Workspace: A Year and Four Months Later

My mom was right. Time does move faster as an adult than as a child. She used to say stuff like that to me all the time (usually while I rolled my eyes at her) and I never believed her. I guess she just wanted me to stop fretting over the present moment, which obviously is the opposite of my problem today. I'm SO focused on what will (read: should) happen in the next week, month, year, five years, etc.

So what has happened in a mere year? I present my workspace from a year and four months ago. Can you tell just from this photo I took today how much has changed in my life? Probably not. Let me happily expound.

 Big news first, in exactly 19 days, I will be moving into my very own place, a Victorian house in Pasadena's Bungalow Heaven that was split in half and made into two apartments. It's actually my boyfriend's former place (ahem, his place of 10 years). Suffice to say, I know the place pretty well, including the neighbors, who are all great. My new workspace will offer me a window view - instead of me using my mirror for a view of the outside world.

I'm happy too that it will be quiet - a prerequisite for any apartment if a writer is moving in. My current place is often made noisy by the walkway right outside my window (kids running and neighbors pulling heavy equipment) and by neighbors who feel it's perfectly acceptable neighborly decorum to honk for their friends. Added that my neighbor, whom I share a wall with, has totally convinced me to never buy surround sound, unless I like blowing my neighbors' ear drums. Note: No matter how loudly you try to blast KCRW on laptop speakers, hip hop playing from a car - parked outside on the street - with a subwoofer will always win out. However, the new place will be a standalone house, oh yes! No more apartment living.

The coffee cup sits on an appetizer plate, which my sister gave me a dozen of for Christmas. Works great as a coffee cup plate. I already have a serious collection of plateware, so these are just frosting on the cake!

On my corkboard, I put up a card recently given to me by two new editors I started working with this past year. I won't go into too many details, but I was especially appreciative of one comment, "You have brought a great new voice and energy to ..." There's a process to keeping yourself motivated to pitch amid rejection after rejection - posting inspirations are just one very small way I keep my focus and drive.

At right, you'll notice a stack of Domino magazines. Seriously, I never knew how fun it'd be planning out your interior decor would be until I got the opportunity. I'm bookmarking to my heart's delight at Apartment Therapy and The Nest too. Most recently, I signed up for Netflix, it's terrifically easy and has a collection of vids that blows Blockbuster out of the water. I only signed up after my laptop went out of commission. I was using my boyfriend's laptop, which had Netflix available. Only after I returned it and he started getting recommendations for rommantic, foreign, feel-good movies, did he suggest I get my own account. Next on Netflix: Becoming Jane. Sigh.

Speaking of decor, my boyfriend has suggested the idea that my Umbra fotoholder makes my desk look cluttered. OK, sometimes it gets outta hand. Sometimes it feels like I'm making an exhibition of my bills, concert tickets, letters I need to respond to, I even have Forget-Me-Not seeds that I need to plant, handing from Umbra. Is there a better, cleaner way to put all your etc. papers away? What are your solutions?