Housecleaning

I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm a (sometimes) compulsively neat person. Yes, I lean a little more toward the Felix side of life than the Oscar side. The good thing is my husband is a bit Felix-y too so we go together like peas and ... well, peas. (I don't like carrots.) Anyway, our home is usually neat, the yard tidy and there are no cobwebs in the corners, not even in the garage.

Imagine my shock when I realized I've been harboring a garbage dump -- right here on my desk! Yes, my computer was akin to a wasteland, filled with rubbish piled so high it's a miracle I didn't drown in it.

This past week I've learned a lesson about computers that you probably all know but me, computer novice that I am, had no idea about. It is, however, a tidbit of information I shall never, ever forget again. The recycle bin needs to be emptied. Let me repeat my newfound nugget of wisdom, if only to reinforce it in my own mind: The recycle bin needs to be emptied. I feel like I should embroider it on a sampler and hang it above my desk.

I've spent this whole week sorting through old files, spreadsheets, edits, contracts, erratas, stories begun but never finished, stories finished but never submitted, the flotsam and jetsam of any ordinary writer's life. Ugh. I'm thinking of changing professions...do you think middleaged ballerinas get a lot of files in their recycle bins? What about oyster boat captains? Fat recycle bins? Oh, there's got to be something I can do that doesn't shelter a wastebin inches from my nose!

Oh, right. Maybe I should just empty the recycle bin more than every three years or so. Yes, you do have a point. Thanks. :) I could do that.

And now that I've spent days doing nothing but sorting, tossing out and shaping up, things are starting to look pretty good. Uncluttered, the way I like them best. And my computer is running well again. Not slow and sluggish, uncooperative or testy, the way it has been recently. Yes, maybe I will keep doing what I've been doing. After all, I don't drive boats really well and my knees won't support ballet lessons. Yes, I'll stay at my desk--especially since this silly black box has been thoroughly cleaned out.

I've been reminded of something important this week. Oh, no, it's not all about computers, although I have learned a fair bit about them in the past days. But I've gotten a gentle reminder that things aren't always as they appear. I can forget that sometimes.

But sometimes, often lurking beneath a placid exterior, is a wild world that I can't even begin to fathom. One that is shocking, surprising and can, when it wants to, consume 15,005 photograph files. Thankfully, it is a world that will, when coaxed, spit them back out.

Yes, I've had an interesting week. I hope you have, too. This weekend I'll work on catching up on all that's been neglected while I computer cleaned these last few days.

What's on the agenda for next week? One can only imagine...

Have a nice weekend!!