Home Improvement

Although the house I'm living in is fairly large, my actual living space within it is rather small--just a 12x12 bedroom filled with basically everything I own, except for a few things out in the storage closet. I don't hang out very much in either of the living rooms or dining room--my tv, stereo, and computer are all here in the bedroom, and whenever I cook I usually bring my food back to my room and sit at my desk to eat.

Unfortunately, because I spend all of my 'home' time in my bedroom, it's become cluttered with more books and magazines than I have shelf space for, more clothes than will properly fit in the dresser, and a dozen or two varieties of rum that I'm not going to take a chance on storing out amongst the 'general population' (Hell, if they'll steal ice cream, I'm sure they'll steal booze).

Anyhow, because I have so much stuff in my room, I've busted out the tape measure and started figuring out ways to unclutter my space. The first thing I did was buy a new tv stand/not-quite-entertainment center that will hold the tv, dvd, reciever, and cable box, thus freeing up the top of the dresser for stuff like, oh, I don't know, all those bottles of booze and maybe my cigar humidor.

The tv stand is still riding around in the back seat of my truck, and as soon as I get all of the laundry folded and put away, plus find that extra coaxial cable, I'll put it together and move all of the electronics. Of course, before I do that, I have to go down to Home Depot and get some bricks or cinder blocks or something to raise the height of it so that the remote controls are still effective if I'm sitting on the bed watching tv--otherwise I have to raise my hand up over my head and aim downward every time I want to change channels or turn up the volume.

But the cinder block idea appeals to me in that old college-dorm type of way. Lifting up the tv stand not only frees up space to keep a couple of pairs of shoes underneath, but it reminds me of those glory days when all that was needed to get a little good lovin' was a spritz of Polo cologne, a Duran Duran cd, and a four-pack of Bartles & Jaymes.

The next thing on the agenda is to get rid of this old desk I'm using. It's small, it's wobbly, and it's the wrong height to be a computer workstation. It goes to Goodwill and I'm replacing it with a corner unit that offers about twice as much workspace opens up a lot more floorspace for important things like dirty socks and t-shirts. Of course, I'm holding off on that purchase for a few weeks because I don't want to move all this computer gear--it's old and obsolete and beyond surfing the web and doing a bit of writing, it's not good for much at all. I can't use any new software with it and I can no longer download music anymore, either--current technology has surpassed the humble capabilities of this poorly-designed Windows Me operating system. So I'm going to wait until about a week before I can afford a new Dell system with all the bells and whistles before I spring for the new desk.

At that point I'll do a little data transfer and then take this old Compaq system out in the back yard and go Office Space on it.

Of course, this is all a moot point if people keep stealing my stuff. If that's the case, then I'll just find a new, more spacious place to live--hopefully somewhere more modern with an ambiant indoor temperature of less than 83 degrees during the summer months.

But the thought of moving all this shiat again appeals to me almost as much as having dental work done with Paul McCartney tunes playing in the background...

Mikey