Metatalktail Hour: Show Us Your Desk! June 1, 2019 5:32 PM Subscribe
Good Saturday evening, MetaFilter! This week, Glinn wants us to do "that thing where people post photos of their desk," which is always one of my favorite ones! (Show us your desk, show us your purse, show us your favorite piece of art -- all aces.) So show us your desk/work area! Or if you don't want to take a photo, tell us about your favorite desk/work accessory, be it tool or decor or whatever!
As always, this is a conversation starter, not limiter, so we'd like to hear everything that's up with you! (And, as always, when the month STARTS on a Saturday, I whiff on Eurotalktails, so NEXT WEEK MY EUROBABES!)
As always, this is a conversation starter, not limiter, so we'd like to hear everything that's up with you! (And, as always, when the month STARTS on a Saturday, I whiff on Eurotalktails, so NEXT WEEK MY EUROBABES!)
I'm shy about posting my workspaces. I feel like other folks would be judgmental about them, which is probably projection, but there you are. I will tell you, however, that they always have a selection of lotions, lip balms, and hand sanitizers. Hand lotion and lip balm is a must in New England, plus it makes for a nice ten-second break to rub something scented on yourself. And hand sanitizer is necessary for all the time I spend rubbing my face or scratching my head about what the hell I am doing. Touching your skin too much can increase breakouts; I assume the hand sanitizer helps.
posted by Countess Elena at 5:44 PM on June 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Countess Elena at 5:44 PM on June 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
As summer is almost upon us, I cleared off the desk a couple of weeks ago to inspect my fishing lures and replace or sharpen the hooks on ones that needed it. It looked like this for a couple of days.
Fishing protip: When you're married to a blind guy, you tell him that the desk is now the most dangerous spot in the house because you're sorting out your lures.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:27 PM on June 1, 2019 [12 favorites]
Fishing protip: When you're married to a blind guy, you tell him that the desk is now the most dangerous spot in the house because you're sorting out your lures.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:27 PM on June 1, 2019 [12 favorites]
This is what my desk nook looked like three years ago right after I set it up and before time turned it into a disaster. I still love my nook but I’m pretty sure the piles on it include at least two years of full tax returns and it’s just... not a great place right now.
posted by obfuscation at 6:30 PM on June 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by obfuscation at 6:30 PM on June 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
My desk bench.
It almost always looks like this. I try to clean it after every project but then ten seconds after I start another project it looks like this again. I don't understand how it happens.
posted by bondcliff at 6:33 PM on June 1, 2019 [18 favorites]
It almost always looks like this. I try to clean it after every project but then ten seconds after I start another project it looks like this again. I don't understand how it happens.
posted by bondcliff at 6:33 PM on June 1, 2019 [18 favorites]
As I was looking at these photos I kept naming weird things sitting on my desk. Here are a few:
- Two manuals from The Dozenal Society. I joined after an AskMe about the coolest cheap organizations to join.
- White Claw spiked seltzer - my new favorite drink. My friend Cassie and I call it White Clam.
- A penis candy necklace that I got from the vending machine at the Paymaster.
- 36 blue Buckyballs formed into circles of six.
- A collection of fernet glasses that are short enough to fit under the monitors that are filled with tokens and smashed pennies and flash drives and stuff. They came from the free box outside the liquor store.
- A Cold War commemorative coin.
- Barack Obama.
- A guy I dated in 1996 is a great designer. He said that the Scalfani crushed tomato cans were beautiful and I've had those ever since.
- Analog tuner and dual-cassette deck. I'm trying to digitize some very old cassettes but I am very lazy.
- A snowperson mug my sister gave me for Christmas in 1996-ish.
- Lane splitting because fuck you.
- Bottle opener.
- Random credit and/or debit cards that I've failed to activate or something.
- tiles made by cortex.
posted by bendy at 6:37 PM on June 1, 2019 [4 favorites]
- Two manuals from The Dozenal Society. I joined after an AskMe about the coolest cheap organizations to join.
- White Claw spiked seltzer - my new favorite drink. My friend Cassie and I call it White Clam.
- A penis candy necklace that I got from the vending machine at the Paymaster.
- 36 blue Buckyballs formed into circles of six.
- A collection of fernet glasses that are short enough to fit under the monitors that are filled with tokens and smashed pennies and flash drives and stuff. They came from the free box outside the liquor store.
- A Cold War commemorative coin.
- Barack Obama.
- A guy I dated in 1996 is a great designer. He said that the Scalfani crushed tomato cans were beautiful and I've had those ever since.
- Analog tuner and dual-cassette deck. I'm trying to digitize some very old cassettes but I am very lazy.
- A snowperson mug my sister gave me for Christmas in 1996-ish.
- Lane splitting because fuck you.
- Bottle opener.
- Random credit and/or debit cards that I've failed to activate or something.
- tiles made by cortex.
posted by bendy at 6:37 PM on June 1, 2019 [4 favorites]
I don't really have a desk at home -- I mean, I have a piece of furniture that would be labeled "a desk," but I use it as a cat perch and random catchall place; it doesn't even have a chair with it -- so here is a photo of my bookcases instead, taken from my usual place on the couch. My bookcases make me happy, even if they're currently a bit more cobwebby than I would prefer.
It's hard to see, but my current favorite piece of art is on the middle bookcase. It's a watercolor of three little birds, done by a local artist, that I bought at an open-studio weekend.
My desk at work is WAY TOO SMALL, and is constantly covered with piles of paper that make me anxious and that I therefore try to process, but then new piles arrive. I am generally a very organized person, at least at work, and I feel I have been promoted up to my maximum organizational capacity, and I don't like it. I'm hoping my organizational capacity grows, or something clicks in my brain, or something.
We have strict OSHA regulations about what's allowed on our desks, too, plus we're a scent-free workplace, so most of my interesting-ish things are hidden in drawers.
posted by lazuli at 6:52 PM on June 1, 2019 [4 favorites]
It's hard to see, but my current favorite piece of art is on the middle bookcase. It's a watercolor of three little birds, done by a local artist, that I bought at an open-studio weekend.
My desk at work is WAY TOO SMALL, and is constantly covered with piles of paper that make me anxious and that I therefore try to process, but then new piles arrive. I am generally a very organized person, at least at work, and I feel I have been promoted up to my maximum organizational capacity, and I don't like it. I'm hoping my organizational capacity grows, or something clicks in my brain, or something.
We have strict OSHA regulations about what's allowed on our desks, too, plus we're a scent-free workplace, so most of my interesting-ish things are hidden in drawers.
posted by lazuli at 6:52 PM on June 1, 2019 [4 favorites]
It almost always looks like this. I try to clean it after every project but then ten seconds after I start another project it looks like this again. I don't understand how it happens.
So many fretting puns, so little time.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:57 PM on June 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
So many fretting puns, so little time.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:57 PM on June 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
Here's where I type from when I'm at home. And a bonus photo of a mushroom (from a walk I took with my partner this morning). Happy Saturday evening everyone. :)
posted by Fizz at 6:59 PM on June 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 6:59 PM on June 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
I don't have a desk at home, but I have a brand new desk at work, as the renovation in my lab is finally complete, almost two years after it began. The new desk features
- five rocks from Lake Superior, which I won as a gag gift in a White Elephant exchange from my favorite coworker, and about which I am therefore oddly sentimental
- a plush χ2 distribution
- two plastic bird figurines: a superb fairywren and a black swan
- a small potted succulent that my officemate gave me two years ago, which is still alive despite being forgotten for approximately one of those years
- a giant gaudy rainbow eraser that showed up in my Christmas stocking (I am definitely here for Pride gifts from Santa)
- a weird little goose pot. I think Mr. eirias gave it to me on the theory that it could be a candy dish but it's just too grotty inside, and yet, I can't manage to throw it out
- six little stupid butter packets from Panera.
Last weekend was very very full of things, including a tiny Metafilter meetup in my town. It was delightful and exhausting. This weekend I am basically hiding, although we did go to a ridiculous burger party this afternoon.
Little eirias is almost done with first grade. Maybe I can put some of those Icky School Feels down for a couple months.
posted by eirias at 7:13 PM on June 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
- five rocks from Lake Superior, which I won as a gag gift in a White Elephant exchange from my favorite coworker, and about which I am therefore oddly sentimental
- a plush χ2 distribution
- two plastic bird figurines: a superb fairywren and a black swan
- a small potted succulent that my officemate gave me two years ago, which is still alive despite being forgotten for approximately one of those years
- a giant gaudy rainbow eraser that showed up in my Christmas stocking (I am definitely here for Pride gifts from Santa)
- a weird little goose pot. I think Mr. eirias gave it to me on the theory that it could be a candy dish but it's just too grotty inside, and yet, I can't manage to throw it out
- six little stupid butter packets from Panera.
Last weekend was very very full of things, including a tiny Metafilter meetup in my town. It was delightful and exhausting. This weekend I am basically hiding, although we did go to a ridiculous burger party this afternoon.
Little eirias is almost done with first grade. Maybe I can put some of those Icky School Feels down for a couple months.
posted by eirias at 7:13 PM on June 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
My office is in a windowless interior room in the basement of a building next to the Massachusetts Turnpike which is due to be torn down in 3-5 years, so they're not doing any more renovations. Sometimes mice die in it. At least they realized how to connect it to HVAC so I have heat and air conditioning (it only took a year and a half). This picture, which I took for coldchef on Mardi Gras, sums up my feelings about it (though I've tried to make it my own).
My lab, which has a small window at Massachusetts Turnpike level, is shabby but more or less functional.
When I need to see the sun, I go over to the lobby of the fancy new neuroscience building which is all pristine white walls and floor to ceiling windows, and has an open workspace that undergrads and grad students don't seem to know about.
Of course, given my druthers I'd be in the forest.
posted by ChuraChura at 7:20 PM on June 1, 2019 [10 favorites]
My lab, which has a small window at Massachusetts Turnpike level, is shabby but more or less functional.
When I need to see the sun, I go over to the lobby of the fancy new neuroscience building which is all pristine white walls and floor to ceiling windows, and has an open workspace that undergrads and grad students don't seem to know about.
