A Room (Of One’s Own) to Write
I am sitting in a new world, my very first fully functional home office.
Of the many things I’ve been labeled, ‘handy’ is not one of them. But I was recently inspired to undertake the daunting task of transforming our junk room into a more practical space. It was a very cathartic experience. Not only did I have 12 banker boxes full of paperwork from the last 12 years of our life shredded, I actually built a desk and lamp (and by built I mean…followed instructions to put the pieces together using actual tools!). The entire room makeover took 3 weeks and cost a whopping $135. And I did it all quite stealthily while my better half was out of town. Given that I haven’t been able to do much for months because of my back surgery, it was a pleasant surprise and very well received.
On top of being a pack rat, I am a collector of entertainment and sports memorabilia. So the dusty bobblehead boxes and movie figurines safely encased in plastic are now stashed away on the shelves in the closet. There is far less clutter in here now.
I’ve always had one wall in here with framed press kit and autographed photos. The black and white pictures are a nice contrast against the stormy blue gray paint. But after I finished framing and hanging everything, I was very surprised to notice a glaring omission from my collection…not one photo or poster from Lost. How is that possible?
It was a lightbulb more than a fire that motivated me to set this room up. As cheesy and/or cliché as it may sound, it was influenced primarily by Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own.
In the early 90′s, I was fortunate to spend a semester of college studying abroad in London. I took the following Woolf anecdote to heart during my stay there; it encouraged my daily strolls and weekends:
London itself perpetually attracts, stimulates, gives me a play & a
story & a poem, without any trouble, save that of moving my legs
through the streets… To walk alone in London is the greatest rest.
And now I sit in a room of my own, across from a framed poster of The Hours, with Nicole Kidman’s Oscar-winning nose and Woolf’s spirit gazing back at me in an almost challenging manner. It might seem strange but it feels right.
I have no idea what effect this room may have on me or my blogs or my life, but it feels like a fresh start and a new opportunity.
But don’t worry, I won’t sit and stare longingly out the window like Woolf’s cover girl. Not only is my new desk positioned facing the door (I Googled ‘feng shui home office’), I plan to be far more productive than reflective from now on.
Once again I find myself sharing without purpose. I have marketed this site as a pop culture blog, but sometimes I have tangents. This was one of them.