It's amazing how wildly different all of us are, and how we all try to build systems we can all use despite that :) I am lucky in Sunnyvale - I think. Way less

It's amazing how wildly different all of us are, and how we all try to build systems we can all use despite that :) I am lucky in Sunnyvale - I think. Way less residential noisy stuff - and the area is mostly families and is surprisingly quiet that definitely helps a lot. In an office, just given my role, I can never get away from people long enough to focus. 2008 was mostly a blip for me too - had a brief pay hit and less certainty on a job, but wasn't too scary. I feel very much for folks like you and everyone out there who's feeling the pangs of this state of the world - hang in there!