Of course, given my druthers I'd be in the forest.
posted by ChuraChura at 7:20 PM on June 1, 2019 [10 favorites]
I recently changed jobs and so the only things on my desk now are:
* Mechanical keyboard (from WASD with Cherry MX Clears)
* A peace lily
* Wind-up toy robot from 1977
* Question Hound plush that I got from the Kickstarter
* One of the cats from Neko Atsume that I found at Kinokuniya
* Aviator sunglasses (swag from work, they have the company logo and everything)
I have other things from my last desk that I haven't brought in yet. The most important is a knit robot that a friend made for me.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 7:46 PM on June 1, 2019 [4 favorites]
* Mechanical keyboard (from WASD with Cherry MX Clears)
* A peace lily
* Wind-up toy robot from 1977
* Question Hound plush that I got from the Kickstarter
* One of the cats from Neko Atsume that I found at Kinokuniya
* Aviator sunglasses (swag from work, they have the company logo and everything)
I have other things from my last desk that I haven't brought in yet. The most important is a knit robot that a friend made for me.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 7:46 PM on June 1, 2019 [4 favorites]
"JUST MASH YOUR HANDS IN THERE AND SMUSH THEM ALL TOGETHER, YOU MONSTER, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU"
Never ever ever watch this Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode. Multiple Meat.
posted by bendy at 7:57 PM on June 1, 2019
Never ever ever watch this Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode. Multiple Meat.
posted by bendy at 7:57 PM on June 1, 2019
I can't show my current desk because I have pulled everything out of the drawers and off the bookshelf in a flurry of tidying.
Instead, here is my favourite "desk": the set-up I had during a fieldwork stint once upon a time.
posted by lollusc at 8:04 PM on June 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
Instead, here is my favourite "desk": the set-up I had during a fieldwork stint once upon a time.
posted by lollusc at 8:04 PM on June 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
I finally cleared my home office of all of the "works in progress" that I wasn't ever going to get to, and I have an actual working home office that I am proud of. Yay! Currently all of my work-work stuff is in 2 cardboard boxes in my home office waiting for my next job, wherever that may be, but I really hope it is before July 1st. Starting to get a little nervous.
I have applied at a very well known progressive not-for-profit, and I'm really crossing my fingers. I do need to go back to my university by 2022, though.
I'm doing my best to make the most of my time off, but anxiety is starting to set in, which makes everything more difficult.
In garden news, I may have my first ripe tomato by next week! Tomorrow, I may buy some anticipatory cheese.
posted by Sophie1 at 8:37 PM on June 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
I have applied at a very well known progressive not-for-profit, and I'm really crossing my fingers. I do need to go back to my university by 2022, though.
I'm doing my best to make the most of my time off, but anxiety is starting to set in, which makes everything more difficult.
In garden news, I may have my first ripe tomato by next week! Tomorrow, I may buy some anticipatory cheese.
posted by Sophie1 at 8:37 PM on June 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
soundguy99: "This is my desk this weekend."
What show are you working? It looks like it is outdoors with possibility of rain.
posted by AugustWest at 9:06 PM on June 1, 2019
What show are you working? It looks like it is outdoors with possibility of rain.
posted by AugustWest at 9:06 PM on June 1, 2019
Hessler Street Fair.
And yup, it rained.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:08 PM on June 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
And yup, it rained.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:08 PM on June 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
So It's too late and too dark to take a picture of my desk and I'm very tempted to take a picture of my work table outside, but inside, on the desk where my computer lives I have one of these a triceratops skull replica, and above my desk framed is a print of Maurice Denis' Les Muses.
We had some hilarity in the garden this week- it turns out the romanesco I've been growing isn't romanesco at all. It looks like somehow purple cauliflower seeds got into my botanical interests romanesco seed packet. Because- that ain't romanesco! I'm not even mad, cabbage family seeds are all but identical so I'm only surprised this hasn't happened before. Oh well! Our weather out west is predictably erratic, but our sunnier days and occasional heat had meant that quite a bit is going to seed. Nothing too crucial, though I have to buy some neem seed fertilizer from work and rip out the carrot bed and re-seed my carrots if I'm going to have a late summer harvest. The real drama this week was my calling in reinforcements in the battle against the aphids. That's right! I bought in ladybugs! As long as you follow procedure the majority will stay and reproduce like mad so I'm a happy little neanderthal at the moment, with a garden crawling with spotted ladies. I also had a good time planting on my day off, finally put in my favorite basil among other things. I'm not the only one who loves the African Blue Bush Basil- A bunch of orders were in for it, and we set aside quite a few for customer requests. I'm not surprised, its a basil that's super hardy and if you're lucky can turn perennial. I'm maximizing my chances this year, by putting one in the bed and one in a gigantic lightweight plastic pot- so that if the winter this year is as nasty as last- I can take in one of the basils at night and maybe save it. Now that's using your noodle.
Dad had a milestone birthday on Friday, and I made a bit of a feast. Unfortunately I have discovered that lamb maybe doesn't agree with me so much. OH! And a huge shout-out to LaBellaStella, who sent me a card this month from the card club- with fancy ass lettuce seeds inside! I'm gonna so grow them! My romaine has largely gone to seed anyways and I love the idea of growing seeds from a friend- thanks so much!
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 9:39 PM on June 1, 2019 [10 favorites]
We had some hilarity in the garden this week- it turns out the romanesco I've been growing isn't romanesco at all. It looks like somehow purple cauliflower seeds got into my botanical interests romanesco seed packet. Because- that ain't romanesco! I'm not even mad, cabbage family seeds are all but identical so I'm only surprised this hasn't happened before. Oh well! Our weather out west is predictably erratic, but our sunnier days and occasional heat had meant that quite a bit is going to seed. Nothing too crucial, though I have to buy some neem seed fertilizer from work and rip out the carrot bed and re-seed my carrots if I'm going to have a late summer harvest. The real drama this week was my calling in reinforcements in the battle against the aphids. That's right! I bought in ladybugs! As long as you follow procedure the majority will stay and reproduce like mad so I'm a happy little neanderthal at the moment, with a garden crawling with spotted ladies. I also had a good time planting on my day off, finally put in my favorite basil among other things. I'm not the only one who loves the African Blue Bush Basil- A bunch of orders were in for it, and we set aside quite a few for customer requests. I'm not surprised, its a basil that's super hardy and if you're lucky can turn perennial. I'm maximizing my chances this year, by putting one in the bed and one in a gigantic lightweight plastic pot- so that if the winter this year is as nasty as last- I can take in one of the basils at night and maybe save it. Now that's using your noodle.
Dad had a milestone birthday on Friday, and I made a bit of a feast. Unfortunately I have discovered that lamb maybe doesn't agree with me so much. OH! And a huge shout-out to LaBellaStella, who sent me a card this month from the card club- with fancy ass lettuce seeds inside! I'm gonna so grow them! My romaine has largely gone to seed anyways and I love the idea of growing seeds from a friend- thanks so much!
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 9:39 PM on June 1, 2019 [10 favorites]
I don't have a desk or a description of a desk, but it's probably worth mentioning that I am currently sharing my little twin bed with someone -- my Williams digital piano! I moved some stuff around so my instruments would be more accessible, but the tradeoff is having to be bed-buddies with the piano. It's not a particularly valuable piano, but it's expensive enough that I couldn't replace it if I got rid of it. It takes up a good third of the bed, but it's not nearly as uncomfortable as you might imagine. At any rate, it's totally worth it if I get to play piano more often. And, more importantly, I have better access to my other instruments, too.
I also caved and spent about $25 on a couple cheap tool boxes and a small parts organizer. Now if I need to do some soldering, I don't have to dig through shoe boxes and old Trader Joe's bags. And then I don't have to leave things out on the table when I'm in the middle of something.
So -- I can't share a desk photo or description per se, but this is how I'm sort of organizing the things in my life to make better use of them. Obviously, there has been some compromise. My next task is figuring out a way to deal with a big mess of instrument and power cables, currently residing in a couple tote bags. No matter how carefully I coil things, they manage to become a rat's nest instantly.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 10:12 PM on June 1, 2019 [5 favorites]
I also caved and spent about $25 on a couple cheap tool boxes and a small parts organizer. Now if I need to do some soldering, I don't have to dig through shoe boxes and old Trader Joe's bags. And then I don't have to leave things out on the table when I'm in the middle of something.
So -- I can't share a desk photo or description per se, but this is how I'm sort of organizing the things in my life to make better use of them. Obviously, there has been some compromise. My next task is figuring out a way to deal with a big mess of instrument and power cables, currently residing in a couple tote bags. No matter how carefully I coil things, they manage to become a rat's nest instantly.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 10:12 PM on June 1, 2019 [5 favorites]
No photos of my desk but one side is more interesting than the other. On the left side, I have two cheese grater Macs side by side topped by a flatbed scanner usually covered with various found toys, including a Casanova, a Pocahontas, a Tarzan, a triceratops, a pterodactyl, and a variety of rocks and crystals and my toothfairy award wand.
Standing in front of the Macs is an 18" plaster statue of the Infant of Prague.
The middle of my desk is dominated by 30" and 24" monitors with desktop pictures of Dumbledore's office and my cats.
The right side of my desk is covered in piles and piles of signs and posters ready for deployment in the co-op.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 10:37 PM on June 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
Standing in front of the Macs is an 18" plaster statue of the Infant of Prague.
The middle of my desk is dominated by 30" and 24" monitors with desktop pictures of Dumbledore's office and my cats.
The right side of my desk is covered in piles and piles of signs and posters ready for deployment in the co-op.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 10:37 PM on June 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
Don't have a whole lot of stuff on my desk, but definitely my favorite is a set of these amazing crocheted lemmings that my sister got me.
Also, a while back there was a competition to come up with the funniest warning sign for one's cubicle (don't remember what prompted it). I still have my entry, "WARNING: warning offered by sign is inadequate"
posted by equalpants at 12:28 AM on June 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
Also, a while back there was a competition to come up with the funniest warning sign for one's cubicle (don't remember what prompted it). I still have my entry, "WARNING: warning offered by sign is inadequate"
posted by equalpants at 12:28 AM on June 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
I work at two different desk job places and one retail place so have no personal desk space. At home set up an office space in an armoire but don't use it because I despise doing personal paperwork.
