February Ain't So Bad

[dotinthesky]

Today was looking bleak and depressing until halfway through the afternoon, when a co-worker asked if I'd like to have the office's lamps.  We are in the process of moving and most of the desks and lighting are up for grabs; but I assumed that others would have laid claims.  Oh no - the lamps are mine for the taking as well as a brand new desk to put in the living room and finally move away from the rickety picnic table I've been using for writing all these years.

I've brought some magic to people's commute this evening. Curious stares, little smiles, double takes. One of the staff in Camden joked he'd never be able to afford the lamp. A boy who climbed in at Old Street said "nice lamp." It's now in my living room, by the sofa.

I'm in bed, about to watch Source Code. Then I'll read a bit of Robinson Crusoe on the kindle (the first book I read on an eBook, and I love the fact that it's the first novel written in the English language!)  Then the land of dreams.  And may February be kinder to me (to all of us) tomorrow.

Comments

[fj.livejournal.com]

This is awesome after such a sucky start.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm grateful there are some things right now balancing out the bad stuff!

[olamina.livejournal.com]

lucky you about the lamps! i need some lamps desperately.

not so lucky about Source Code. that movie was sort of a dud, though JGyllenhaal is always nice to look at.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I wish I could teleport the lamps to you - I don't think I'll need all of them.

wink_martindale is my witness that I shouted "lame" at Source Code's Hollywood ending.

Men should not be allowed to look as hot as Gyllenhaal.

[olamina.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I wish I could teleport there and hang out with you. I'd take the lamps once the fun was over!

Jake Gyllenhaal is ridiculous. Sometimes he seems like a waste of hotness, but I'd still do 'em.

[norabird.livejournal.com]

I didn't know that was the first novel in English! I had to look it up now--I never thought of it that way.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Me neither - only learned of it from a documentary on the BBC some time ago about the birth of the novel. I also love the fact that Robinson is an Englishman castaway who was on his way home from Brasil! :-)

[zenithed.livejournal.com]

Wow, I didn't know that about Robinson Crusoe either.

I'd suggest reading more novels in order of publication but it looks like they're all about desert islands for a while after that.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Robinson Crusoe is part of a game I'm playing with myself, where i'm reading books in chronological order until I reach modern times. I started with a biography on Shakespeare and I could only move forward in time (i.e. find my next book that brings me closer to the present) through a mention in that book (which turned out to be King James). Since then I've travelled to the early colonies of America, the slave trade, a biography on a Welsh pirate and now Robinson Crusoe (followed by a biography on Defoe.) :-)

[yearning.livejournal.com]

I love that idea! Once I have more time, I'd like to play that too ;)

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I highly recommend it! I can tell you more about it when you are here. x

[chrishansenhome.livejournal.com]

I once stayed in Paris with an acquaintance who was going to design school. In the midst of my stay he was moving to another flat. To save money, he was doing it via Métro. So imagine me on the Métro, carrying a tailor's dummy from his old flat to his new one. I felt very weird.

In comparison to that, a lamp is positively normal.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I thought on my journey that it might be a nice experiment to run with friends, where everyone chooses a large object to carry with them in public transportation - almost like a performance piece perhaps. But the great thing about it is definitely the sense of adding to the commuters' journey.