the big silence

No one but me at work today.

Boss was gone when I got here.

The lone pressman left shortly after I came in, saying he was feeling ill.

The new plate material I was going to load into the imagesetter today is the wrong stock.

Email is silent.

This big empty space after what seemed like a very long weekend.

Spring Cleaning

I should probably throw some old clothes away. But just a few things this time, since it's not a purge born out of frustration. There are a couple of coats coming apart at the seams, thread bare at the elbows and end of sleeves. There are a few pairs of shoes that I still wear despite having newer substitutes - shoes with soles coming apart from the tops and grommets missing or torn.

Those are things that would leave my closet less cluttered and that, truth be known, I'd hardly miss. Okay, I'd miss one old coat because it's really warm and soft and there is no other with those two qualities in one piece.
There are also still a ton of old electronics and cables I need to let go. A few that I will retain with the hope of one day reclaiming beloved old media that exist only in extinct formats, like my cassette player I found at a yard sale. I still need a VHS player for a lot of old tapes that are completely irreplaceable. But my old scanner and computer accessories all need to go. Entire boxes of cables need to leave my possession. Not even a thrift store will take them, no doubt.

I feel a need for more dispossession because I'm thinking of how much trouble it will be to move again, eventually (not in the near future) since I'm living in a rental property. I know another move is inevitable.

The we're in now house is nifty and huge, but not on a lot I'd ever consider buying. Eventually, I'm sure it will be sold for more than I can possibly pay, even in this economy. As a non-residing owner, the landlord probably has no interest in sinking the money into this place to make it the prize that it could be.

The huge back yard needs a new fence around it to baffle the highway noise and create some privacy. The end of the street in front, though county property, needs to be cleared of debris so that the runoff will flow where it should and not into the front yard - and it is certainly up to the homeowners to do this since I doubt the county ever would. The house needs an entire new roof. The old AC system needs to be completely removed - there are several generations of ducts clogging the space under the house where things were just thrown in on top of the old. We still can't make heads or tails enough to put in new air filters. The yard needs new landscaping with turf and topsoil added to replace what has washed away. The sidewalk should be replaced eventually because the ground has washed out underneath it. All of these things are possible with the right motivation. I kinda hope they do sell the house to an occupant owner to save it. It is a VERY cool building and to have so much garden and yard space would be great.

just like a toddler

She will get into anything.

Ms. Doris Katz follows me around everywhere I go in the house. There is a bowl in my office underneath a leak in the roof, filled with nasty brown water that contains onlyGodknowswhat substance that has filtered through roofing materials. So naturally she makes a straight line for the bowl of water and starts to poke her nose in it as I snatch it up from the floor. I took it to the bathroom to empty and clean it before putting it back down.

eewwww...

Compromise

There is now less discord at home this week. Monster looked at some bedrooms on ApartmentTherapy.com and, behold, there were many bedrooms with mismatched furniture and fixtures that nonetheless worked together very well. And the things he wants are perfectly suited to mixing and matching with my things. He has agreed that we and our furniture can be different and still get along in the right setting.

fighting over furniture again

I get home from dinner with friends and he's in bed reading Harry Potter books again. The Fontana Arte catalog is on the bed next to him. He looks up and says he's got an idea for the night stands. "night standS?" I say. What will I do with the rosewood nightstand - that I still like alot? He puts the catalog down and says "I guess I'll never have a nice nightstand!" which means all of my stuff is crap that must be replaced by his minimalist crap that is uncomfortable or useless to me. Why can't we compromise - the stuff I still like a lot and the things he wants living side by side?

Dr. Manhattan cocktail

45 RPM earrings

45 RPM Adapter Earrings
Sterling Silver