I'm going through a not sleeping well phase so it's 2 AM and I'm on my phone reading my favourite website. I usually get up and do something but feel like being laze. I did make some hot chocolate to enjoy....
Sweet kitty is liking the opportunity to snuggle while monsters one and two are wrassling and racing about.
We finally had a break in the weather here; we had rain. While parts of the US are flooding, tornadoing or still snowy we have been experiencing a drought and record high temps. Last Sunday I became overheated after being stationed out in the sun all workday at the garden center. After 6 hours I suddenly realized that I was very very hot. It took 2 days for the residual headache to go away. I will be more careful in the future.
But we had 1 inch of glorious rain. And temps only in the upper 80s. My yard is so happy. And I get a break from constant watering my plants. The danger of working in the garden center is an addiction to bringing home more plants to tend to.
One area of my yard needs a lot of work since hurricane florence took out my neighbor's massive shade tree. The shade plants need new homes and the weeds are wanting to get ahead of me. Eventually I need to rework the entire area but am not tacking that this year. I need to see who adapts before I get down to digging out some very large shrubs.
At one of my workplaces the owner is approaching retirement so I will be needing to fill that hole with something else that pays. I love my other workplace but it isn't full time and I am also old enough that I'm not considered employable in my field. Both of these jobs allow me the flexibility to look after Mom's increasing issues as needed. Finding a replacement for even one position is a challenge when I need such accommodation. Somehow something will work out.
And my alarm is set to ring in an hour but I'm no closer to sleep. Y'all have been good company. I enjoy hearing your stories and life snippets. Moster number one has come up for some playtainment so I shall need to wiggle digits under the covers for pounce attacks. Be well and take care you fellow mefites.
posted by mightshould at 12:30 AM on June 2, 2019 [6 favorites]
I'm going through a not sleeping well phase so it's 2 AM and I'm on my phone reading my favourite website. I usually get up and do something but feel like being laze. I did make some hot chocolate to enjoy....
Sweet kitty is liking the opportunity to snuggle while monsters one and two are wrassling and racing about.
We finally had a break in the weather here; we had rain. While parts of the US are flooding, tornadoing or still snowy we have been experiencing a drought and record high temps. Last Sunday I became overheated after being stationed out in the sun all workday at the garden center. After 6 hours I suddenly realized that I was very very hot. It took 2 days for the residual headache to go away. I will be more careful in the future.
But we had 1 inch of glorious rain. And temps only in the upper 80s. My yard is so happy. And I get a break from constant watering my plants. The danger of working in the garden center is an addiction to bringing home more plants to tend to.
One area of my yard needs a lot of work since hurricane florence took out my neighbor's massive shade tree. The shade plants need new homes and the weeds are wanting to get ahead of me. Eventually I need to rework the entire area but am not tacking that this year. I need to see who adapts before I get down to digging out some very large shrubs.
At one of my workplaces the owner is approaching retirement so I will be needing to fill that hole with something else that pays. I love my other workplace but it isn't full time and I am also old enough that I'm not considered employable in my field. Both of these jobs allow me the flexibility to look after Mom's increasing issues as needed. Finding a replacement for even one position is a challenge when I need such accommodation. Somehow something will work out.
And my alarm is set to ring in an hour but I'm no closer to sleep. Y'all have been good company. I enjoy hearing your stories and life snippets. Moster number one has come up for some playtainment so I shall need to wiggle digits under the covers for pounce attacks. Be well and take care you fellow mefites.
posted by mightshould at 12:30 AM on June 2, 2019 [6 favorites]
I use my kitchen table as my desk. Currently, there is a big ole pile of mail, and paid and unpaid bills, in the middle. I have a very small filing cabinet, and eventually I will sort through it and toss and file things.
I have a big footed glass bowl for my onions and avocados and bananas on one side of the table.
My Staples Easy button, which I don't use often, but when the batteries ran out, I had to replace them. A little plastic poodle dog figurine, with a bobbing head. A dish for my rings and various things like barrettes, which I am proud to say I cleaned out recently, putting most of the stray jewelry in my new/used $10 Goodwill jewelry box.
A few Beanie babies, who keep me company when the Mister is at work, especially Boo the Halloween Cat. I found out a while back there is a place in a nearby town that sells mass quantities of Beanie babies, so I have to avoid going there, because I already have a basket of stuffed animals that I can't bring myself to part with (they were on the back of the couch for a while, but I was cleaning one day, so they are in a basket now).
I have a little crystal box with a lid, where I keep my teeny tiny gem tourmalines that I have found at the sift-and-sort place in Oxford County. I also have a couple of Herkimer diamonds in there, one big and one small. A dish with other rocks, a couple of pieces of moldavite, a tumbled ocean jasper, a little raw garnet (red), a piece of azurite, more tourmalines (not the clear gem ones, black and opaque specimens), other bits and pieces.
A silver plated Tiffany bowl, where I keep my little tape measure and other doodads, like a whistle, just in case I ever need it, I guess? My back scratcher. My note pads and favorite Pilot G2-07 pen (just got a 10-pack, I will never run of of pens again!). About 10-15 various lip balms, as I get sick of one and buy more in the hunt for the perfect lip balm. Right now I am using Carmex in a tube, because it doesn't sting my lips, the medicated Blistex stopped feeling great, maybe due to the sunblock in it? IDK.
Mr. Mon Dieu continues to recover from his recent infection, and is almost done with his antibiotics, hasn't missed a dose. He has two follow-up visits this week, one with a specialist, and one with our regular doctor, who will determine if he's okay to go back to work. He has short-term disability insurance, he's put in a claim, so that will be good when that goes through (tho' we know it won't be as much as his regular pay, every little bit helps). Super happy that he is better, and is on a new med to prevent it from happening again, very grateful we have good health insurance (we have been without before) and emergency funds to see us through his time off from work.
The Mister is loving his new power lift chair, it arrived Tuesday, and Miss MoneyPenny approves. Neither cat has tried to scratch it, for all of my worries, maybe the smooth fabric is off-putting, or the new lounger cat scratcher is more attractive (thanks, AskMe!). They both love it, and visit it and an use it for napping as well as scratching.
Been driving all over creation, to do errands and such. One pitfall of having a car to use is more frequent grocery store trips, and I seem to walk in for one thing and walk out with 15 things. Today I got some smoked mozzarella cheese, and it was so good! They sell heirloom tomatoes at my store, they are greenhouse grown, from Canada, which is *almost* local to us, ha-ha. Very tasty.
Two days ago, I made a big batch of lemongrass and mint scented soap, from scratch, in my crock pot. 5 lbs. of soap! I put some in a log mold to be cut into bars, and glopped some into some Celtic knot molds. Hot gloopy soap is difficult to press into molds, as you have to avoid burning your hands, and get it pressed in quickly before it starts to harden. So there are always some air bubbles and imperfections. I stick the molds in the freezer the next day, for about 30 minutes, and the soap pops right out, then I leave it to dry a few days before using, as freezing causes a little condensation.
I got 20+ bars from my log mold, which I line with freezer paper. The wooden mold has drop-down sides, held in place with little dowels. I cut some bars into bath size, and some of those in half, to use as hand soap. It smells fantastic, and I colored it with TAZO lemongrass and mint tea (in the lye water, before adding the lye). My landlord came down to get the rent, and he said it smelled great, so I gave him a couple of small bars to try out. Not interested in starting a soap business again, not enough room, and I dislike monetizing hobbies that bring me pleasure, so I will keep enough for us and give away the rest.
Yesterday was my monthly pedicure, and boy did I need it this month, after all the stuff that's gone on the past couple of weeks, with Mr. Mon Dieu getting sick and being hospitalized, driving around when I hadn't driven for a long time, etc. I gave my manicurist a bar of soap, wrapped in a piece of muslin and tied with kitchen string. She said it smelled fantastic. Those sandals are Yellow Box brand, FYI, and I got them for $16 on a Zulily deal.
The lake water is slowly receding, but still high enough that we had a pair of Canada geese come up onto the lawn below. I caught a pic of them, they are really big birds. I often see ducks swimming past, and see loons once in a while, still have yet to get a good loon pic, but sure I will have plenty of opportunity this summer. If summer ever arrives, ugh, high of 66 today, but seeing temps in the 70's toward the end of next week.
Maybe this week I will get my new planter painted white, and screw on the pot holder rings and get some of my impatiens outside. Been trying to decide what to put in the bottom rectangular part of the planter (it's just a wooden crate with picket-fence backing, a couple of feet high). Thought maybe some white sweet alyssum and some green vining plant, haven't felt up to making a trip to Augusta, where I can usually find what I need at Lowes. But there's no rush, I am going to stay home today and putter around, catching up on some chores and chilling out. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 2:01 AM on June 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
I have a big footed glass bowl for my onions and avocados and bananas on one side of the table.
My Staples Easy button, which I don't use often, but when the batteries ran out, I had to replace them. A little plastic poodle dog figurine, with a bobbing head. A dish for my rings and various things like barrettes, which I am proud to say I cleaned out recently, putting most of the stray jewelry in my new/used $10 Goodwill jewelry box.
A few Beanie babies, who keep me company when the Mister is at work, especially Boo the Halloween Cat. I found out a while back there is a place in a nearby town that sells mass quantities of Beanie babies, so I have to avoid going there, because I already have a basket of stuffed animals that I can't bring myself to part with (they were on the back of the couch for a while, but I was cleaning one day, so they are in a basket now).
I have a little crystal box with a lid, where I keep my teeny tiny gem tourmalines that I have found at the sift-and-sort place in Oxford County. I also have a couple of Herkimer diamonds in there, one big and one small. A dish with other rocks, a couple of pieces of moldavite, a tumbled ocean jasper, a little raw garnet (red), a piece of azurite, more tourmalines (not the clear gem ones, black and opaque specimens), other bits and pieces.
