Wayne's Whirled

…does Jin have the ability to always lay in the cutest possible position?  Look at her feet!

Some of you may remember previous classic pose of hers…

Okay, so it really is the house but I can’t do much about it until I get it finished.  Then I can see how I feel about it and either dump it and get a place (condo/townhome/loft) with a postage-stamp-sized yard/deck and a pool that someone else maintains.

Until then, maybe I need to not let it bug me so much. Easier said than done…

…but then, I AM a very good customer:

Those of you who know me personally know that I moved to downtown Phoenix from the ‘burbs a few years ago and bought a 1913 bungalow. The house is cool, the location is awesome but I really had NO idea how much effort I would need to put into this place to make it feel like my own. My previous house was my first and I built it new so while I put a lot of effort into it, it started as a blank slate and I did not have to UNDO anything that was done by previous owners.

That being said, I have always been fascinated by minimal living, not because I am so “enlightened” but rather because lots of “stuff” just stresses me out. I don’t need a super small space but I do want a space with very little in it. To that end, I started writing down what things I really would want to have if I were in a much simpler place; notice that I am not a militant minimalist but rather I want things that I will use often and none that I won’t. I am not really looking to give up my iPod or TiVo as I USE those; what I don’t want is a bunch of crap I don’t use. Like a pool and a yard. Anyway…

Spaces: Cozy bedroom, bathroom with a tub, kitchen, family room, a small office nook (preferably a wallbed that can double as a guest bed and desk), small place to eat. A place that captures this that is very tempting is a place I checked during their grand opening: Patio 71. To think that I could sell my house and with the profit pay cash for this place is incredibly tempting. Anyway, back to the list…

Non-consumable things: Bed, couch, small desk, extra bed, piano (could be digital but I love my grand :), TiVo, television, iPod, digital camera, cell phone, telephone, cookware, books (though I get most from the library because I don’t want more stuff), computer, sports equipment, clothing.

What am I missing here? I know most of us have more crap laying around than we could possibly use so I was trying to think of things that I use often. I have a friend who started doing traveling medical work a couple years ago and I remember her telling me that there is nothing like realizing what you really need as when you need to move from place to place with only what would fit into your car. I long for trying it someday; maybe I’ll get an Airstream and just park it in the evenings at Wal-Marts and Cracker Barrels throughout Phoenix.

All I know is that I WANT less. Much less. What I don’t know is what I really NEED.

So I walk into my extra bathroom the other day and notice this:

This is either the sign of:

1. a person who would leave that last swig of milk in the carton and put it back in the fridge, or

2. someone who is incredibly optimistic about my restroom habits as it pertains to how much toilet paper I might use for any given “event”.

Since I think I know who did this and they probably read this blog, I am going to assume it is #2. No pun intended.

So I saw this driving down the freeway the other day:

I guess I am just upset because obviously SOMEONE in MY family was moving and no one told me.

From my friend Kim about her long bike ride last weekend:

” I got two flat tires, ran out of water and got hit by a Segway.”

So my friend Jenell headed out for a canoe camping trip this weekend and I knew she was running a little late.  Being the gentleman that I am I asked if I could help in some way, so she said it would be a BIG help if I could pick up the paella skillet that she left at work.

I’m not sure what you all think when you hear the word “skillet” or “pan” but I was thinking that it would be something I could swing by and pick up without needing a weightlifting spotter. Here it is (placed on the hood of my car for scale):

Evidently one makes paella in a pan approximately the size of an Acura six-cylinder engine.

So I was at my friend Jenell’s place and was looking around her cool little downtown apartment; here was the view:

Nothing too unusual, right? Cute little table, chandelier and way cool over-burdened purse rack all casting shadows. After being confused for a minute, I finally figured it out. Here is a photo from farther away:

It took me a second to realize that THERE IS NO CHANDELIER IN THIS ROOM! What you see is the SHADOW of a chandelier that she painted on the wall. Since all of the light in the room is on the other side it creates this amazing optical illusion that makes you look for the chandelier that is creating the shadow.

Well, it ain’t there.