Setting Up the Office

I was having breakfast on the Fourth of July in Portland with my two friends, Andrea and Jeff.  The day was off to a good start because even though we were meeting downtown and there was a huge blues festival in town, it was early enough to find parking.

I am a kind, sweet, loving person.  But if I can't find parking or if I have to circle…the Kraken is released!  It's not a good look.

So I parked.  And then went to pay.  But since it was a federal holiday…no parking fees!  Wonderful.

I get to the restaurant.  Andrea and Jeff are waiting for me.  We're waiting for a table.  After about ten minutes, about 40 people flood into the restaurant and try to get a table.  Just then, we are escorted to our seats.  This day is working out great!

I was explaining to Andrea and Jeff about my new office.  In the telling of the story, I was a bit cautious because I had a conversation with my brother the night before:

"But you have no regular income!  How can you afford an office?"

"Well, when you break it down, it's only--"

"I don't know…wow."

"I know to a person who is raising three children and has a mortgage and mouths to feed this might seem indulgent.  And it is.  But I have spent years…"

And on and on and on.  So when I explained to Andrea and Jeff that I was taking an office to create a dedicated space to my work, I didn't even have to get that far before Jeff said:

"Make sure that you make the office your own.  Put up your posters, get a cork board, get your books in there.  That way you don't have an out.  You can't back out."

My brother's voice was the voice inside my head that I was trying to ignore.  But there's the Universe again, stepping in and telling me that I have to speak to that voice and shut it down.  And I did.  I told my brother (aka The Voice Inside my Head, aka My Father's Voice) that I needed to go to work.  I needed to have a place to work.  And the opportunity came.  The Universe had been leading me there through a series of actions: my writer's retreat in Monterey, the three week trial in May and June and the space becoming available.

Today, I went shopping.  I cashed three checks for three small jobs I did and had about $135 to play around with.  Here's what I got:

• Corkboard ($9.99)
• Fashion push pins ($2.69)
• Pens (2 sets at $2.99 each, which each include a free pen - so I got 6 pens for the price of 4)
• Office Caddy/Storage ($9.99)
• 3 sets of White Index Cards ($0.01 each - included with a purchase of $5 or more)
• 2 accordian files to put my receipts in

I still have more to get, but that's getting me started.  I'm also getting a bunch of my books and putting them on the shelves.  I have to look at the space and see what else it needs.  I don't need notebooks because I have my computer and I have my index cards which will help me file projects.  I also got an accordion file that fits index cards so I can start cataloging my projects.

I have a real fucking office.  It's amazing.  I have to get some decor and we're going to invest in some new furniture or something.  But we're going to make it warm and cozy and cute.  We've got to make it feel like a real office so we go in there and get real work done.  Every day.  Like clock work.

I am grateful for all of my new office supplies.

I am grateful for my friend Jeff's advice.

I am grateful for realizations.

I am grateful for petty cash.

I am grateful for this vision.

I am grateful for the week I spent in Portland not thinking about work.

I am grateful that I am still on vacation, but I am setting my space up to start work again on Monday.

I am grateful for loved ones who care enough to tell me how they feel.