A silver plated Tiffany bowl, where I keep my little tape measure and other doodads, like a whistle, just in case I ever need it, I guess? My back scratcher. My note pads and favorite Pilot G2-07 pen (just got a 10-pack, I will never run of of pens again!). About 10-15 various lip balms, as I get sick of one and buy more in the hunt for the perfect lip balm. Right now I am using Carmex in a tube, because it doesn't sting my lips, the medicated Blistex stopped feeling great, maybe due to the sunblock in it? IDK.
Mr. Mon Dieu continues to recover from his recent infection, and is almost done with his antibiotics, hasn't missed a dose. He has two follow-up visits this week, one with a specialist, and one with our regular doctor, who will determine if he's okay to go back to work. He has short-term disability insurance, he's put in a claim, so that will be good when that goes through (tho' we know it won't be as much as his regular pay, every little bit helps). Super happy that he is better, and is on a new med to prevent it from happening again, very grateful we have good health insurance (we have been without before) and emergency funds to see us through his time off from work.
The Mister is loving his new power lift chair, it arrived Tuesday, and Miss MoneyPenny approves. Neither cat has tried to scratch it, for all of my worries, maybe the smooth fabric is off-putting, or the new lounger cat scratcher is more attractive (thanks, AskMe!). They both love it, and visit it and an use it for napping as well as scratching.
Been driving all over creation, to do errands and such. One pitfall of having a car to use is more frequent grocery store trips, and I seem to walk in for one thing and walk out with 15 things. Today I got some smoked mozzarella cheese, and it was so good! They sell heirloom tomatoes at my store, they are greenhouse grown, from Canada, which is *almost* local to us, ha-ha. Very tasty.
Two days ago, I made a big batch of lemongrass and mint scented soap, from scratch, in my crock pot. 5 lbs. of soap! I put some in a log mold to be cut into bars, and glopped some into some Celtic knot molds. Hot gloopy soap is difficult to press into molds, as you have to avoid burning your hands, and get it pressed in quickly before it starts to harden. So there are always some air bubbles and imperfections. I stick the molds in the freezer the next day, for about 30 minutes, and the soap pops right out, then I leave it to dry a few days before using, as freezing causes a little condensation.
I got 20+ bars from my log mold, which I line with freezer paper. The wooden mold has drop-down sides, held in place with little dowels. I cut some bars into bath size, and some of those in half, to use as hand soap. It smells fantastic, and I colored it with TAZO lemongrass and mint tea (in the lye water, before adding the lye). My landlord came down to get the rent, and he said it smelled great, so I gave him a couple of small bars to try out. Not interested in starting a soap business again, not enough room, and I dislike monetizing hobbies that bring me pleasure, so I will keep enough for us and give away the rest.
Yesterday was my monthly pedicure, and boy did I need it this month, after all the stuff that's gone on the past couple of weeks, with Mr. Mon Dieu getting sick and being hospitalized, driving around when I hadn't driven for a long time, etc. I gave my manicurist a bar of soap, wrapped in a piece of muslin and tied with kitchen string. She said it smelled fantastic. Those sandals are Yellow Box brand, FYI, and I got them for $16 on a Zulily deal.
The lake water is slowly receding, but still high enough that we had a pair of Canada geese come up onto the lawn below. I caught a pic of them, they are really big birds. I often see ducks swimming past, and see loons once in a while, still have yet to get a good loon pic, but sure I will have plenty of opportunity this summer. If summer ever arrives, ugh, high of 66 today, but seeing temps in the 70's toward the end of next week.
Maybe this week I will get my new planter painted white, and screw on the pot holder rings and get some of my impatiens outside. Been trying to decide what to put in the bottom rectangular part of the planter (it's just a wooden crate with picket-fence backing, a couple of feet high). Thought maybe some white sweet alyssum and some green vining plant, haven't felt up to making a trip to Augusta, where I can usually find what I need at Lowes. But there's no rush, I am going to stay home today and putter around, catching up on some chores and chilling out. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 2:01 AM on June 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
All my children have desks while I, the only adult who works from home, do not. I work at the kitchen table and pack everything up daily. In theory I could work at the shared balcony desk but that is overtaken by craft projects. I should get a desk. This has just occurred to me.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:36 AM on June 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:36 AM on June 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
I actually wonder if it's good to have to pack up everything at the end of the day, dorothyisunderwood, because it really clearly delineates what's work time and what's home time. Maybe you'd lose that if you had a separate desk where you could leave unfinished business!
Here is my desk. I actually don't love it: I want a bigger desk that has room for a computer monitor.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:23 AM on June 2, 2019 [3 favorites]
Here is my desk. I actually don't love it: I want a bigger desk that has room for a computer monitor.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:23 AM on June 2, 2019 [3 favorites]
Yay, my thing!
my desk. (after cleaning some of the grossest bits)
Items in this photo include, but are not limited to:
Note: Everyone Needs a Hug magnet (on the arm of the not-in-use magnifying lamp on the right), part of a 2019 Metafilter Valentine
A tiny origami garland, also part of a Metafilter 2019 Valentine
My latest drawing, Serena Williams
4 packs Trident Layers Grape+ Lemonade Flavor (Purchased by the box online because I can't find it in a store)
Lots of pens, markers, pencils (though the overwhelming majority of those I own are not in this photo)
Trader Joe's Smoked Chicken Tenders for dogs
Korean skin scrubber mitts recommended in Ask here!
I do not speak Italian but did purchase some years back many Totoro posters in various languages
Lots of tiny ACEO art originals (mostly framed on the wall) from online artists, some friends and some strangers
Also above the desk and next to Agnes Gru and her SO FLUFFY unicorn, a quote from John Lewis:
"Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble."
posted by Glinn at 7:32 AM on June 2, 2019 [3 favorites]
my desk. (after cleaning some of the grossest bits)
Items in this photo include, but are not limited to:
Note: Everyone Needs a Hug magnet (on the arm of the not-in-use magnifying lamp on the right), part of a 2019 Metafilter Valentine
A tiny origami garland, also part of a Metafilter 2019 Valentine
My latest drawing, Serena Williams
4 packs Trident Layers Grape+ Lemonade Flavor (Purchased by the box online because I can't find it in a store)
Lots of pens, markers, pencils (though the overwhelming majority of those I own are not in this photo)
Trader Joe's Smoked Chicken Tenders for dogs
Korean skin scrubber mitts recommended in Ask here!
I do not speak Italian but did purchase some years back many Totoro posters in various languages
Lots of tiny ACEO art originals (mostly framed on the wall) from online artists, some friends and some strangers
Also above the desk and next to Agnes Gru and her SO FLUFFY unicorn, a quote from John Lewis:
"Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble."
posted by Glinn at 7:32 AM on June 2, 2019 [3 favorites]
soundguy99 — Case alum here — ahhhhh nostalgia!! I forgot about that festival entirely until I saw your post!
posted by eirias at 8:01 AM on June 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by eirias at 8:01 AM on June 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
I don't have a desk, currently, I have a laptop and couch. My exciting news is that I bought a used Prius. With some modification, I can sleep in the back with the seats down. I wanted a Prius because mileage, but also because you can run stuff off the storage battery, keeping a laptop and phone charged while camping and still having music and maybe some LED lights. I will make a tent extension for the hatchback door. Looking forward to camping; 1st trip will likely be to Acadia NP. I've been driving a compact truck which has its uses, but kind of a pain and not great on gas. Compared to it, the Prius is luxurious.
posted by theora55 at 8:05 AM on June 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 8:05 AM on June 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
This thread inspired me to clean off my desk and put all the paperwork where it belongs. Thanks metafilter!
posted by obfuscation at 8:26 AM on June 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by obfuscation at 8:26 AM on June 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
Life news: I volunteered at our county's Pride festival yesterday in the "First-Aid Fairies" medic tent -- I had a rainbow unicorn headband, along with a tutu and wings for a short while, and a sign saying I was the Listening Unicorn for Emotional Support -- and it was so lovely. I was mostly helping people get sunscreen and water, and getting them to the MDs and RNs if they had actual medical issues (sprains, headaches, and allergies were the main ones), but I got to spend some time talking with an older, formerly homeless, gay man who had never attended Pride before, and I had a mini consciousness-raising session with a rather stuck-up librarian about homeless people (Him: "We're working on getting all the homeless people out of our library." Me: "Oh, so it's not a public library?" Him: "Well, yes, it's a public library, but..." Me: "I don't understand?"). And I had forgotten how much I really love doctors who work in public hospitals and clinics; one of the doctors there yesterday runs the transgender health clinic at one of the local Medicaid clinics, and one of the others runs the homeless outreach program at another Medicaid clinic. He brought Narcan for anyone who wanted to take one to have on hand, and a big stack of information about PrEP, and I got to meet his husband-to-be, who was about six feet tall on his own and was wearing six-inch heels, and it was all just lovely and happy.
posted by lazuli at 8:48 AM on June 2, 2019 [12 favorites]
posted by lazuli at 8:48 AM on June 2, 2019 [12 favorites]
Dobbs I need to know more about that keyboard.
posted by obfuscation at 9:22 AM on June 2, 2019
posted by obfuscation at 9:22 AM on June 2, 2019
I organized the clutter on my desk at home and I feel like it is an accurate depiction of My Work and Home Stuff.
posted by ChuraChura at 9:27 AM on June 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 9:27 AM on June 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
My desk is currently in exile.
For as long as I've lived in this house, it has been in the back room, which is pleasant and sunny and has a big window with a view of the yard and the garden and Douglas firs across the fence.
However, now that I'm trying to sell the house, the realtor has decreed that that room needs to be staged as a second bedroom, and the desk has to go into the "bonus room" (a.k.a. what used to be the front half of the garage but was enclosed as interior space by a previous owner and has for the past ten years been the junk-storage room until I Marie-Kono'd the hell out of the place). It is about as charming as you'd expect the former front half of a garage to be and has one tiny window that looks right onto the neighbor's garage, but for now, that is where I and my desk are at, and I don't even have the heart to photograph it.
Selling the house continues to be uber-stressful; we had the first showings last week, but no bites so far. Apparently one couple was delighted with the house/yard, but were scared off by the rather scruffy appearance of the rest of the street. I live on a cul-de-sac which is a little island of small houses casually maintained in a larger sea of upper-middle-class houses with immaculate lawns, and I have always been fine with that, being a casual-maintenance the-hell-with-the-lawn person myself.
