Indulgence

this is the desk that wanggo did not build

Michael Ignatieff from The Need of Strangers
Many of the things we need most deeply in life -- love chief among them -- do not necessarily bring us happiness. If we need them, it is to go to the depth of our being, to learn as much of ourselves as we can stand, to be reconciled to what we find in ourselves and in those around us.

This is what my desk in the office looks like. I was chatting with my friend Daniel from Denmark and we chat often, making the waiting period between scripts and edits a little easier to take. Or, while I'm writing a script, keeps me distracted enough not to get into a writer's block (sounds funny, right? I'll talk more about that some other time). Daniel asked me what my work area looked like. So I took some pictures to show him the messy little area around my computer.


The computer on the left, behind the piano, that's mine. The CPU is under the table so my lovely flat screen monitor and the keyboard should be the only thing on my desk. But that is not to be. We try our best to recycle paper in the office; every little gesture helps, for the environment's sake. So dumped on both sides of the monitor are stacks of photocopies of my scripts that are already used. Instead of printing on new paper, I usually pick up one of these and print on that side. Unfortunately, for studio shoots, we need a copy of the script for everyone involved, so one old script is recycled by printing the new script on the back. Then either I or the production assistant, Will, in this case, makes 4 or 5 photocopies for the shoot. At the end of the shoot, our executive Producer, in this case, Berna, reminds us not to throw the paper away. To bring it back in the office and use it as scratch. So the paper on my desk just keeps piling and piling up.


On top of the stacks of paper to the right of my monitor is a bag I got for Christmas from the host of the show I was working on last year. I use it to put toiletries. There, I have a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and shampoo (just in case I have to overnight), toilet paper and alcohol. On the left, I put my mom's Christmas gift, a shawl to keep me warm when it gets too cold. I love my mom dearly but I would never wear a shawl. On any normal circumstance, I would never wear a shawl. But at the office, I'm sort of a zany, wacky, free-spirit (or I would like to think so); so people poke fun at me often and I don't mind. I say and do crazy things sometimes, just for a laugh, so I thought, I could leave my shawl in the office. If it gets too cold, or if I find myself suddenly having to overnight at the office, I could use the shawl to keep me warm. It may look a little off, but then, who cares? I'm a zany, wacky, free-spirited guy anyway. My notebook is on the table as well, that green and purple thing. On my CPU, the red squarish thing you see, is an envelope I got from what of my shoots. It contained press material and information regarding the shoot I had. I don't remember anymore where I got it. Most of the press material has been recycled and has a script written on its opposite side. I keep the envelope on my CPU because I might have need of it sometime. In front my CPU is my bag that I bring everyday. Beside my monitor is the free mug I got from Tower Records for having bought a dozen CDs. Unfortunately, it's pink.

I'm not a very tidy guy, as you can tell. But it's what I call an organized mess. No matter how chaotic it seems, I can find whatever I need within a minute. I just know where they all are. Someone cleans it up? I go nuts. It's just the way I am. I do my best. At least, it's not the type that it becomes a breeding ground for mice or cockroaches. I never get that messy.

posted by wanggo @ 4:50 PM