been enhanced greatly by many folks I've met online -- which, going back a few years, includes some of the folks at your gathering like you, Sarah and Albert.

you’ll forever ring
in October memories
and midsummer dreams