Suddenly, however, I have turned into That Person Who is Freaking Out About How Her Neighbor's Slovenly Lawn-Care Practices Are Harming Her Property Values. And then I sort of want to cast myself into the sea.
Also crazy-making is the need to keep the place constantly in ready-to-show condition, which is to say immaculate, decorated to some precise level of middle-common-denominator taste, and giving no evidence of an actual person with personality/tastes/a life living here. (E.g., no books are to be visible anywhere--thank god for ebooks, is all I can say.)
And now I have to go jam all of the cat trees, scratching posts, scratching pads, toys, litter boxes, and the crinkly tunnel into the coat closet, in readiness for the showing at noon. God, let this end soon . . .
posted by Kat Allison at 11:53 AM on June 2, 2019 [6 favorites]
For as long as I've lived in this house, it has been in the back room, which is pleasant and sunny and has a big window with a view of the yard and the garden and Douglas firs across the fence.
However, now that I'm trying to sell the house, the realtor has decreed that that room needs to be staged as a second bedroom, and the desk has to go into the "bonus room" (a.k.a. what used to be the front half of the garage but was enclosed as interior space by a previous owner and has for the past ten years been the junk-storage room until I Marie-Kono'd the hell out of the place). It is about as charming as you'd expect the former front half of a garage to be and has one tiny window that looks right onto the neighbor's garage, but for now, that is where I and my desk are at, and I don't even have the heart to photograph it.
Selling the house continues to be uber-stressful; we had the first showings last week, but no bites so far. Apparently one couple was delighted with the house/yard, but were scared off by the rather scruffy appearance of the rest of the street. I live on a cul-de-sac which is a little island of small houses casually maintained in a larger sea of upper-middle-class houses with immaculate lawns, and I have always been fine with that, being a casual-maintenance the-hell-with-the-lawn person myself.
Suddenly, however, I have turned into That Person Who is Freaking Out About How Her Neighbor's Slovenly Lawn-Care Practices Are Harming Her Property Values. And then I sort of want to cast myself into the sea.
Also crazy-making is the need to keep the place constantly in ready-to-show condition, which is to say immaculate, decorated to some precise level of middle-common-denominator taste, and giving no evidence of an actual person with personality/tastes/a life living here. (E.g., no books are to be visible anywhere--thank god for ebooks, is all I can say.)
And now I have to go jam all of the cat trees, scratching posts, scratching pads, toys, litter boxes, and the crinkly tunnel into the coat closet, in readiness for the showing at noon. God, let this end soon . . .
posted by Kat Allison at 11:53 AM on June 2, 2019 [6 favorites]
My desk is too awful to show. It has, just now, a scattering of nut shells and three external hard drives and a precarious stack of old VHS tapes next to an old VHS player and an empty bowl from a lunch of beet soup and a precarious stack of paperbacks and notebooks and small Polish change and some pens and a laptop with a couple of broken keys plugged into an external keyboard and mouse. And dust.
posted by pracowity at 12:40 PM on June 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by pracowity at 12:40 PM on June 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
So, I am very fancy and have a study with a big beautiful desk in it that used to be my grandfather's. But really, I never use it, I just like to lay in the couch in that room and read next to the open window. Except, I was doing that just now and looked up to daydream while staring out of the window for a second, and saw that the highrise across from mine has one apartment with all the windows blown out and boarded up. I thought I saw a fire in there the other night, but I didn't really think much of it. People have loud/bright parties in that building all the time, there are firetrucks and sirens around all the time, I dunno, it just didn't register. But those blown out windows are worrying.
When I was a kid, a highrise on our block had a really bad apartment fire, and a mother and daughter died. That fire happened during daylight and it was enormous, it even looked enormous from the ground. Everybody was out on the street watching, because everybody always went outside and watched things like that, and it was awful because we knew people were dying in there and could see the flames through the windows and the smoke billowing out, but nobody could do anything. And because that fire was so big and burned for so long and got so smoky (I don't really remember, but I guess it was too high up for firetrucks?), there were these huge soot stains on the building facade around the apartment's windows for a long time afterward.
This building doesn't have any staining from soot, though. So on the one hand, maybe this fire wasn't that bad? But on the other hand, maybe this building's apartments are just bigger or the wind was blowing in a different direction or something, because to get to the point that the windows are all blown out, including the sliding glass door onto the balcony...it must have gotten really hot in there. That's the scary thing about living in a highrise, if you can't get out the main door, you are SOL. And my dumb ass doesn't even have a working smoke detector because I never remember to change the batteries. And because of my frustrating lack of a sense of smell, smoke wouldn't wake me up in the case of a fire anyway. I don't even know if a smoke detector would wake me up, frankly. I have slept through so much incredibly noisy shit that seems like it would wake up a person that I tend to think, "what's the point anyway?" about alarms. But in reality...jeez, I hope nobody got hurt. I hope everybody got out OK.
posted by rue72 at 12:52 PM on June 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
When I was a kid, a highrise on our block had a really bad apartment fire, and a mother and daughter died. That fire happened during daylight and it was enormous, it even looked enormous from the ground. Everybody was out on the street watching, because everybody always went outside and watched things like that, and it was awful because we knew people were dying in there and could see the flames through the windows and the smoke billowing out, but nobody could do anything. And because that fire was so big and burned for so long and got so smoky (I don't really remember, but I guess it was too high up for firetrucks?), there were these huge soot stains on the building facade around the apartment's windows for a long time afterward.
This building doesn't have any staining from soot, though. So on the one hand, maybe this fire wasn't that bad? But on the other hand, maybe this building's apartments are just bigger or the wind was blowing in a different direction or something, because to get to the point that the windows are all blown out, including the sliding glass door onto the balcony...it must have gotten really hot in there. That's the scary thing about living in a highrise, if you can't get out the main door, you are SOL. And my dumb ass doesn't even have a working smoke detector because I never remember to change the batteries. And because of my frustrating lack of a sense of smell, smoke wouldn't wake me up in the case of a fire anyway. I don't even know if a smoke detector would wake me up, frankly. I have slept through so much incredibly noisy shit that seems like it would wake up a person that I tend to think, "what's the point anyway?" about alarms. But in reality...jeez, I hope nobody got hurt. I hope everybody got out OK.
posted by rue72 at 12:52 PM on June 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
Holy crap, there is nothing like photographing your desk to make you realize what a pit your desk is.
posted by selfmedicating at 1:04 PM on June 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by selfmedicating at 1:04 PM on June 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
I have a desk. But because I tend to use the sofa plus an adjustable table (it's super cool! it's an antique table for over a hospital bed and the angle is adjustable!) you can't actually see my desk underneath all the stuff that gets dumped on there. It holds all the overflow from my husbands adjacent desk, and every "hmmm I should find somewhere to put this" item. It's a constant disaster. I swear this is not a reflection on my general attitude to housekeeping.
I shall try get a picture purely for 23skidoo's sake.
posted by stillnocturnal at 1:49 PM on June 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
I shall try get a picture purely for 23skidoo's sake.
posted by stillnocturnal at 1:49 PM on June 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
Can't show a pic of any of my work desks since I'm not allowed to have a camera. My main/favorite has the deck at standing height, and I have an office chair that adjusts from normal height to "high-chair", which I enjoy much more than the stupid up/down desk things. I have a little 4-person size real wooden (not laminated prefab) conference table of my own. Well, it's more like a kitchen table than a businesslike one, but that's what I like. I put folding canvas camp chairs around it instead of real chairs for impromptu meetings, and people love that for some reason. And I have a big south-facing window which I love even though it puts a glare on my computer screen sometimes.
Since I'm partially nomadic, having to be responsible for scattered work sites, I have this bag for my core Work Stuff. I can load it with enough to get by at any temporary desk as long as I have a computer. The bag was a bit spendy for me, I'm more of a "make do with a brown shopping bag" guy by nature. But I spotted it in a train station outlet store coincidentally at the same time I was getting annoyed by my lack of organization of my 3 different phones and a laptop, and i just bought it. Now I love it, do not regret purchase.
posted by ctmf at 3:35 PM on June 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
Since I'm partially nomadic, having to be responsible for scattered work sites, I have this bag for my core Work Stuff. I can load it with enough to get by at any temporary desk as long as I have a computer. The bag was a bit spendy for me, I'm more of a "make do with a brown shopping bag" guy by nature. But I spotted it in a train station outlet store coincidentally at the same time I was getting annoyed by my lack of organization of my 3 different phones and a laptop, and i just bought it. Now I love it, do not regret purchase.
posted by ctmf at 3:35 PM on June 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
Because each of my instagram posts is hashtag blessed my stepdaughter got me this mug which perfectly matches my cubicle walls!
posted by vespabelle at 5:17 PM on June 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by vespabelle at 5:17 PM on June 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
I work from home, and my desk is depressingly utilitarian and boring (but not as goth and monochromatic as it looks here, I swear!). That's partly because I spend 95% of my work time staring intently at one computer screen or another rather than what's around it, partly because since I'm working from home with no boss looking over my shoulder I try to avoid allowing non-work distractions into my field of vision that might tempt me into goofing off...and partly because I am horribly deficient in decorating skills and tend to be a function-over-form Spartan, or monk, or something. So for the most part if it's not work-related, it's not on my desk. That said, despite my artistic shortcomings I've managed to assemble a workspace that feels well-lit, ergonomic, and comfortable.
Off to the side of my Official Work Area I have an extension that holds a personal laptop and a stereo amp that drives the speakers perched on top of the desk in the first picture, along with a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB audio interface and a condenser microphone suspended overhead. This is where I dabble in voice-over stuff, with the hope that maybe someday when I can no longer compete with the hungry youngsters for IT support jobs I can transition into something more personally fulfilling.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:20 PM on June 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
Off to the side of my Official Work Area I have an extension that holds a personal laptop and a stereo amp that drives the speakers perched on top of the desk in the first picture, along with a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB audio interface and a condenser microphone suspended overhead. This is where I dabble in voice-over stuff, with the hope that maybe someday when I can no longer compete with the hungry youngsters for IT support jobs I can transition into something more personally fulfilling.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:20 PM on June 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
Omg! Today I was awarded yard of the month in my little three stoplight town!!!. I live in a singlewide trailer. There are huge mansions hereabouts. It is insane. I was invited to join the garden club even. There's now a big sign out by the road announcing yard of the month so it must be real.... I just don't understand...flabbergasted. but damn. Humblebrag'n.
