Desk, version 3.0 and other things

penny on July 21, 2008

Three books were completed this past week, and a few more will soon join the “read” list. However, I keep adding to the “to read” list at a pace which makes me wonder if I’ll ever make progress.

(1) The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker. This was recommended to me by Melanie and I recommend it to you*.

(2) Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky. I feel best describing this as a mashup between The Social of Information and The Tipping Point to be read on an iPhone 3G. In all seriousnessm, it is a good overview of the current trends and how they came to be. It’s a quick and easy read, not bogged down by technical or insider jargon.

(3) The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. This was a LibriVox recording, I didn’t read them. Some readers (and stories) were good, some left something to be desired. I need to do more research into the history of these tales but they were a fun escape. :)

This weekend we went to a certain large store which sells home improvement things (the blue one) and we brought home wood to complete two projects. First was to fix my mattress. A combination of an Ikea bedframe and mattress support plus the way I sat down made the mattress push the supports off the frame and I often slept in a crater. I’ve been dealing with it for years, but finally said “enough”. Last night I slept better than I have in years (at home, I sleep quite well in hotels). I feel like a new woman.

Third iteration to my basic workstation setupThe second project’s bit of wood was to upgrade my desk to version 3.0. The first iteration saw the installation of my shelf and many coats of purple paint. Version two found wall paint rolled out along with the addition of a small carpet and improved shelving. This new release adds a shelf under the main surface of the desk to put my laptop when I want to use the desktop surface for something else, such as writing. Version four I hope to arrive at soon which will include (hopefully) a comfortable “natural” light and a supportive desk chair.

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* The novel, The Mezzanine, is a heavily footnoted running commentary of an afternoon in the narrator’s head. I laughed and enjoyed, I didn’t want to finish the super thin volume.. The prose is real, the narrator, though male, made me think of myself and I am looking anew at the quotidian life surrounding me, from my shoelaces to the bag my purchases are placed in (I frequently think of popcorn). If you ever wondered how my journal sometimes reads, unfocus this work and up the stream of consciousness a few notches and you’ll have a pretty good idea.

Reader interactions

One Reply to “Desk, version 3.0 and other things”

  1. melanie July 21, 2008 at 4:08 pm

    I am so delighted to know that you enjoyed Mezzanine! When I first heard about the book, I thought it was an odd concept – a novel without any discernable plot* – once read, though, it became one of the books I recommend to everyone**!
    – – – – – – –

    * There is a tiny plot. A man goes up an escalator. I dislike escalators and always have.

    ** For the goriest escalator scene in a tv show, watch the X-Files episode entitled “Tooms.” Ick.

    melanies last blog post..happy dance

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