State of Being
Circa 2007
Hawaii

I started tele-commuting back in 2006, long before it was cool. And for a time (several years), this was my desk.

Behind is a fireplace, which was never used. The flu popped in the breeze, which was continual and substantial. Just to put the wind in perspective, even though this was Hawaii, the locals wore jeans on account of the cool breeze and vertical rain, making it easy to identify the tourists, coming up from the beach in their shorts.

Not shown, to the side, was a nice sliding glass door, which offered a view up the street. And then, there were all the typical windows to be found in a house, which looked ahead, into the front yard and the street. It was a good base of command.

Now, let's go around the table, clockwise, starting with the computer.

• Computer
• Laptop
• The circle begins.
• Note Card
• There's, also, a pile of them on the hot pad.
• I used these to track projects...
  • 3-5 Projects per Week being Typical...
    • But typical changed left and right.
• TI-83 Calculator
• For adding numbers.
• I was often putting together pricing.
• At some point, I learned to use SpreadSheets for this.
• Magazine
• All work and no play would have meant I was someone else.
• Envelopes
• I have no idea what these would contain...
  • Limited paper backups?

Eh, the outline format is not working for me. I want to ramble on. For, that is a major point of this post... not just to post a few pictures, but to annotate them with a bit of descriptive text, as well.

Anyhow, back in the day, I'd organize my bills in these envelopes. But since I'm set up for business (the desk, it is), these might have been business TODOs, which is basically what the note cards were. Eventually, I went almost completely (no one ever goes fully) digital.

The blue cord on top of the envelopes is for my eyeglasses, which would keep them attached to my head in the ocean, while bobbing up and down in the waves. Thus, it is very likely the green case contains my Prescription Sunglasses and the black, something else. I think I had upwards of five pairs of glasses at the time: distance (clear and sunglasses), medium (both types), and reading (only clear). I no longer bother with sunglasses. And although I am still packing five pairs (all clear), three of them are essentially rarely used back-ups. I've accepted that I can't see... and thus, see all the more for it.

The next pile of paper is topped with the local (at the time) Supermarket Loyalty Card, along with receipts. And although one of the scraps looks like it might be a family portrait (eh, it still might be), I'm more inclined to believe it was some sort of Tourism Based Advertisement.

Hot Chocolate with Spoon: this would be the when and where I started my very serious Hot Chocolate Habit... and/or Addiction. Really, I hit bottom. I was doing 2-3 cups of the stuff (made with half and half, no less) each and every morning. Follow that with cookies for dinner every few days (along with a hyper sedentary lifestyle) and it is a recipe for disaster.

I used the pens and spiral notebook for my running notes. I really got pretty good at doing everything digitally as business fell off. So, an entire month only took up a few pages at the end. But as fast as I can type (I started typing by feel in high school), I always could take phone-notes faster by hand... even if I had to write things seventeen times, so I'd actually know what I had written only a few minutes later.

I wrote many a novel here.

Also (just by the by), about the time of Rigor Pass 1866: The Mana Boom Years, I was already daydreaming about a standing desktop with a wrap around view of the surrounding countryside. The entry hall (assuming that's the name for the glass lined room) at the local ranch headquarters (the big one) was my working model.

On the top shelf, we have magazines, books, more books, a box full of who knows what with a LeeZard climbing up, and a house for the same in back. Oh, and some knit cotton gloves in front.

I got most of the books from the Library Free Stack and the others were donated. As to the How To Books (which certainly catch my eye whenever I look at this image), I am sure they were needed. I am, also, sure they did not help. But then, as they say, When the student is ready, the teacher will come. And apparently, I wasn't ready. Um, sorry about that.

I found Romances to be a bit of a kick. And for a sort of party trick, I could (if I got lucky) page through them in a few minutes, verbalizing a few key extracts and making the stories sound far more sleezy than they actually were.

Bottom row includes CD Back Ups (for data), pad of paper (for poetry, posted elsewhere), 30th Birthday Picture (starring Mr GigglesWorth in all his glory), some playing cards, actual US Mint Bank Money Bags underneath (years ago, I was given these by a bank employee, all I had to do was ask), a toy lizard (not to be confused with a LeeZard), and some baby sized utensils, as I enjoy eating with small silverware.

Bam!

Done!

Shirts, Shoes, and Pants. I like claiming to be a minimalist. And to some extent I am. But there was a closet full of dressier clothes that I did not bother to photograph. So, who knows what else I am conveniently forgetting? More importantly, I had access to all the comforts of home... without any of the usual rights (of ownership) or obligations (to repair or replace) attached.

Life was sweet.

I was very comfortable.

A phrase which brings to mind Charlotte Lucas of Pride and Prejudice fame, who I like to think would have approved. Of course, that sounds sort of like a dig, so let me say, I have no reason to believe any of the Bennet Sisters would have had cause to complain about the life these pictures propose to capture in time.

Beyond the Armoire, I stored additional belongings in a desk, which is where I used to sit (prior to setting up camp on the table). It is where I edited Minataur Tails. The desk was stationed in front of a bank of windows and commanded a view of the front yard and the street beyond. Considering the size of the town (maybe, 2,000) and the neighbourhood (an unimportant back-street subdivision, off the main thoroughfare), there was pretty good foot traffic. It was a walk about the block type of place.

The First Drawer would have contained paper work. I did Netflix back in the day. And the stack to the left looks like a Tourist Todo List, a collection of activities which might be fun.

Next Down is where I stored my computer. Considering this was ten feet from the front door, it's far more vulnerable than I am comfortable with now. A few folders and envelopes would have contained my paper back-up. That's it. Those are my files.

The Third Drawer is covered by the next image, so I will skip that for the moment.

While the Bottom Drawer was full of ever more books. This was before I switched to digital. And I would read 5-10 books at once, mostly skimming, hardly ever caring what I missed.

In my writing, I felt weak on emotion (still do) and wanted to improve that aspect. Perhaps more importantly, Romances command the biggest Market Share amongst all the genres. But it is a market I no longer have any expectation of breaking into... nor, at this point, do I expect ever to try.

That's a measuring tape. I'm pretty handy... but just pretty, just a little bit. I'll be quite happy never running a power saw ever again, thank you very much.

Staring in the upper left, Civilization IV (for there is no other) remains my favorite (and basically only) computer game.

Bridge was the Card Game of choice. I am fairly good at Bridge and make for a decent low level partner. I never try for slam. Book is my goal. And when going to a Duplicate Bridge Club, let us just say my opponents were annoyed at my bidding, which was aggressive, one-sided, and chaotic, taking into account the peculiarities of my partner. As expected, we missed the slam. But we did not come in last place either, there were others who missed out, as well.

Two rows of eye drops. I lived on an island, three thousand miles from anywhere. Having a few months supply seemed prudent.

More eyeglasses.

I'm guessing one peanut butter jar held binder clips. Who knows what the other contained?

CD Back Ups.

A Toy Wallet, which at some point is where I stored my receipts.

Checks. Hey! Remember those?

I'm sure I stored other nick-knacks in those check boxes, but I can no longer remember. I refuse to believe I had six boxes of checks (two wide, three deep). But one never knows. Checks were cheap. And at the time, I had at least two checking accounts.