(So the lady said several folks had mentioned that they go by and see me working on the yard all by myself and it's full of unique flowers and such that is clearly not done by a landscape company.... and they like that. ) But, the place looks crappy (tools and stuff everywhere)[they took photos] because I am in the middle of a big project due to the loss of a big tree... and my garden is my oasis and a no judgement place to just get lost in as one task leads to another. While it's incredibly flattering it's also nerve wracking... lordy mercy. Pass the smelling salts. How in the hell will I ever get to sleep tonight?
posted by mightshould at 8:40 PM on June 2, 2019 [23 favorites]
(So the lady said several folks had mentioned that they go by and see me working on the yard all by myself and it's full of unique flowers and such that is clearly not done by a landscape company.... and they like that. ) But, the place looks crappy (tools and stuff everywhere)[they took photos] because I am in the middle of a big project due to the loss of a big tree... and my garden is my oasis and a no judgement place to just get lost in as one task leads to another. While it's incredibly flattering it's also nerve wracking... lordy mercy. Pass the smelling salts. How in the hell will I ever get to sleep tonight?
posted by mightshould at 8:40 PM on June 2, 2019 [23 favorites]
Congratulations, mightshould! Any pictures (pretty please)?
posted by rue72 at 9:05 PM on June 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by rue72 at 9:05 PM on June 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
This is my desk in my home office in our flat in Amsterdam.
The street outside is a narrow bike/pedestrian-only street so I hear the sounds of rusty bikes pedaling by, children playing and of course birds (mainly Blackbirds and Great Tits) chirping on the trees below.
posted by vacapinta at 12:49 AM on June 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
The street outside is a narrow bike/pedestrian-only street so I hear the sounds of rusty bikes pedaling by, children playing and of course birds (mainly Blackbirds and Great Tits) chirping on the trees below.
posted by vacapinta at 12:49 AM on June 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
I currently love my messy desk.
I love it because it's covered in music making gear. Most of it is free or hand-me-down gear and it's taken me like 3 years to collect all of it, but I have a pretty tidy and serviceable home studio backed up with some really nice and affordable thrift store bookshelf speakers. I'd have to spend, oh, about 400-800 to get new modern studio monitors that sound this nice and I scored these for a grand total of about 15, including the power supply and amp and home made speaker cables.
Behind my desk on the wall is a map of Washington state, with favorite places marked on it and a big heart around my home town.
Hanging above that is a whole bunch of fliers and random posters. They're all music gigs I've played over the last 3-4 years. They remind me I've actually been doing things and I'm not actually lazy. There's also a totally cheap, plasticky pride flag that's a souvenir from what I'm calling the first pride festival of my very own that was definitely for me and accepting myself. (Happy Pride month!)
Also on the desk are my hard-earned medications. I keep them in view because I like seeing them. So right next to my synthesizer and mini mixer there's... hypodermic needles, and a box of alcohol swabs, and pill bottles and so on. (This also explains why I'm not posting the picture I took of my studio-desk because after I took it I realized there's all kinds of identifiable information.)
To the right of the music workstation area is a small pile of books. They're basically all nature field guides except for the Ursula K. LeGuin's The Word For The World Is Forest.
To the right of that is my little kitchenette and coffee area, window and windowsill. I have this area mostly covered in some nice 12" ceramic tiles that are a lot nicer than the cruddy old woodworking bench underneath it, which just isn't a good kitchen surface at all, aesthetics aside. It was impossible to clean. And since the tiles aren't fixed I can just pull them all outside and hose them down if needed, or move them around for cutting boards or food prep surfaces.
On the windowsill there's a brand new spider plant baby I just planted and two aloe plant babies. I was sitting my friend's aloe while they were away and they just picked it up, so that also used to be on my windowsill. It's weird not seeing it there because it's been like four months, but I kind of needed the shelf space back for my own plants. There's also a kale starter I need to get into a bigger pot, but mainly I just wanted some indoor kale as a houseplant for some reason. There's also some shells, an art glass vase full of beach glass, rocks and shells, a tiny mirrored disco ball, and a very pretty paper wasp nest (empty, of course!) and other bits of nature.
There's even a big, honking high backed padded office chair in front of the desk, instead of, oh, a milk crate or plastic patio chair.
The desktop itself is actually the sliding door from a bedroom closet placed on the built in work bench. There's an odd corner cut out of it. This is because that corner of it would be in the way when my hammock was hanging up and I kept whacking my shins in it in my sleep, so one night in a fit of annoyance I hacked it right off with a saw. Looks a little weird but worked great.
And, yeah, my bed is my hammock, which hangs at a diagonal across the shed. I can actually sit in the hammock and be at my desk, or lay down to watch a movie or something and my whole desk is right there like an oversized nightstand. Stowing the hammock is as simple as just grabbing the loop of cord at one end and stuffing it in the plastic tote bin at the opposite corner. Sleeping bag, pillow and hammock all fit in there, and that corner is also my closet and clothes rack so it just sort of blends into all that and then I have the rest of the shed free for day/work mode, with no floor space lost to a bedframe or cot or something.
If you're imagining a rather rustic small shed and tiny house filled both with creative technology and bits of nature that looks like it's well lived in by some kind of semi-gothic semi-pagan forest witch you're on the right track.
The last two days have been apparently all about interacting with nature, or... rather nature interacting with me and then needing rescuing? *shrug*
Yesterday it was a tiny little garter snake in the driveway about the exact length and diameter of a pencil. It was gathered up and placed back into thicker grasses because: cat.
Today I rescued a kangaroo mouse from said murderous furbeast cat. Poor thing was mostly intact and not mortally injured. It seemed to be mainly exhausted and terrified and also seemed to be very willing to be scooped up with a dust pan and plastic jar. It just took two little steps up on the dustpan and collapsed and hyperventilated and didn't even try to run for it. I took it a little ways into the woods and left it with a little dish of water and a couple of peanuts. 15 minutes later it was gone and so were the peanuts.
And about 15 minutes ago I just rescued a tree frog from my shed. No idea how it got in here, and of course it ran behind the minifridge and ended up covered in cobwebs and dust bunnies. It was really cute and I was really tempted to set up a terrarium, but, no, no I don't need a wild frog as a captured pet what the hell. Froggo had a nice bath in the big ceramic dish I have out as a bird bath where it seemed to enjoy being there for a bit then took off for the grass.
Also, regarding last update... I guessed jinxed myself with "no one else has died recently". Turns out one of the older long term volunteers at the non profit I was at passed away the same exact day that the other more well known person did a while back. A few of us gathered to have a little memorial and get together, and it also kind of ended up being a small memorial for the non-profit. Kind of a bummer. I'm ok but this weekend has been weird and blah.
posted by loquacious at 1:01 AM on June 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
I love it because it's covered in music making gear. Most of it is free or hand-me-down gear and it's taken me like 3 years to collect all of it, but I have a pretty tidy and serviceable home studio backed up with some really nice and affordable thrift store bookshelf speakers. I'd have to spend, oh, about 400-800 to get new modern studio monitors that sound this nice and I scored these for a grand total of about 15, including the power supply and amp and home made speaker cables.
Behind my desk on the wall is a map of Washington state, with favorite places marked on it and a big heart around my home town.
Hanging above that is a whole bunch of fliers and random posters. They're all music gigs I've played over the last 3-4 years. They remind me I've actually been doing things and I'm not actually lazy. There's also a totally cheap, plasticky pride flag that's a souvenir from what I'm calling the first pride festival of my very own that was definitely for me and accepting myself. (Happy Pride month!)
Also on the desk are my hard-earned medications. I keep them in view because I like seeing them. So right next to my synthesizer and mini mixer there's... hypodermic needles, and a box of alcohol swabs, and pill bottles and so on. (This also explains why I'm not posting the picture I took of my studio-desk because after I took it I realized there's all kinds of identifiable information.)
To the right of the music workstation area is a small pile of books. They're basically all nature field guides except for the Ursula K. LeGuin's The Word For The World Is Forest.
To the right of that is my little kitchenette and coffee area, window and windowsill. I have this area mostly covered in some nice 12" ceramic tiles that are a lot nicer than the cruddy old woodworking bench underneath it, which just isn't a good kitchen surface at all, aesthetics aside. It was impossible to clean. And since the tiles aren't fixed I can just pull them all outside and hose them down if needed, or move them around for cutting boards or food prep surfaces.
On the windowsill there's a brand new spider plant baby I just planted and two aloe plant babies. I was sitting my friend's aloe while they were away and they just picked it up, so that also used to be on my windowsill. It's weird not seeing it there because it's been like four months, but I kind of needed the shelf space back for my own plants. There's also a kale starter I need to get into a bigger pot, but mainly I just wanted some indoor kale as a houseplant for some reason. There's also some shells, an art glass vase full of beach glass, rocks and shells, a tiny mirrored disco ball, and a very pretty paper wasp nest (empty, of course!) and other bits of nature.
There's even a big, honking high backed padded office chair in front of the desk, instead of, oh, a milk crate or plastic patio chair.
The desktop itself is actually the sliding door from a bedroom closet placed on the built in work bench. There's an odd corner cut out of it. This is because that corner of it would be in the way when my hammock was hanging up and I kept whacking my shins in it in my sleep, so one night in a fit of annoyance I hacked it right off with a saw. Looks a little weird but worked great.
And, yeah, my bed is my hammock, which hangs at a diagonal across the shed. I can actually sit in the hammock and be at my desk, or lay down to watch a movie or something and my whole desk is right there like an oversized nightstand. Stowing the hammock is as simple as just grabbing the loop of cord at one end and stuffing it in the plastic tote bin at the opposite corner. Sleeping bag, pillow and hammock all fit in there, and that corner is also my closet and clothes rack so it just sort of blends into all that and then I have the rest of the shed free for day/work mode, with no floor space lost to a bedframe or cot or something.
