it was a hot june in boston. not unseasonably so, but uncomfortable nonetheless. an enterprising young computer programmer was packing his things. he was moving to california to work on an exciting project with a venture-backed startup. it was a visionary idea that he'd poured a lot of his time and creativity into. it was something that would change video gaming forever. this is not his story - we just subleased his apartment.
days later, two recent graduates of a local law school sat in the one-hundred-sixty square foot studio apartment that they were paying far too much for and proceeded to almost-die of heat stroke. one of them looked at the other and said "what about tea?" outside their window the economy quietly collapsed.
the debris of a failed retail empire was stacked in the far corner of the room, out of sight. they weren't going to make that mistake again. not yet. as the sun beat down on them through curtainless windows, they resolved to be able to afford a dishwasher, and went out to eat.
a week passed. they found themselves stuffing too many large desks into a ford focus, packing away their lives, and transforming the studio. the desks jostled with each other for space. one of them slept on a couch, the other on a mattress on the floor. the mattress needed to be shoved into a closet each morning.
people began passing through each day. lists were made, spreadsheets started but left unfinished, drawings were drawn and models modeled. words painstakingly written. crowded at two, the studio could barely contain them all. upstairs and downstairs, neighbors complained. they turned up the subwoofers to drown out the talking. they were busy making a video game.