2003-08-14 - 6:38 a.m. can my apartment be declared a disaster zone? Well, it should be. You see, on my last day of my all too short (4 work days plus the weekend) vacation, I had the Container Store deliver 6 big black stacking bins, and two white 60s-inspired laminate and chrome bookcases to help me contain the stacks of books and magazines and t-shirts that have been slowly taking over the apartment. The delivery didn�t arrive until about 3:00 in the afternoon, giving me only two and a half hours to rip things apart before my dinner guests arrived. This was, however, enough time to make a huge mess out of my closet (where 4 of the new stacking bins replaced 2 old stacking bins), and my dining alcove. To date, one bookcase is fully setup and in use in the diing alcove, holding my cookbooks, Saveur magazine collection, bottled water, etc. The other one will, sadly, displace my Giacometti lithograph, but will finally organize all my writing related ephemera, and better support the fax machine. The promise of a more sparkly, better organized future is intoxicating� A side effect of this organizing is a ruthless culling of possessions; expect a big list of items up for trade/barter/cheap cash in this space soon, specifically books and magazines/zines, plus a few clothing items� Returning to work always sucks, no matter how short the vacation. I minimized the malaise by wearing something cute and girly (a surefire way to keep my bad attitude in check): black 60s inspired black kitten-soft sweater, sassy criss-cross black mules with white stitching, and black and white striped stretchy canvas-textured flippy skirt. For whatever reason, this happy, girlie outfit charmed folks at work, which made me feel ever more charming and pleasant, despite the hundreds of emails and emergencies. Must remember that trick for future use. Of course, there may be one more reason my attitude was easily adjusted: after 3 hours, I ran off to the gym, and did 3 miles on the elliptical trainer. Yes. You read correctly. I went to the gym. Never in my life did I expect to utter such words. In fact, never in my life until 3 weeks ago had I even been inside of a gym. Yet, as of yesterday, I have a little plastic photo card that is proof that I�ve crossed over to the dark side�more on this later. Must slam down some more Seattle�s Best coffee, then hop on the bus� any comments? (0 so far) previous - next recently on almostgoldsf... in defense of an email box I came to do battle with SPAM - 2008-05-17 hello 2006 - 2005-12-31 Happy Thanksgiving - 2005-11-14 bon voyage - 2005-11-05 October already? - 2005-10-09