A Desk: Like a Life

Desk with two computers

Tonight I cleaned my office. I have resigned myself to the fact that I believe I need two desktop computers together on my desk.  A few months back, when I first set up my new computer, I put the two computers, a printer and two telephones all on my desk. The old black computer with Windows Vista had the big tower that no longer comes with newer computers. I shoved it in the back of the left side of the desk. The new white computer, that is slim line and has a lovely monitor with the computer built-in, has Windows 7. I pushed it in the front and the keyboard for the black computer sat in front of the printer on the far right side of the desk. The two phones, one a local line and the other for US calls, I shoved between. The lamp ended up sort of in the middle. As I moved things around, I didn’t disconnect them so the wires traipsed all over my desk and were in the way. My goal was to take off all the data and give my old computer away as a gift to relatives whose computer had died. But a multitude of problems came up with this. My Smart Draw program that had expired for updates was on that computer. The mail service I love was on that computer and no longer available.

Every day I would think about when I would give the computer away and have more room on my desk. I operated like that for two months, planning the day when the computer would leave. A few weeks ago, I finally realized that I didn’t want to give the old computer up.  I mean, I need it for the movies that I download and burn. It has all my old data on it that I won’t need to wade through and decide if I want to keep files or not, and it has my windows mail. I had gotten my website guy to put Outlook on my new laptop, but honestly, I don’t really like it and it was going to cost me almost $200 usd once the trial period ended.  I had already given a different gift to the relatives that I was going to give the computer to, so the only thing left was to figure out how these 2 computers and I could coexist in my crowded office.

So tonight, I bravely went where I’ve never gone before. I separated the two computers. I put my new one on the right side, which is where I like to work anyway. I put the old black computer on the left. The lamp stayed in the middle. I took the filing cabinet that I had delivered to my house last week and moved it from near the entry door to the right side of my desk, and placed my printer on there.

Printer on new file cabinet

Now I no longer have to search for the phones. I no longer need to move the old black computer every time I want to load paper in my printer. And to top it off, when I get around to it, I will even be able to get the filing off my bed and in to the new filing cabinet.  Added bonus!

I tell you all this as I realized tonight my desk is kind of like my life. I believe I need way more than I do to survive, and sometimes I make my life pretty miserable and complicated - holding on to things I don’t really need. Other times, I make a rational decision that what I have, I want to keep and just have to figure out a way to make that happen. I have to untangle the cords, replug, adjust and move things around. All the right stuff was already in my life. I just needed to find out where to put it.

My life is surrounded by a sense of calm and accomplishment tonight.  My desk is clean and in order. Everything is where it needs to be for right now. Today is good!