how mike is living

This is my new roommate Mike's bedroom. He hasn't done much with it, as you can tell. But it took me seven years to put window treatments up and he's only been here a couple months, so he's ahead of the game. I'm currently changing damn near everything in my room. Once I get things squared away, I'll take some pictures and upload them. I probably should have taken some "before" shots, but it was pretty embarrassing.

A few years ago when I worked out of my home, this place was a wreck. It was also a wreck a month ago, but that's another story. Anyway, back then, I didn't make any distinction between my professional and personal lives. I worked long hours, often falling asleep on my keyboard. I used to joke that I threw myself into my work to escape the mess that I made of my personal life, but it wasn't far from the truth. My sister took a picture of my desk in my bedroom and entered me into a "Messiest Office Contest". That picture didn't win the contest for me (cash, that's all I wanted), but I think I got 3rd place or something and won a gift certificate. I'll have to ask her if she still has that picture somewhere, then I will be able to post a "before" and "after" shot.

I've been changing things in my room, trying to make it more conducive to lounging, to writing or daydreaming, and to have guests stay over more comfortably. A friend (thanks Camille!) bought a new bed frame and gave me her old one, a platform bed. My current bed is a four-post iron bed that doesn't look like the kind of bed the girl next door or your sweet girlfriend sleeps in. Lots of places to handcuff someone to. But a little embarrassing in mixed company, and definitely when my mom is over. I don't think I need to have such a sexually charged object command such a presence in my room. So I'm changing that. I can't even remember the last time anyone was handcuffed in my bed, never mind where the cuffs/keys are. I guess it's just not me anymore. I don't know if a low platform bed is me, but I'll try it. Also, if anyone knows where I can get an inexpensive opium bed (I'd like to use one as a sofa), please email me! It's not the kind of thing you find very often on craigslist.

I'm hoping that if I can organize the things in my room, the things I want close to me, then I can maybe do the same with my life, decide what or who I want close to me. Well it hasn't worked using other methods. And if this doesn't work, then there's always feng shui.