If you're imagining a rather rustic small shed and tiny house filled both with creative technology and bits of nature that looks like it's well lived in by some kind of semi-gothic semi-pagan forest witch you're on the right track.
The last two days have been apparently all about interacting with nature, or... rather nature interacting with me and then needing rescuing? *shrug*
Yesterday it was a tiny little garter snake in the driveway about the exact length and diameter of a pencil. It was gathered up and placed back into thicker grasses because: cat.
Today I rescued a kangaroo mouse from said murderous furbeast cat. Poor thing was mostly intact and not mortally injured. It seemed to be mainly exhausted and terrified and also seemed to be very willing to be scooped up with a dust pan and plastic jar. It just took two little steps up on the dustpan and collapsed and hyperventilated and didn't even try to run for it. I took it a little ways into the woods and left it with a little dish of water and a couple of peanuts. 15 minutes later it was gone and so were the peanuts.
And about 15 minutes ago I just rescued a tree frog from my shed. No idea how it got in here, and of course it ran behind the minifridge and ended up covered in cobwebs and dust bunnies. It was really cute and I was really tempted to set up a terrarium, but, no, no I don't need a wild frog as a captured pet what the hell. Froggo had a nice bath in the big ceramic dish I have out as a bird bath where it seemed to enjoy being there for a bit then took off for the grass.
Also, regarding last update... I guessed jinxed myself with "no one else has died recently". Turns out one of the older long term volunteers at the non profit I was at passed away the same exact day that the other more well known person did a while back. A few of us gathered to have a little memorial and get together, and it also kind of ended up being a small memorial for the non-profit. Kind of a bummer. I'm ok but this weekend has been weird and blah.
posted by loquacious at 1:01 AM on June 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
Dear people with such clean and organized desks,
HOW?
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 1:35 AM on June 3, 2019 [5 favorites]
HOW?
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 1:35 AM on June 3, 2019 [5 favorites]
So this is my desk. I didn't even move the giant box of mini haribo to hide my shame. The painting of a horse is from when I was 12, I've been meaning to get it framed for years now. The toys are not all mine, half are my husbands.
This is his, adjacent desk.
This is our weird study art, which I got at an auction for next to nothing. It's actually a set of THREE weird ape knights riding rhino drawings. Because I guess the artist knew what he liked.
This is the table I actually use for almost everything.
posted by stillnocturnal at 2:17 AM on June 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
This is his, adjacent desk.
This is our weird study art, which I got at an auction for next to nothing. It's actually a set of THREE weird ape knights riding rhino drawings. Because I guess the artist knew what he liked.
This is the table I actually use for almost everything.
posted by stillnocturnal at 2:17 AM on June 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
Here is the left side of my desk, and here is the right. The empty space on the cubicle wall on the left side is where a calendar used to hang...turns out that calendar didn't go past May. To be fair, it was a calendar from Loyola University Chicago. Still. I have to get a new calendar now.
Not shown: the little two-drawer filing cabinet and the shelf for binders under my desk.
Dear people with such clean and organized desks,
HOW?
If it wasn't, I literally could not get any work done. It has to be like this for my brain to function.
posted by cooker girl at 8:12 AM on June 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
Not shown: the little two-drawer filing cabinet and the shelf for binders under my desk.
Dear people with such clean and organized desks,
HOW?
If it wasn't, I literally could not get any work done. It has to be like this for my brain to function.
posted by cooker girl at 8:12 AM on June 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
I have a lot of stuff on my desk, but I like to think I keep it organized - my main concern is always keeping my 'fancy' $3.00 pens from walking away.
posted by sagc at 8:19 AM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by sagc at 8:19 AM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
We are under contract (is that proper terminology??) for this house. We are doing it, it is happening.
I will have an office with a door that closes - my desk will no longer be next to the table at which we eat every meal. Maybe I will actually file things when the filing cabinet is not in the closet upstairs!
There are so many bathrooms in this house (more than one!) Still no bathroom will have a window, that seems to be my lot in life. The child can have one all to herself.
We acquired Costco memberships and spent yesterday in IKEA and then Costco, wandering numbly, vaguely thinking of washers and dryers and a spare bed and god help me a sectional couch.
Title and inspection and disclosures, oh my.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 8:46 AM on June 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
I will have an office with a door that closes - my desk will no longer be next to the table at which we eat every meal. Maybe I will actually file things when the filing cabinet is not in the closet upstairs!
There are so many bathrooms in this house (more than one!) Still no bathroom will have a window, that seems to be my lot in life. The child can have one all to herself.
We acquired Costco memberships and spent yesterday in IKEA and then Costco, wandering numbly, vaguely thinking of washers and dryers and a spare bed and god help me a sectional couch.
Title and inspection and disclosures, oh my.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 8:46 AM on June 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
My work desk from 2011 or so. Still have 3 displays but there’s a 27” iMac now.
posted by porn in the woods at 9:09 AM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by porn in the woods at 9:09 AM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
After four years on a waiting list, last week I was unexpectedly given a community garden plot. So here is my desk for the summer.
posted by janepanic at 10:13 AM on June 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by janepanic at 10:13 AM on June 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
Here is my desk.. This is about the standard level of organization. The sunflower magnet is a gift from a Mefite :)
This week I'm only at work for 3 days, woo! I'm going to my boyfriend's sister's mendhi on Thursday night, so took off Thursday, Friday and Monday for a little staycation. I bought some flowers and other plants yesterday so some of the time will be spent putting those in pots/the ground, and a lot of the time will be spent doing nothing. I'm excited both for the mendhi (I've never been to a non-Christian/secular wedding event before!), and the relaxation.
In kitten news, I kept him and named him Churro. He is ridiculously cute, and also very pesky and curious and energetic, so is a Grade A Choice kitten. The vet said he's about 4 months old, very healthy, big for his age, and commented on how friendly and docile he is. When he's not curled up in a bed looking angelic, he is basically a pool noodle. He's a good addition to the family, even if I wasn't looking for one.
posted by Fig at 10:50 AM on June 3, 2019 [13 favorites]
This week I'm only at work for 3 days, woo! I'm going to my boyfriend's sister's mendhi on Thursday night, so took off Thursday, Friday and Monday for a little staycation. I bought some flowers and other plants yesterday so some of the time will be spent putting those in pots/the ground, and a lot of the time will be spent doing nothing. I'm excited both for the mendhi (I've never been to a non-Christian/secular wedding event before!), and the relaxation.
In kitten news, I kept him and named him Churro. He is ridiculously cute, and also very pesky and curious and energetic, so is a Grade A Choice kitten. The vet said he's about 4 months old, very healthy, big for his age, and commented on how friendly and docile he is. When he's not curled up in a bed looking angelic, he is basically a pool noodle. He's a good addition to the family, even if I wasn't looking for one.
posted by Fig at 10:50 AM on June 3, 2019 [13 favorites]
Ok, I really need to pet that cat.
posted by loquacious at 11:41 AM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by loquacious at 11:41 AM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
This is me and my herd.. I’ve always had little things to keep me amused during the day, but things really escalated when mr. lemon_icing came into my life. He fed my love of blind boxes + Labbits. Then . . . . the Pop! figs and then others caught on. My co-workers began to bring me things from their travels: Iceland, Mexico, Japan. This has evolved into a reflection of the social portion of my life.
posted by lemon_icing at 12:14 PM on June 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by lemon_icing at 12:14 PM on June 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
All y'all are just unreasonably tidy, I do not know how you can get anything done in those spaces. I can't show you my desk at my actual work because I'm taking some time off right now, but here's my coffee table at home where I make most of my non-fabric art (and do the embroidery on the fabric stuff), browse the internet, and consume media. This post will either make you feel good about keeping things organized, or feel less alone in your clutter.
posted by bile and syntax at 12:36 PM on June 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by bile and syntax at 12:36 PM on June 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
All y'all are just unreasonably tidy
At least for me, since just about all my work is done on the computer/online, that's where all my untidiness resides rather than on my physical desk!
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:43 PM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
At least for me, since just about all my work is done on the computer/online, that's where all my untidiness resides rather than on my physical desk!
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:43 PM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
I just started working from home two weeks ago, and here is my desk (with bonus cat). For now, things are still reasonably tidy, but that won't last. so enjoy it while it still looks nice.
posted by briank at 12:44 PM on June 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by briank at 12:44 PM on June 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
All y'all are just unreasonably tidy
The only thing I do on that desk is computer-ing whereas I notice others here seem to have it as a multi-purpose space. I have a large Roland keyboard in a corner of the living room. I have a microscope that I bring out and use on the kitchen table and then pack up when I'm done. Lots of bookshelves in that room and across an entire living room wall.
Our entire Amsterdam flat is super-tiny compared to most people's houses/apts here I bet. You cannot afford to let anything get untidy or it quickly takes over the whole place!
posted by vacapinta at 12:56 PM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
The only thing I do on that desk is computer-ing whereas I notice others here seem to have it as a multi-purpose space. I have a large Roland keyboard in a corner of the living room. I have a microscope that I bring out and use on the kitchen table and then pack up when I'm done. Lots of bookshelves in that room and across an entire living room wall.
Our entire Amsterdam flat is super-tiny compared to most people's houses/apts here I bet. You cannot afford to let anything get untidy or it quickly takes over the whole place!
posted by vacapinta at 12:56 PM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
If there is too much clutter (for me: pretty much any clutter) I cannot think. I literally hear a buzzing sound in my head and I shut down.
posted by cooker girl at 1:30 PM on June 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by cooker girl at 1:30 PM on June 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
My desk, 2019 edition, in the art collective I call “the office”. More 3d printers, less corner-office-in-the-financial-district bullshit than there was in 2013. Quite a bit tidier than 2015.
deep joy abounding, tho'
posted by scruss at 4:04 PM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
deep joy abounding, tho'
posted by scruss at 4:04 PM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]
I was going to say "I don't have a desk" but this is an unabashed lie, I have not one, but two desks that I don't use. One is at school in our grad office, where I am categorically unable to work because there's either people talking or seagulls screeching, and why would I work there when I can work at home in my pajamas with my cat?
