November 9, 2004

    Years ago, before determining that I didn't want to fling myself into an extremely competitive program, just so that I could spend my life slaving away over the details of other people's living spaces, I toyed with the idea of majoring in architecture.  My fledgling curiosity, combined with a healthy lack of respect for such notions as graduation requirements, led me to a short series of introductory Architecture courses.  VSC and I entered the first of these classes with enthusiasm, our heads bubbling with ideas (her ideas mostly involved castles, mine: stainless steel).

    We enjoyed the class from the very beginning--mostly due to the spacey, Berkeley-Intellectualite personality of Professor McGlibery--but it quickly became apparent that this was not going to be a serious academic pursuit for either of us.  For me, the moment of realization happened somewhere around midnight, right at the end of a TV movie about the Donner party, staring Meredith Baxter Burney.  I remember this, because I had been slaving over my scale model of a master bed room All Day Long.  By the time the silly Donner party movie came on, I was just so tired and cranky and desperate to finish the stupid project that I couldn't bring myself to take even a channel surfing break.  So I continued working into the night, occasionally checking on Meredith and her party, as their snow storm got worse, and worse, and worse...

    It was quickly approaching midnight when I looked up at the TV, just in time to see the glorious sun shining in on Meredith's face as her rescuers finally found her, and her one or two surviving children.  I dropped my X-acto knife in horror.  I had missed the cannibalism.  I was so engrossed in my stupid, stupid project, that after TWO HOURS OF WATCHING MEREDITH BAXTER BURNEY, I MISSED THE PART WHERE PEOPLE EAT EACH OTHER!!   

    The realization was so utterly devastating to me, that I looked down at my completely badass Japanese/Victorian scale model master bedroom (still only 2/3 complete) and proclaimed "This Sucks!"  And then I went to bed.

    It was a frustrating experience for me, at the time, because it was my first real encounter with something that I really enjoyed, but was just not very good at.  Actually, 'good' might not be the correct word.  I did usually produce designs that I was happy with.  I think 'adept' might be a better word.  I realized that I was not very adept at architectural design.  I enjoyed it, in small, voluntary doses, but it was not something that I would be pursuing as a career.  From thence forth, Architecture was moved to the category of Recreational Academia--subjects I love and study passionately, but that will never become my life's work.

    This latest furniture rearrangement has reminded me why Architecture belonged in Recreational Academia.   Not only do I like the new set up, but I like it way more that I ever envisioned.  Having the computers downstairs has completely changed the way we use the space that we have, not only downstairs, but in the entire house.  In a lot of ways, it feels like we have a completely new house.

    There are the changes I expected:  We've been watching different TV shows--generally more selective.  Cooking is more tag-team and less solitary.  Eating is slower and more leisurely.  I've been reading more, thanks to my little reading nook.

    Then there are the changes I didn't expect:  Laundry is less likely to be done, because it is not ten feet away anymore.  The rats have been slightly ignored, because we are not walking by their cage all the time.  I pay more attention to the tidiness and decor of the living room--it doesn't feel like a dead room.  I have been keeping up on my paperwork and bills, because my desk is so much more efficient.  We tend to be even more conversational while on the computer--maybe because we don't see each other's screens anymore, so we talk about what we're doing?

    Overall it feels like we gained two rooms--a functional living room, and a real second bedroom.  Instead of extraneous objects, taking up space, our computers have become central features (which is more appropriate, given how much time we spend on them).  It will be interesting to see what I can do to the second bedroom now.  The goal is to get it set up where it stays pretty clean, but has permanent sewing and painting tables set up, so we can just pop in there at any time and do those things, without having to set anything up.

    I'm geeking out about this because I'm fascinated by how people live within a space.  And I'm laughing about it, because this is an arrangement I've been contemplating since shortly after we moved in here, nearly three years ago!  Yes, I like thinking about furniture arrangement--and it's a good thing, because it apparently can take years of percolation before certain ideas are ready to be enacted.

    It is a good thing I kept Architecture in Recreational Academia, because at that rate, I never would have finished my masters' thesis.