Desk Gremlins
Somewhere under the pile of bills, the stacks of notes, the presence of duckies, and the random assortment of All Things Heatheresque, I have a gorgeous cherry desk.
But for some strange reason, I cannot seem to keep it uncluttered. Once a month, I haul out a trash bag and go through everything. Throw this away, throw that away, file this, put that there. The desk will stay clean for about a week. And then, as if little desk-grubbing-up gremlins had come in the night, WHAMMO! It's filthy and disorganized once again.
(Well, I don't know if I'd use the word "disorganized"...as I know where each and every thing on my desk is located. Ask me where my latests notes on Wonderland are--got 'em right here. That coupon for 50 cents off Diet Pepsi? It's shoved halfway under the mousepad, thankyouverymuch.)
The desk is the only thing in my house that really gets cluttered. Maybe the gremlins like cherry.
Today, I'm going up against the gremlins during writing breaks. I miss my desk.
Speaking of writing...I didn't finish Chapter Thirteen last night after all. It turns out that chapter is a bit more involved than I originally thought. But rest assured, today I'll not only finish it, but head straight on into Chapter Fourteen.
That is...if I ever stop procrastinating and just go do it already...
But for some strange reason, I cannot seem to keep it uncluttered. Once a month, I haul out a trash bag and go through everything. Throw this away, throw that away, file this, put that there. The desk will stay clean for about a week. And then, as if little desk-grubbing-up gremlins had come in the night, WHAMMO! It's filthy and disorganized once again.
(Well, I don't know if I'd use the word "disorganized"...as I know where each and every thing on my desk is located. Ask me where my latests notes on Wonderland are--got 'em right here. That coupon for 50 cents off Diet Pepsi? It's shoved halfway under the mousepad, thankyouverymuch.)
The desk is the only thing in my house that really gets cluttered. Maybe the gremlins like cherry.
Today, I'm going up against the gremlins during writing breaks. I miss my desk.
Speaking of writing...I didn't finish Chapter Thirteen last night after all. It turns out that chapter is a bit more involved than I originally thought. But rest assured, today I'll not only finish it, but head straight on into Chapter Fourteen.
That is...if I ever stop procrastinating and just go do it already...
posted by Heather Brewer at 6:31 AM
8 Comments:
Ugh - my desk! It's a gorgeous oak table, but you'd never know it because it's just covered. I'm at the place where I think I need something else - another desk, more cabinets & drawers, etc. Like a real office. I've just outgrown my cute little antique table. Maybe you have, too!
I think I just need a smaller computer (right now I have a GIANT desktop) and an extra filing cabinet. But huzzah! The gremlins have evacuated for the moment. :)
I moved from a 60" desk area to a 36" desk area to make room for my mother-in-law to move in with us. I scrapped the tower PC and moved to a laptop. I made a little stand for the laptop so it sits at an incline which makes it less stressful to type.
The laptop sits on a plywood stand, on top of an Ikea table with mismatched legs, right next to my bed. But when I'm writing I never even notice. As far as organization of papers... well, they now have to be dealt with immediately; thrown away, filed, or mailed. I have no room for excuses (literally).
I used to miss looking out the window and sitting in my nice cushioned chair. Now I realize both were a way to distract myself from doing what I always say I really want to do which is write.
The two things I do miss are a place to set my coffee mug (without reaching around something) and my cork board/white board for notes and reminders.
I have found that not having the distractions around, and just puting on the head/ear phones and cranking the tunes has helped me focus on my writing. I just wish I had a cushion for my chair after a 2 or 3 hour writing stint.
Headphones are a must.
And a laptop? Well, that's a dream for just a little bit longer. ;)
Heck, I just saw a pentium III laptop on craigslist for under $200. Even a brand new Dell is as little as ~$500.
On the other hand, my current laptop I saved for for two years.
Unless you plan on using it for anything other than writing, web surfing and email you really do not need a very fast laptop.
Just my $.02 on hardware.
On the topic of headphones... I'm soooo old-school. I love my over-the-ears with leather cushons headphones. I don't have to turn the volume up that much and I have total sonic isolation. It is really wonderful to drive away distractions. Earbuds just drive me nuts.
OK, back to my corner.
I won't go Dell. I've been sworn away from them by the techie gods. Gateway as well. The laptop I want is a delicious little HP (only because I can't bring myself to spend for a Sony Vaio). It costs a pretty penny, but it's on my list of things-to-buy-when-I-receive-my-initial-sign-on check. :)
Dude, those big headphones are so sweet. Block out all outside sound and don't hurt your ears.
Once again, Ewoh, my dear...you rawk.
awww... thankee for the nice wordage.
I am (personally) not a fan of Dell or Gateway. My reasons are all technical and would (should? must?) be better left off of this comment list.
Sony is expensive and the bang-for-the-buck that used to make them desireable has essentially vanished.
HP makes a good system. They tend toward the clunky side of design, but are fairly sturdy and faithful (as much as a piece fo hardware running Windows can be considered faithful). My sister-in-law and her husband both had HP systems and they rarely call me for tech-support.
Another good brand is Toshiba. If you are determined to stay with a Windows system they are very well built systems.
Personally, I recommend Apple's Powerbook and iBook laptops for anyone interested in a easy to use and rocksolid system. They are just superior to other systems on the market.
OK, so end hardware rant.
On my list of things to buy with my first check from selling a book are:
- tattoo
- take wife out to expensive dinner
- pretty clothes and toys for my girls
- new coffee maker
I haven't used an Apple since...well, do you remember that dinky screen version on the desk in early Seinfeld episodes? Yeah. I'm a Windows kinda gal.
Sounds like a great list, Brian! May your check equal ten times what those will cost. :)
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