Project of the Week, Part III: Almost There

From this morning at 06h00:

Project of the Week, Part II: The Obsession Continues, but Slowly Comes to a Finale

Ok... I really didn't know what I was getting myself into at the beginning of this week by re-engineering my office. I thought it would be a cleansing "feng shui" type experience... mmm... I'm just not there yet.

If you measure "level of chaos" as a function of "time elapsed" you'll get a nice big fat bell curve with the apex of chaos occurring mid-week. Slowly, some order of semblance has been regained over the past 24 hours (Thank GOD.)

So for many of you wondering why I haven't been blogging or why I haven't been online for the past few days, you can see why:

If you look really hard you can see my work laptop open! Its like playing Where's Waldo?

I would have to say that "squalorous" is an accurate description of my office at that point. By then, I had emptied out my closet in an effort to turn it into a "Server Closet."

Part way through the process, I discovered that I needed additional storage pieces, so I made FREQUENT trips to The Container Store in Clarendon. I really love that place now. My new motto is "Everything has its place... in a storage bin..."

As many of you know... I am a huge gadget-tech freak. I was disgusted with the amount of USB cables, power adapters, and other random wiring that had accumulated over the past couple of years. I now have a couple of bins of nothing but wiring and cables. Here is but a small smattering of the cable/wiring crap:

YodaBeesh's version of the Electric Chair (yes, verrry poor pun.) Note Mirko in the background. He was afraid to enter my zone of chaos for many days. Poor puppy.

So at this point I have rid myself of the following:

• massive maple bookcase shoved into closet as ad hoc storage (now in Denny's room)
• suede microfiber loveseat/sleeper sofa
• TONS of books (there is a book donation drop-off bin at the Safeway in Georgetown... ironically, near my psychotherapist's office)
• lots of trash (still in process)

In process of getting rid of:

• desk
• cabinet
• audio tower (see posting of all three on CraigsList)
• maybe a book ledge

I've acquired in exchange:

• industrial chrome shelving unit
• armchair and ottoman (thank GOD for CraigsList)
• Iron folding TV Stand (thank you, Container Store)
• many plastic containers.

In retrospect, I really need to re-evaluate why I have so many f**king USB, AV, and POWER CABLES. As I mentioned to friends earlier today, "I'm trying to reduce my 'carbon footprint' on our planet..." I hate throwing away electronics.

I think that very soon, the balance will be restored to the universe. I'll post pictures ONLY when its completely finished. And I should probably post some "before" pictures as well!!!!

YodaBeesh has caught World Cup Fever

Yes. You read correctly. YB is watching World Cup 2006. (This may fall under "things you never knew about YodaBeesh.")


I've always liked soccer (aka 'football) since I was in little league. Its a fun sport and great to watch. Its good "background noise" to have on the tube instead of say, CNN or Headline News. Plus, my German vocabulary is growing exponentially by the hour (all commentary on Setanta -- the 24 hr world cup network is in German.)

Things I like about soccer:

• Its a global sport and is a nice distraction from the news.
• I've always thought it to be a very elegant and refined sport (much like myself... hehehe).
• I understand it a lot better than American Football, that's for sure.
• "Footballers" are hot. My particular favorites are the German and Dutch teams. WOOF.
  

For those of you who want to "catch the fever" here are some great resources:

2006 World Cup Basics - this is a MUST READ for those who want to understand how the whole thing is structured (how these countries made it to this stage, etc)
NYT World Cup Central - great analysis, stats, updates, and blogs on here
Setanta Sports - If you feel like watching soccer 24/7, then call up DirecTV and ask for this channel. Its only $11.99 for one month.
The Official FIFA World Cup website and Goal.com are great resources as well

Just finished watching the AUS/JPN game... AUS whooped ass (3-1). It seemed like the Aussies woke up at the end of the match! I thought JPN was gonna win...

US vs. Czech Republic at noon...!

YodaBeesh Project of the Week

I'm in process right now of "re-engineering" my office. I feel like its too cluttered right now, and want to start over.

Representation of current "re-engineering" process.

I think that when I initially settled into this room as my home office a couple of years ago, I rushed into the furnishing process. As a result, its cramped and cluttered. Sadly, it also serves as the spare bedroom for guests... who can attest to the lack of space once the sofabed is pulled out. (That's why I'm getting rid of the sofabed.)

Someone is coming to pick up the sofa tonight, and I will be doing some major down-sizing with the other furniture as well.

I'd really like to go for a more minimal look (a la Ikea) that could open up the space in the room.

A question to you all... I like the blue walls, but do dark colors like that make the room seem "tighter?" I'll have to post a pic of the room later...

Shoe update from CARBON

I received a note last week from my shoe-insider, Kevin over at Carbon:

just a heads up.. one of the new Tsubos has arrived. Others to come!

They look pretty hot... check 'em out: Tsubo MINAX


Unfortunately, I already have a pair of brown casuals of similar style that I purchased a couple of months ago, but MB is highly interested ;-) I can totally see him wearing these.

Thanks Kev!

Part III: A Shoe Story, The Finale?

Ok, so I left you all hanging a couple weeks ago with my wracked shoe decision-making process. Anywhoie, to wrap that story up, I chose NONE of them.

Actually, I chose #2, the Tsubo Sycorax BWG.

Unfortunately, I didn't get them.

Why, you ask? Well, after I came to final decision, I went to place the order with Zappos, and they didn't have my size.

F**kers.

I took that as a sign that it wasn't meant to be. (I did hunt all over the web for the exact pair in my size, but I came up empty handed.) That's ok.

Oooh... there was one additional factor. I went out with friends to Halo the other weekend, and DTB just got a new pair of Adidas which were identical to the ones that I wanted (and actually cooler-looking) So therefore, I just couldn't get the Tsubos. Again, it was not meant to be.

Did I wind up getting anything? Yes.... I got a pair of Tsubos that I found on eBay for half the cost (btw, check out the seller TheShoePlanet on eBay... good cheap discontinued shoes.)


So, these should shut me up, for now...