I was tagged by Lucky to do this Meme approximately 10 years ago, and I haven’t gotten around to it. What can I say? In my last post I gave my short sob story, which does indeed have an impact on my blogging —but also, it’s Spring, and the opportunity to be out & about under blue skies can’t be shunned. None of you are blogging much either, so I don’t feel so bad about it.
FIVE Things In My Purse/Bag/Briefcase
Books!
“Why the bad back?” you might ask… Truly, I carry more books in my backpack than is humanly reasonable. Books I’m reading, books I reference, books I read a long time ago, but love dearly and peruse often…
Origami Papers
Because you never want to be unprepared when there’s a need for a bouquet of paper flowers or a demand for an impromptu crane.
Tobacco, pipe & accessories
Ahhhhh… the glorious deliciousness of a good vice.
Various flash drives
How did I ever get by without these? They’re an IT person’s dream. I have installation files, log files, and hours of music on these little beauties. I love them!
Games Cards/Chess
Actually, I don’t think these have ever been used… It seemed like a good idea when I stuffed them in there, but now I think it’s taking up valuable room for more books.
FIVE Things In My Room
Chest
A wooden tool-chest I received for Christmas —I kept it in my room instead to keep myself organized. It turned out to just be a place to collect more clutter, but I love it anyway.
Bookshelf
—because there’s never quite enough room in my backpack.
Watercolor paintings
I can’t afford art, so my halls are decked with the artwork of family. My daughter Rose painted that pear… not bad for a 7 year old, is it?
Hats
I love old hats. Fedoras, bowlers, porkpies— so sad they went out of style. They’re great accessories, and wonderful for covering up receding hairlines.
Dust bunnies the size of Volkswagens
I refuse to feel ashamed by this. If you live in a house with hardwood floors and a dog, you’re bound to end up with these critters. The house is swept all the time, but still they breed like —well— bunnies.
Free to a good home.
FIVE Things I Am Into
Reading
I bet you haven’t guessed this by now, have you? I love both non-fiction as well as fiction. I love history, particularly about central Europe, for reasons I can’t explain. I also love histories about circuses & sideshows (again, I can’t tell you why, clowns freak me out… maybe it’s a morbid curiousity).
For contemporary authors I like David Sedaris, Barbara Kingsolver, Sarah Vowell, Nick Hornby… for the great authors of yesterday, I like Steinbeck, Austen, Tolkein… there’s not enough room to name them all.
Writing
You wouldn’t know it to look at the frequency of my blog posts lately, but writing is essential to my soul.
Origami/Kirigami
The arts of paper folding & paper cutting…
Music
Also essential to my soul. I can’t live without it. If music isn’t on, something is wrong.
Old movies
Black & White— Silver Screen— See previous posts to hear more of this…
FIVE Things I Have Always Wanted To Do
Travel the world
London, Paris & Venice are great, but I’d really like to see Romania, where Gypsies still roam the land and villagers still hang garlic cloves in their doorways to ward of vampires. Northern Africa would be really cool too. Odd choices, I know, but these are the places that call to me.
Of course I can’t even afford a day-trip to Portland, so there may be a bit of a wait.
Become a roaming street-performer
Not a clown mind you, they’re freaky. And mimes are just annoying. But actually, the main problems that I’m facing are: I have virtually no acrobatic talent, and I can’t stand balloon animals.
Take up woodworking
I get the chance to build a rabbit hutch now & then, but what I really want to do is build beautiful armoires & bookshelves. Unfortunately, I’m also a conservationist & can’t bring myself to use all that beautiful & rare wood.
Become financially solvent
Strike three against the street-performer dream. Damn.
Find balance in life
I know life is a journey and not a destination, but enough is enough already! I want the meaning of life & happily ever after, and I want it now!
Adam
15 comments
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May 5, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Sam
I was reading along, glad to see a new post, enjoying your wit and observations, and then I reached your final comment:
Find balance in life
I know life is a journey and not a destination, but enough is enough already! I want the meaning of life & happily ever after, and I want it now!
You got that out of my brain, didn’t you? Balance, oh sweet balance… is it EVER going to happen? Probably not. But one can dream. And I do, often!
Oh, and my church, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, is planning a trip to Simenfalva, Romania, in June (or July) of 2009. I would love to go! Too bad traveling to the other side of the world is so damn expensive!
May 6, 2008 at 9:18 am
pamela
this is a great post. I appreciate that you read Geek Love. it is, by far, my favorite book.
xo
May 6, 2008 at 9:54 am
Red
Mmm .. cigar smoker. Niiice.
