For those just joining me, let's get up to speed here: I'm on assignment this week, working from Microsoft's South Lake Union office in Seattle. I'm being all jealous because the teams here are totally hiring, but I love my job in Redmond.

Yesterday I wrote about my amazing 10 minute non-520 in-city commute (!!!) and today I'm sniffing around the building to get a feel for what the space is like.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so get yourself ready for lots of 'em...

The building is on Westlake Avenue, which is the main drag of the burgeoning South Lake Union neighborhood, bordered by Eastlake and Capitol Hill (my hood!) to the east, Downtown to the South, Queen Anne to the West, and Lake Union itself to the north.

As I mentioned yesterday, the South Lake Union Streetcar goes by the front door ... but I don't think I mentioned that there's a Whole Foods three blocks away. There's also a Rain Fitness in the building, and employees get a deeply discounted membership. And about a bazillionty other shops and stuff nearby.

The building itself is brand spanking new and not that it reeeeeeally matters, but the decor makes me happy. I think aesthetics make a difference, and too many workplaces feel like morgues. Not this one! There are lots of little colorful nooks and crannies where folks can plop down a laptop and get to thinkin'.

And then there's the open floor plan. This is something that I'm seeing more often in new Microsoft spaces. Looks like the days of little windowless offices are gently coming to a close. As someone who sits in a windowless office off a windowless hallway, I'm eagerly awaiting the day when I'm back in a workspace with so much lovely light.

And then there's this lucky, who has the total cube with a view:

Yes, I took this photo in the ladies room, but I couldn't help myself! The South Lake Union building is eco-friendly, with the building getting LEED Gold certified, and Microsoft pursuing additional LEED certification for tenants improvements made to the building. The small print on this sign reads, "Please take a look at the diagram above and push the handle in the direction which best suits your needs." Needs, people. We all have them.

Anyway -- enough paparazzi action from me. I need to swing by Whole Foods on my way home...

Tomorrow: Microspotting a few of the luckies who work here!