The Game

Sometimes, I don't want to write. Oh, I want to have something written, and I want it to be up there in my blogspace, but I just don't want to wrestle with the words. Or more accurately, I don't want to grope for the thoughts. Perhaps I am still on a bit of a sugar and starch overload from the Easter long-weekend, but my get up and go done got up and went.

So, when I read anybodyhome this morning, I thought, "I can do that." She wrote, Okay...who wants to play "What's On Your Desk?" I looked down at my little computer desk and thought, "What a snap!" Of course, I wasn't thinking very clearly at the time.

Foolishly, I thought it would be an easy task because my computer desk is small and doesn't have very much stuff on it, but as I began to set about writing this simple description, I realized that I have two other surfaces that are really contiguous extensions to it. Pain!

So, let's start with the easy part. On my little computer desk, there is my laptop, an external CD burner (because the internal one is ill) with its cable snaking about willy nilly, a cordless mouse, a receiver for the mouse, a bent paper clip, a book holder without a book, a mechanical pencil, and a yellow sticky note reminding me to do some printing for Cuppa. There are, of course, wires behind the computer.

But then there's a adjacent storage cabinet to my left. It's really part of the desk because if I didn't have it, I'd have to have a larger desk (which I did up until a few months ago when I reorganized things. It was a regular, old wood office desk that was always awkward for typing — the surface being higher than desirable — good for writing by hand but not for typing). The printer is on top of the cabinet, and there is paper in the drawers.

But wait, there's more! Also adjacent to my computer desk, on the right, is a rather large table. Stacking trays — two sets plus one old metal one serving to store odds and ends. Phone. Graphics tablet. Kleenex box. Modem and router. Speakers. A mug holding pencils and pens. Memory stick. Box of sleeves for CDs. Checkbook. Timer (to remind me if something is cooking or else I'll either forget or not hear the stove timer). Stapler. Notepad. Computer book. Box of batteries. USB hub. External card reader (as in digital camera storage media such as Compact Flash). And a few random sundries lying about: unused Kleenex, bits of paper, pen, paper clip, elastic, tube of hand lotion.

Would you believe that there is yet another desk in this room? I've had it for over thirty-five years and in six different dwellings. It was reclaimed from an office by my father-in-law. He refinished it for me, and I have had it since I was a young, naive student at university. I use that desk when I am actually writing things, which isn't often these days. When I was teaching I would use it for preparing lessons, grading papers etc. Since it's not directly contiguous with the computer desk, I will spare both you and I the description. Suffice it to say: it generally bears its fair share of debris important and valuable commodities as well. The rather vague and foggy plan is to one day get a proper computer desk system and pass along this heirloom to one of my scions. It will regularly remind her of her grandfather ... and maybe even of me when I have passed on to where he is now.

Oops, I almost forgot the can of Diet Coke. This addiction is one of my few vices. I have begun to battle the addiction several times and then thought, "What the heck! As far as addictions go, it's pretty darn innocuous." It is my theory that we should all have at least one vice, and unless blogging and computing be considered as such, I seem to be rather short on vices — at least from my perspective. Other dear ones may disagree.

So there you have it. An entry that I thought would be short and simple became long and tedious. But, at least I didn't have to think — much.

Now according to the rules of the game, you are supposed to describe your desk, either in the comment section or in a blog.