Headphones On

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• I've moved my desk at work. I'm now located on the other side of the office (away from the horrible PA system) in a bigger space and closer to my creative team. I'm less secluded so I have actually started to feel more like I belong there. I'm not sure if the good work I did today is a result of this but I'll take it none the less.
  
• While I haven't gotten a grasp on lighting yet (see the negatives), I have finally decided on a style for my new home.... modern baroque. I'm looking forward to mix of old and new materials. Classic shapes created from very modern materials. I have two examples of products that manage to marry both the classic and the fresh with stunning results: 1: Bourgie table lamp by Ferrucio Laviani, 2: Louis Ghost armchair by Philippe Starck. My plan contains lots of texture and a mix and match of styles to create something entirely mine. A lot of this can be pictured in my head but not yet qualified on paper. Because my new space will be small (ish) I am still determined to sell a few pieces of my furniture and replace them with pieces that can serve multiple functions (coffee/side tables that double as storage, a dining table that doesn't have to take up nearly as much space, better clothing and closet storage, etc.)
  
• I have been stepping out of my shell a bit more. My hermit-like summer is quickly coming to an end and I've begun seeing my friends socially again... dinners here or there, parties, Scrabble™, etc. My eye is still on my limited budget but I've found a bit more balance. Granted, I say this when I'm at home drawing a bath and not answering my phone.
  
• Plans are afoot for a puppy. A PUPPY! My very own pain-in-the-ass-during-winter-mornings, cutest-dog-face-in-the-world-when-I'm-feeling-down-and-they-come-a-running-to-cheer-me-up PUPPY! But Liz yer saying... don't you have a puppy? Yes and No. My Thibault... love of my life... will remain living with my parents. He's become an integral part of my their lives and is not accustomed to city life. He can sit for hours and stare at the view off the back deck or simply the clouds in the sky. He has been raised with a yard at his disposal any time of the day or night (oh how I remember teaching him to go in and out of the puppy door!). While he's the perfect size for a city dog (small to medium) it's not the life he leads now. Because I love him so I wouldn't want to deprive him of the life to which he's become accustomed. While it pains me every day that I don't see that shine in his eyes I know he's better off there. So... I will be adopting a small to medium puppy (or adult dog) from one of our local shelters. There are so many dogs in the Chicago area in need I know when the time is right (say mid November) I will find just the doggie for me.
  

• I'm in search of the elusive affordable yet amazing pendant lights for my new kitchen. I have three junction boxes to fill and have found the perfect yet way out of my price range pendants from a British designer named Tom Dixon and an awful lot of the expensive yet so hideous I would rather hang them up in a cardboard box. I really wish that I could afford those mirror ball lights from Tom Dixon. I love how they have a mid-century modern feel without being trapped in the 60s. Their reflectiveness draws me to them but at $550 a piece (the lowest estimate from Tom's dealer in St. Louis) they will hang only in the kitchen of my dreams. This seemingly insignificant lighting purchase is actually rather important to me. These lights (whatever they may turn into) will be the first piece of me into my new home. They are rather front and center when you walk into the space and will lend both the mood and sense of style for the whole living/dining/kitchen space.
  
• My computer... oh my lapdog Serge. It pains me to say it but he's never going to be the same again. After much toil and trouble he is functioning again but not at the same level as before. He has no music on him, no applications beyond standard mac apps. Basically I can't do any design work from home (or away) with him. For the time being he is stable so after the big home purchase and move I will reassess my options and figure out what to do about a new laptop. It could be a matter of keeping Serge and upgrading him with more RAM and a larger hard drive... or (the rather silly dream of) a new Powerbook. While I will always have a mac (someone in my field can't work on a PC...) I am envious of the prices of comparible PC laptops.
  
• It would be completely remiss of me to not say something about Hurricane Katrina. What is there to say that every media pundit in the world hasn't already stated? Mainly I'm disgusted that the man running FEMA is less qualified than my father to handle this situation. I'm doing what I can (which obviously isn't a whole lot) but have pulled together donations of clothes, shoes, pillows, towels, food etc. I'm also trying to talk my brother into fostering a dog who has lost their home in this catastrophe (well he doesn't really have room for a family but a dog he could manage.)