DRUMMER CAFE

First off: I can't help but crack a joke here, because we had some similar dialog
in the *Practicing with the TV on* thread.  Suffice to say there are couple of folks with strong opinions about it.   

Back to your thread.  I would love to practice at work.  I sorta kinda in that I am often finger/hand drumming at the desk, but I don't actually have sticks or a pad.
In my building, the sound booms around everywhere, and I think even with a pad, I'd make a ton of racket.

Maybe try sticks and a pillow?  It's actually supposed to be good for you to occasionally work on something as dead as a pillow.

Isn't there a company that makes practice pads out of a moongel-like material? I heard about it on this forum I believe and always meant to get one but it has since slipped my mind. Maybe another forum regular will chime in and enlighten us. They are pretty silent from what I understood.

But seriously, I practice my flam-taps on my desk all the time. Just with my hands and fingers though. I'm sure my co-workers LOVE it. 

I've been driving my co-workers crazy for years!  All that hand/finger/toe/heel tapping really gets to them sometimes.  On occasion, someone will join in, poking fun, and it has sounded pretty cool.

Drawback - playing on my desk, etc.. without sticks is the only drumming I did for several years.  Sometimes it seems that I'm still more awkward with sticks than without.  For many single-stroke rudiments, my fingers sound better on a desk than my sticks do on a practice pad.  I'm in the process of breaking the finger/hand drumming habit for that reason - but it is so hard not to play along in the car!

When I started playing drums, that's one of the first assignments my teacher gave me: practice some simple rudiments on a pillow. It really does build strength.