Call Me Brian

I’m sitting in the office where I spend a good part of my waking life these days.  My day of crunching numbers is done and I’m hanging out here until I leave to go to a meeting at my church.  So I’m taking the time to try and think of how to introduce myself on this blog, because if you find your way here, and your curiosity is piqued even a little bit, you’ll probably want to know something about me.

I must admit that I look a little like Charlie Brown here, only not as good.  I was hoping for a slightly more realistic sketch but this will do for now as a placeholder.
The writer

My desk is a mess.  I’ve been trying to clean it up today because I’m supposed to move to a new office next month on another part of the floor.  There is a collection of treasure on top of my computer tower, that to most anyone else would be junk.  There is the two-dimensional trophy my mother-in-law helped my kids make from a Cheerios box celebrating my 2011 win in the office moustache growing contest.  There is the broken down toy bus my son used to carry around with him when he was much younger.  There is the lavender-filled pillow my eldest daughter sewed for me when she was five or so.  There are the dried up flower petals my youngest daughter stuck in my pocket on a walk through our neighbourhood.  Their pictures and art cover the wall.  My wife’s face is amongst the photographs too, but she doesn’t make a lot of art for me.  At some point in your life, you tend to make a lot less art for the people you love than when you were a kid.  You show your love in different ways

There is an open Bible next to me.  It’s open to Psalm 108.  “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;”  I strive for this, but I wouldn’t say that those words are always on the tip of my tongue.  The Psalms keep me honest and they keep my humble.  They remind me of the presence of God in this world with all the complications and disappointments.  I read a few of the Psalms throughout my day, at least I try to.

On my right are the architectural plans to our house.  They are six years old and I like to look at them and dream of what could be.  When we bought the place it was vile, with old tobacco tar thick on the walls.  That’s why we could afford it.  I was afraid to pick up the crowbar to start the demo on our main floor that summer.  I was afraid of breaking something…something I wasn’t supposed to break.  Now I install windows and dig holes in my basement to move the plumbing around.  I have a long list of all the things that need to be done.  The list of things that don’t need to be done but I would love to do is longer.  Once I learned that I can do a few things myself, I started to wonder why I couldn’t just do everything myself…  I like building things.  I like making things.  I just wish I had more time.

There is a plastic container next to me filled with two used teabags and a banana peel.  I take these home with me to compost.  It keeps the garbage can under my desk from getting stinky or gross, which is nice.

There’s a mixed up Rubik’s Cube next to my computer.  I still don’t know how to solve it.  I’m sure there are YouTube videos that could show me how, but I’ve always wanted to figure it out on my own.  I can live with not knowing how to solve the Rubik’s Cube, but it would always be a little disappointing if I lost the opportunity to figure it out on my own…even if I never will.

On a wooden sculpture adorned with drawings of a happy person riding a monster there is a stack of little origami cranes.  There are 74 of them.  I’m planning to make 1000.  They say it brings good luck, or maybe it’s supposed to grant a wish.  Either way, I’m pretty sure it will bring me a big collection of little origami cranes.  It makes me happy.  Why not?

My bike helmet is in the corner and my bright yellow reflective vest is behind the door.  It’s easy to spot and it makes my wife feel a bit better knowing that I’ve got it on.   I’m not sure if that makes me safer or not.  I’ve been hit by a car before and I didn’t realize that my helmeted head had shattered the windshield until after I landed and saw the car.  I found little bits of glass in my hair later in the day.  If you’re not sure if you should wear a helmet or not, I would recommend one.

This is my office.  It’s kind of like a cave you might find that tells you a little bit about how its ancient inhabitant once lived…only I’m still alive and I still inhabit this space.

I suppose this blog is kind of like a new virtual space I’m moving into.  My new cave.  I think I’m going to like it here.

You can call me Brian.

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