My Spot

I tend to accumulate piles of things around my favorite sitting places. One of my favorite places to sit is on my bedroom floor, with my back against the hide-a-bed, so there's an almost-permanent collection of frequently used possessions scattered around the area. One night, as I was trying (unsuccessfully) to sleep, I started wondering how much that pile says about me. Just by looking at that pile, how much could a person tell about my personality and habits?

One inescapable conclusion would be that I love tea and candles. Even when my bedroom is squeaky-clean,  there are a coaster, candle, teabag holder, and lighter sitting out on the little white table in front of the hide-a-bed. Usually, there's also at least one my favorite teacups in the area.

Other almost-permanent features are my Bible and whatever Bible study guide I'm currently ignoring. These two books spend far more time in my 'floor spot' than they do in their official 'put away' place. What's the point of putting them away when I'll just have to get them out again in a few hours?

The big blue notebook is also a frequent feature of my spot. It's the catch-all for lists, reminders, poetry, ideas, thoughts, recipes and language notes (both of these latter are left-overs from Moz.). Reading through it is like reviewing a time capsule.

Whatever novel I'm reading at the time generally finds its way into the spot at some point. Just now, I've got Jane of Lantern Hill up there. Sometimes, there's a big stack of books (frequently poetry books), a sure sign that I've gone on one of my literary orgies. A pair of scissors and a pad of sticky-notes often accompany the stack of poetry books. Cutting off thin strips of sticky-note pages and sticking them in the pages of my poetry books is my system for marking favorite poems I want to be able to re-visit quickly.

Then, there's whatever project I set aside when I got called away to do something else. Beads, embroidery, crochet, a half-written letter...

My MP3 player and camera make it up there sometimes. I'm not sure why, but sitting in the spot frequently inspires me to launch into photographic exploration of some aspect of my bedroom.

There's sometimes a bit of cash. I'm bad about letting small bills and change set around.

There are magazines, the occasional catalog, newsletters, and (if I'm very, very lucky) letters from friends.

Add a smattering of keys, knives, chap-stick, feathers, interesting rocks, and the other miscellaneous flotsam that generally surrounds me.

So there you have it...a fairly accurate representation of the things that may be found in my spot during the course of a week or two. If I install an object in my spot for a long period of time, it's a sure sign that the object in question is something that greatly interests or pleases me. Or a sign that I really should stop writing blog posts and go clean my bedroom.