Sunday, November 22, 2009

My Room

This is a description of my current room, formerly Eddie's room, and formerly no one else's (his family bought the house new).

The bed is soft and comfortable, with a tan bed cover and a teal comforter. I think the bed is a queen, but don't quote me on that... maybe it is a double or a twin? It is very comfortable for one person, and spacious enough for two people who like each other.

There are two bedside tables, both with lamps, but I only ever use the lamp closer to the door. The lamp by the window, in a corner, looks sad. Below the sad lamp is a picture Dick took of me on our five-day hike along the John Muir Trail in the high Sierras. I am sitting down near a stream refilling a water bottle on our second-to-last day. It is a serene spot.

On the bedside table with the frequently used lamp, there is a load of other stuff. First and foremost, my trusty, annoying alarm clock. The time reads 9:02pm, and I just set the alarm for 6:00am in hopes of a sub job coming my way early tomorrow. Also on the table is my cell phone, which will probably start ringing around 5am if a sub job is available. I probably don't even need an alarm clock, but just in case. Sitting on the table between the alarm clock and my cell phone is a glass, and that glass is filled about 2/3rds of the way up with Guinness... now 1/2 of the way filled with Guinness. I bought Tyler an 8-pack for his birthday party and decided to buy myself an 8-pack as well.

Underneath my cell phone on the bedside table are two books: "Another Roadside Attraction" by Tom Robbins, and "The Assassins Gallery" by David L. Robbins. I finished Tom's book last Friday, and it was real good. I haven't really started David's book, but I found both in the same section of fiction at the library... under R.

There are a few receipts on the table. The one from Safeway is doubling as a coaster for my glass of Guinness. Nail clippers are nearly hidden from my view, but they are on the table as well. A rock with a piece of rope tied around it is also on my bedside table, a gift from Eddie, and I don't know what I will do with it. Rounding out the bedside table items are: an empty Coors beer can, an empty Blue Moon beer glass, my bulging wallet, the book "Mostly Harmless" by Douglas Adams (in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series), the book "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" also by Douglas Adams (same series), the book "The Having of Wonderful Ideas" by Eleanor Duckworth (a book from my teaching program), and my keys.

My keychain (in counter-clockwise order):
A bottle opener with the FCB logo (Football Club Barcelona)
A key-chain scanner for the Snohomish Public Library
My parents' house key
Eddie's house key
Motorcycle key
Honda key
A key-chain scanner for LA Fitness

There is a big pillow in the corner of my room where the door opens. It is one of those pillows people snuggle up to at night, a body pillow? But now it is a humble wall pad to stop the door from slamming the wall.

On the inside doorknob hangs my swimsuit, interweb out. On the ground between the door and my bed (which is about four feet) lies my jacket, my backpack, and a hamper of clean clothes yet to be put away. There would normally be dirty clothes in this spot.

In another corner of my room (opposite the unused lamp), the Southwest corner, there is a wicker chair, which I have never sat in. It holds my late grandmother's two cat quilts, made by my aunt. There is a blanket and my ski bibs hanging off the chair's left arm, and there are various papers in the seat of the chair. There is also my brand new neon yellow beanie in the seat of the chair.

Another side table to the left of the chair is filled with stuff. I see a pink piggy bank, that I know is filled with all coins but quarters. A zip-lock bag next to the piggy bank is filled with only quarters. A canister of Airborne sick flu tablets. A candle (haven't used). Batteries. Car air freshener trees. Check book. And a jar of pens.

Motorcycle helmet and gloves on the ground between the table and the walk-in closet. Along with two empty water bottles.

Walk-in closet has clothes in it. And boxes. I'm starting to wane, so I'm going to leave it at that.

Fourth corner of my room, the NW corner, has yet another little table, this one with a plant that I can't tell if it is alive, dead, or plastic. I am leaning towards alive because it looks like the plant is in a vase of water. I haven't watered it in the three months I've been here. The plant spirals upwards with a very skinny trunk and leaves near the top. It looks kind of like an electric coil.

Along the north wall is the widow, shades drawn. The east wall has a picture I never look at, because it is above the bed. South wall is the door and one small framed picture of Toronto, which Eddie left in the room. West wall is where the action is, with two small framed pictures and a larger framed mirror, about 4x as big as the pictures, squarish with a length of about 2.5ft.

All the walls of the room are painted a color between tan and teal, but I can't figure out what it is. The door frames are both wooden color, and the doors are white.

The ceiling has a smoke detector near the door and a nice lamp with a swirly design int the glass in the middle of the ceiling.

The Guinness has left the building. Time for bed.