I love flash drives. I own 6 of them myself.
May 6, 2008 at 10:08 am
gabrielle
I adore LISTS! Mmmm…lists! And I know someone who can help you with woodworking, should that be of interest.
For the rest of it: you’ve got terrific taste! Especially traveling with papers. GOOD paper is a fine fine fine thing the world offers us.
May 6, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Moonbeam McQueen
Great post!
I’ve read all of the books in that photo except one– I can’t make out the title of the one on the lower right. I wish I could enlarge the photo of your bookshelf and see if there are any I want to steal. I mean, borrow.
Did you make the castle?
The hats, the art, the chest– all wonderful. Both you and Maia are cuties– I’m glad you didn’t title that one “Maia with Receding Hairline.”
May 6, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Adam
Sam - Are you where I got that idea? Take it back, please!!! It’s a haunting desire, and I need to be rid of it!
Pamela - Geek Love is a great book! It includes both sideshow freaks & perhaps the most unique fiction that the past 20 years has managed to produce.
Red - I’ve never smoked a cigar, actually. Pipes are my love.
Aren’t flash drives wonderful?
Gabrielle - As soon as I can reconcile my need to preserve the forest with my desire to carve up beautiful slabs of wood, I’ll let you know!
Most paper also comes from trees though, doesn’t it? And yet I have no qualm about keeping a full supply on hand. Yeah, I suppose I’m a bit of a contradiction.
Moonbeam - The book in the lower right is Gabriel García Márquez’s La aventura de Miguel Littín clandestino en Chile. I’m reading it to hone my Spanish language skills (which are slim, at best). I’ve discovered that it helps me to be able to read Spanish, but I still understand virtually nothing that is spoken.
That bookshelf is one of 3 in my house. The next time you’re in town, you may borrow anything you please.
Alas, the castle is not mine. I had to scour the web to find a picture of the style of Kirigami that I like. I have no pictures of any of my work… in fact, I don’t have any of my work anymore… Maia has destroyed everything that I’ve made.
May 6, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Red
D’oh. My mistake .. thinking one thing, typed another. I sorry
May 6, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Adam
No worries! Cigars are highly revered by some. Unfortunately in my experience, they tend to smell like dirty gyms socks.
But then, I’ve found plenty of people who are also disgusted by pipe smoke. To me it’s divine, but you can’t account for taste.
Nevertheless, I try not to smoke in public; although, admittedly, that has more to do with fashion than with courtesy. In my neck of the woods, unless you’re both a senior citizen AND a sailor, pipes are rather out of vogue.
May 7, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Brandy
But you are an interesting image, in the winter, with your porkpie hat and your pea coat and black umbrella, smoking in the rain. Very silver screen
May 8, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Matt
Very eclectic, and agreed regarding the dog and the hardwood. It’s an endless battle.
May 9, 2008 at 12:08 am
Allison
Hmmmm…I’m intrigued by Geek Love. I’ve read a couple of books by Nick Hornby…I have to admit that the one pictured (A Long Way Down??) wasn’t one of my favorites, but I could really see it being turned into a movie. I feel like I’m reading a screenplay when I’m reading his books…as though he intends for them to be movies. About a Boy is one of my favorites.
Double agreed about the dog and the hardwood. I once put Pledge on a broom before sweeping hardwood floors to help tame the fur situation. Big mistake. Huge. (nod to Julia in Pretty Woman) Especially before painting.
May 9, 2008 at 9:42 am
brilliant monster
This is such a brazen rip-off of my purse-onality blog, I’m a little taken aback! Guess you’re running low on inspiration. Kudos for not actually carrying a purse though, that might affect readership…
Still love you, and your myriad goodies, all so endearing. Your charm is innate, but these things help.
(Tried to copy-and-paste the ROFLOL guy here, to no avail.)
May 10, 2008 at 8:32 am
Adam
Brandy - Well, I’m no Buster Keaton, but thanks!
Matt - Eclectic, you say? Hmm… that has a ring to it.
Allison - Oh, I loved A Long Way Down, but none of my friends did, so I’m prepared to concede that it might not have been his best work. I also loved High Fidelity & About A Boy. I didn’t care for How To Be Good so much, however.
Chey - If it’s a rip off, it was not of my doing; I was tagged for this survey, you know. You should chase the back trail to find the true fiend.
No, I don’t carry a purse. There are times though, when I think my backpack is a thin disguise.
May 23, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Karen
You fascinate me!
May 26, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Adam
Awwww, schucks!