The other one is in my bedroom and completely covered in papers and clothes and therefore entirely unusable. That said, it became that way because I didn't use it. I prefer to sit in the living room where the gaming computer is. Because where the gaming computer is, my partner is. Where my partner is, my cat is (I have had this cat since I was ten years old and she prefers my partner's lap to mine, I'm not mad 'cause same buddy). So I just sit on the couch with my laptop and this little nook I built on a chair NOT because I don't have a side table (I do) but because I constantly knock things off side tables since they have no backs. The board is an oil painting I did in college that I didn't like very much, and it functions as a place for water bottles/mugs to sit and not fall over. Some knitting stuff, USB mouse that I always forget I have (and which I use on the couch by placing my Kindle on the arm of the couch and using it like a mousepad...), tissues, and Switch. All the most important things.
In other news, this Sunday I went to a Unitarian Universalist church for the first time on a whim, as an agnostic ex-Christian queer disabled woman and uhhh, I didn't realize how validating it would be to enter an explicitly religious space that aggressively affirmed my existence. "Please rise in body or in spirit" nearly made me cry. I wasn't expecting to get a ton out the service, but it was actually super good and uplifting and it looks like they have a really good service planned for Pride Sunday. I've really been missing a sense of community in my life, and while I don't really have a need for any spirituality myself, I do like getting to explore this educational/philosophical content through a spiritual lens. Goddamn. I was so pleased with myself for always having my Sunday mornings free, but I'm actually excited about going to church? This is bizarre.
Also, they made me a laminated nametag, so I have to go back.
posted by brook horse at 8:01 PM on June 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
The other one is in my bedroom and completely covered in papers and clothes and therefore entirely unusable. That said, it became that way because I didn't use it. I prefer to sit in the living room where the gaming computer is. Because where the gaming computer is, my partner is. Where my partner is, my cat is (I have had this cat since I was ten years old and she prefers my partner's lap to mine, I'm not mad 'cause same buddy). So I just sit on the couch with my laptop and this little nook I built on a chair NOT because I don't have a side table (I do) but because I constantly knock things off side tables since they have no backs. The board is an oil painting I did in college that I didn't like very much, and it functions as a place for water bottles/mugs to sit and not fall over. Some knitting stuff, USB mouse that I always forget I have (and which I use on the couch by placing my Kindle on the arm of the couch and using it like a mousepad...), tissues, and Switch. All the most important things.
In other news, this Sunday I went to a Unitarian Universalist church for the first time on a whim, as an agnostic ex-Christian queer disabled woman and uhhh, I didn't realize how validating it would be to enter an explicitly religious space that aggressively affirmed my existence. "Please rise in body or in spirit" nearly made me cry. I wasn't expecting to get a ton out the service, but it was actually super good and uplifting and it looks like they have a really good service planned for Pride Sunday. I've really been missing a sense of community in my life, and while I don't really have a need for any spirituality myself, I do like getting to explore this educational/philosophical content through a spiritual lens. Goddamn. I was so pleased with myself for always having my Sunday mornings free, but I'm actually excited about going to church? This is bizarre.
Also, they made me a laminated nametag, so I have to go back.
posted by brook horse at 8:01 PM on June 3, 2019 [4 favorites]
Also, they made me a laminated nametag, so I have to go back.
Ha, we had a couple at my UU church yesterday, for their second time. We have temporary nametags for visitors and a sign-up sheet for permanent nametags. They didn't wear nametags either time, and I was kind of mildly joking with them before services about how they should sign up for nametags. The guy was very much like, "Not until we decide if we'll be coming regularly." Which is totally fine, of course, but I loved that having a laminated nametag somehow felt like a major commitment.
posted by lazuli at 9:10 PM on June 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
Ha, we had a couple at my UU church yesterday, for their second time. We have temporary nametags for visitors and a sign-up sheet for permanent nametags. They didn't wear nametags either time, and I was kind of mildly joking with them before services about how they should sign up for nametags. The guy was very much like, "Not until we decide if we'll be coming regularly." Which is totally fine, of course, but I loved that having a laminated nametag somehow felt like a major commitment.
posted by lazuli at 9:10 PM on June 3, 2019 [3 favorites]
I have a desk at home but it's littered with the typical month-old magazines and reminders to buy extended warranties.
My real workplace... I don't have a desk. I'm one of two or three people who is qualified to work in every department at the best REI store in the country (apparently it's an internal award, but we won it for 2018.) So I can bore you for hours about backpacks, kayaks and prusik knots. Do you have plantar fasciitis and collapsing arches? Let's talk. The best leggings that will not go shiny or see-through in downward dog? I got u. Want to go tubeless in your 29er? Right here. DDD+ but need a bra that actually works? I have all day.
My desk is uninteresting but my workplace is beyond amazing.
posted by workerant at 10:20 PM on June 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
My real workplace... I don't have a desk. I'm one of two or three people who is qualified to work in every department at the best REI store in the country (apparently it's an internal award, but we won it for 2018.) So I can bore you for hours about backpacks, kayaks and prusik knots. Do you have plantar fasciitis and collapsing arches? Let's talk. The best leggings that will not go shiny or see-through in downward dog? I got u. Want to go tubeless in your 29er? Right here. DDD+ but need a bra that actually works? I have all day.
My desk is uninteresting but my workplace is beyond amazing.
posted by workerant at 10:20 PM on June 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
Last week I fulfilled a 9+ year dream and hired someone to rip out the custom wall unit/desk which housed an old desktop computer, finicky printer, landline phone, MS Surface Pro , possibly working backup external hard drive and ... a myriad of gadgets and accessories. Just ripped it off the wall -- well, in truth, because someone was repurposing the unit they were careful, but in my mind this thing I hated was ... ripped. Oh, the wires!! The Molly bolts!!
Like taking off a scab (of a relationship?) and now I have reclaimed that space. I am delighted, and keep grinning at that wall.
Who needs a desk?
posted by alwayson_slightlyoff at 11:01 PM on June 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
Like taking off a scab (of a relationship?) and now I have reclaimed that space. I am delighted, and keep grinning at that wall.
Who needs a desk?
posted by alwayson_slightlyoff at 11:01 PM on June 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
I just found my Squares Template! - we've just moved and being thin it just vanished so during a throw-out the other day it fell out of a folder - hard to get a good one here, I was so happy I found it.
The green circle thing is odd as the raised dots are on the numbered side. It was in a sale tho' so I never questioned until I first used it
So with those two items, the box of pencils in back and a roll of butter paper and at a push I could work without a computer ... just.
My office is tiny and I forget things if they're in cabinets so I have a lot of toast-racks and see-thru sleeves
I love seeing everyones desks, and realised for the first time that mine is completely lacking in anything personal
posted by unearthed at 1:40 AM on June 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
The green circle thing is odd as the raised dots are on the numbered side. It was in a sale tho' so I never questioned until I first used it
So with those two items, the box of pencils in back and a roll of butter paper and at a push I could work without a computer ... just.
My office is tiny and I forget things if they're in cabinets so I have a lot of toast-racks and see-thru sleeves
I love seeing everyones desks, and realised for the first time that mine is completely lacking in anything personal
posted by unearthed at 1:40 AM on June 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
My work desk is over here. :) There's actually a lot more pictures on the filing cabinet to the left off screen, and a large ocean's 8 poster just to the right. I figure, I spend a lot of time in this office, I might as well be looking at people I love. :)
posted by joycehealy at 9:24 AM on June 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by joycehealy at 9:24 AM on June 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
Which is totally fine, of course, but I loved that having a laminated nametag somehow felt like a major commitment.
It is! Literally, I had someone come up to me before the service and ask if I wanted to sign up for a nametag, and I thought to myself, "I don't know if I want to commit yet," (I hadn't even been to a service yet, after all) but she was super nice and I'm a people pleaser so I just said yes and filled out the sheet. Then she turns to my partner and asks if they want to sign up, and they say, verbatim, "I'm not sure I want to commit yet," which of course she was totally fine with.
I would feel bad if they made me a nametag and I didn't come back tho. I'm so glad it was a good experience because otherwise I'd have to conduct a heist to steal the nametag so it's not sitting there languishing.
posted by brook horse at 9:55 AM on June 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
It is! Literally, I had someone come up to me before the service and ask if I wanted to sign up for a nametag, and I thought to myself, "I don't know if I want to commit yet," (I hadn't even been to a service yet, after all) but she was super nice and I'm a people pleaser so I just said yes and filled out the sheet. Then she turns to my partner and asks if they want to sign up, and they say, verbatim, "I'm not sure I want to commit yet," which of course she was totally fine with.
I would feel bad if they made me a nametag and I didn't come back tho. I'm so glad it was a good experience because otherwise I'd have to conduct a heist to steal the nametag so it's not sitting there languishing.
posted by brook horse at 9:55 AM on June 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
Here's my portable workstation. I've been traveling since the end of 2017 and working remotely. I do video so a second monitor is necessary. With everything as shown it's about 9kg/20lbs, so if I'm flying in Europe I have to pack everything but the computer and monitor in a different bag to meet carry-on the weight limits.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 11:02 AM on June 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 11:02 AM on June 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
How on earth did you manage to put a bolt through the second monitor without breaking something?
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:24 AM on June 4, 2019
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:24 AM on June 4, 2019
There's a hole built in so you can use a pen as a support. I use a bolt so I can adjust the tilt.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 12:40 PM on June 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 12:40 PM on June 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
Here’s a shot of my desk. One of them. The other, interestingly, garnered me an email at my website from a stranger who found me via an Ask about standing desks with Cintiqs.
This desk is much messier than my standing desk. No wet paint near the Cintiq!
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 8:04 PM on June 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
This desk is much messier than my standing desk. No wet paint near the Cintiq!
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 8:04 PM on June 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
Here's a desk. Here's a bench. When I think about it, my home is just desks and benches. I don't wanna think about it any longer.
posted by destructive cactus at 8:19 PM on June 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by destructive cactus at 8:19 PM on June 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
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I do not have a desk because we are still in the tiny rental that we intended to be in for only six months but have ended up in for TWO YEARS, so I work on my couch and store papers in a tupperware bin that shoves underneath. This is my work computer, tho!
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 5:39 PM on June 1, 2019 [2 favorites]