So, what is this Extreme Telecommuting stuff, anyway? And how does it fit in with an Office Odyssey? Let's start with the fundamentals -- telecommuting. You probably already know what that is, but I'll bore you for a moment or two, anyway. See, Telecommuters are wage slaves just like anybody else. They do a job, they get paid for it. The big difference is where they do that job. Telecommuters work from home instead of at the office. Your typical telecommuter is a technical worker in the computer industry who works a couple days a week from the home office, doing the same tasks they would do at the office. Well, most of the same tasks, anyway. Telecommuters generally don't have to bother with a lot of the bureaucratic folderol that can pollute the office environment. Office politics pretty much become irrelevant when the only other politician is your cat.
Extreme Telecommuting is like that, but written large on an open blue sky. Extreme Telecommuting is when you telecommute from everyplace all the time. Not only are you not tied to the corporate office, you're not even tied to a house. You fire up the laptop, grab the international power adapters, jump onto a plane (or train), and head out on the highway. You've got maps, a cell phone, a vague idea of how to speak Spanish, and all you need is the odd internet cafe, a payphone here and there, and a good friend to do it with. We've got all that. (And, yes, I do know that I ended the sentence before last with a preposition -- I might do it again if you pay close attention, Smarty-Strunk&White-Pants).
The original Office Odyssey took place in the summer of '97. My wonderful wife and I drove our Volkswagen van around the U.S. and parts of Canada for three months, exploring the ins and outs of Extreme Telecommuting -- from how to get internet access in a cave on the Kaiparowits Plateau to how to fix flats in a VW Eurovan using a melted Malibu Barbie doll and two cans of aerosol Cheez-Whiz (special hint -- bacon flavor was not the best).
Having learned and grown from that experience, we decided to take our expertise international. From 3/28/99 to 4/03/00, we telecommuted from all over Europe back to my regular job in the Silicon Valley. Curious about how it went? Wondering whether people pee in public in Rome, bankers dress in bondage gear in Zurich, or newborn infants curse professionally in Scotland? Check out the episode guide for quick thumbnail pointers to each and every semi-weekly installment from the European road. Or, check out the interactive map. Who knows? Maybe an international Office Odyssey is in your own future!