Founded in 1985, 88keys is devoted to creative communications, languages and music, serving American, European and Russian clients within the nonprofit, education, arts & corporate communities.
Before, during and after our current COVID age, what happens if you get laid off from that desk job, the one that was doable and steady but never all that exciting? Or perhaps you just had your fill of getting the morning coffee, going in to the office each day, fulfilling your responsibilities with efficiency if not much enthusiasm, and eagerly awaiting that lifeline and timeline du jour: 5 o’clock.
The concept of sitting amongst interminable traffic is so widespread and familiar as to make regular clichés seem like fresh air in Beijing. How we respond 
can make the difference between being impatient and forlorn for the entire day or at peace and productive in light of what cannot be changed.
Do we curse or listen to an audiobook? Do we throw up a thin body part in a form of gesticular cancer or do we put on a foreign-language-learning CD? Do we feel stress to the point of needing a heart stent or do we call ahead and let our destination people know that we’ll be late?
As with most negative circumstances, how we deal with the inevitable daily pitchforks inherent within automobile transportation reveals much about us. In addition to the above options, perhaps we’ll use that unanticipated extra half hour being forced to lick the pavement by calling a parent, a sibling, a friend in need. Perhaps we’ll take some quiet time—away from distractions as plentiful as they are unproductive—to carefully think about a child’s needs, a pending surgery, a particular career challenge.