Office 9: More @#$%^&* Boxes

~ Jenny

It’s like wading through molasses. Especially since USA did a Burn Notice Marathon today and there are six episodes on there I’ve never seen. There’d be more but my DVR missed the first four. This is very bad because I have a serious Jeffrey Donovan habit, exceeded only my sincere admiration and long-term devotion to Bruce Campbell, AND I DIDN’T FIND THIS SHOW UNTIL TUESDAY. And then my DVR lets me down. The NYT was a bummer, but this is a disaster.

OTOH, I have six episodes. Plus the one from Tuesday. Maybe USA will be fast on its feet with the DVD. A peach can dream, anyway.

But first the boxes. Well, not all of them. I’m not insane. But I’m playing the sound track to D&G so that’ll help. Elvis singing “One Night With You” goes a long way to easing psychic pain.

Two hours later, I’ve got one box done, but it’s not so bad. I found some some really great stuff like the wonderful card the Mysterious Laura sent me awhile back that shows a fifties housewife sitting on a freezer door saying, “And this is where I keep my ex-husband’s body.” And a Rosie the Riveter sticker she sent, too. The freezer lady is going up on the bulletin board. And I found some old papers I typed for my master’s degree. Yes, typed. Dear God, how did I exist without a Mac? Actually, I’ve found the papers for both my MA and my MFA and the stuff for my first run at the diss. And some very old notes. Like for Getting Rid of Bradley. And a letter to a friend where he talks about me going to Penn State for a conference in October of 1996 which is the conference where I first met Patricia Gaffney and she hung me out to dry at dinner, so of course we’ve been BFFs since then. Eleven years, Gaffney. Hard to believe.

So two hours, one box. Lotta memories. This stuff is not for the faint of heart.

So I’m going to drown my memories in Jeffrey and Bruce. And do the rest of the boxes tomorrow. Well, not all of them. This is going to take days.

42 thoughts on “Office 9: More @#$%^&* Boxes”

  1. oh I LOVE Burn Notice- nothing like a little humor and good guy/bad guy stuff to make you feel better 🙂

  3. Jeffrey Donovan is fantastic on Burn Notice! That show is fun.

    Memories are at once sharp and fuzzy. Enjoy them. And good going! One box is better than none.

  4. Nice–you’ve created a flow to the room. Facing one way you see brown and blue; the other way you see brown and red. Ditto the asymmetry–it creates movement.

    Agnes is excellent. She, er, it started me on a binge. In the last 3 weeks I’ve read Faking It twice, a couple of your older books for the first time, and I’m about to re-read Agnes. They stand up to bingeing. Remarkably so.

    Also enjoyed Lost Girls. You and Bob sound good together. I love the cadence of Agnes–the dialogue, the scene changes, the introduction of the next development.

  5. Save all those notes, etc – They’ll be worth thousands in 2107!

    I just had a flash memory of reading King’s “Lisey’s Story” – the scene where Lisey (whose husband was a famous writer) is going through all of his papers – and the memories they bring her.

    Definitely save everything – organized, of course – but save it all.

  6. love love love Burn Notice. Sorry you came to it late. .Donovan is gummy and Ive adored Cambell since Briscoe County which I never missed. Can I have your Bradley notes?

  8. Burn Notice rocks!

    I was hooked by the advert music and had to go into deep research to find it. I downloaded it off of itunes and added it to my LauraCroftInternationalSpy music cd.

    I was hoping the eps would be on OnDemand or on the USA website. No such luck. (The bums!)

    Good job on the first box. It’s a cultural archeological dig. What fun!

  9. Is your DVR a tivo? Check the “recently deleted” section. The first four episodes be there. That’s what happened when I had my tivo record a Eureka marathon. Looked like I was missing the first six episodes…
    Turns out that the tivo, by default, only keeps the last five or so episodes if they are not marked for “save”. But recently deleted episodes aren’t really deleted. They are still there. Kinda like in your computer “Trash” file. Except the tivo automatically empties out the trash (oldest first) as it needs more space. And just like files in your computer trash bucket, you can restore them back to your current list. So check for “recently deleted” in your “currently playing” or whatever it is option. You may be in luck.

    Ahh…letting my not so inner geek come out to play.

  10. Way to stick with it! When we moved after having lived in one place for 13 years, I found lifting the furniture was tiring, but the psychic lifting was exhausting. Sounds like you’ve found your pace. Three more days! (And I WILL dust again, bwahahaha.)

  11. LOVE Burn Notice, Jeffrey and Bruce–and I SO want to go to Miami…

    Jenny, the newest episode was on last night (Thursday), they rerun it but I’m not sure when, maybe Saturday or Sunday.

    Your office cleanup is inspiring–thanks for sharing.

  12. Good thing you front loaded the rest of the office, huh? That was like eating dessert first, now you’ve got to eat your pudding. *insert sound of many clocks*

    Everybody keeps saying good things about Burn Notice. I keep forgetting to put my TIVO scheduler doogie on psychic setting so I don’t have to physically tell it to record something. Those darned Jedi mind powers…

  14. I’m glad you found Burn Notice, I’ve been addicted since the first episode aired, and have been running a steady campaign to get as many of my friends into it as possible. 🙂 Next week is a special long episode.

    Have you checked out the website? The Ask a Spy Tips are very fun as well. 🙂 They are video tutorials given by Jeffrey Donovan where he answers everyday questions with a spy’s prospective.

  15. A new show and one box. Sounds like a productive day. Isn’t it great to find a new show you love? Cleaning out a box like that is cathartic. Good exhausting work.

    My kitchen sink is still clean, and I took a pile of clothes to the dry cleaners (from the closet 15 minutes earlier this week) and took out 2 bags of trash.

    Also, I took all the new stuff I’ve bought for a Christmas gift scrapbooking project out of the multiple Hobby Lobby bags spread all around and organized them into a tote. All the projects stuff is in one place. And it is only September. This is like working ahead. Whatever will I do with my Christmas Eve.

  16. I remember that Penn State conference! That was the first time I heard you speak on writing humor. I learned so much. You talked about the different ways that men and women look at humor, the different things we find funny, etc. You also shared the Eric Fromm quote, “Immature love says: ‘I love you because I need you.’ Mature love says: ‘I need you because I love you.'”
    I think Mary Jo Putney also spoke.

    You were brilliant even back then, Jenny.

  17. Congrats on making it through a scary box! It’s great finding things that you’d forgotten you had, so that you can enjoy them again.

    I got a phone call last night as I was finishing with my picking up, so I did some more. I didn’t embark on anything tricky (I was TALKING), but some progress was made. I really like the Eric Fromm quote reported by Mary Stella.

  18. You were there, Mary? Wow. Yep, I think Fromm pretty much summed it all up.

    It’s not a Tivo, it’s Direct TV’s replacement for the Tivo they originally gave me that went belly up, and it’s not nearly as good, but it works. Drives me crazy, though. I miss my Tivo.

  19. Marathons are the work of the devil. Or an evil genius-I haven’t decided. All I know is that it was a marathon that introduced me to the crack cocaine of TV, aka “Alias,” and now I try to avoid them, even though I really don’t want to, because I’m probably missing something good-something I should have started watching a long time ago. (Can I do a run-on sentence or what?) Saw the advert for the “Burn Notice” marathon, but I had to work, and refrained from taping it.

    I’m supposed to be packing to move at the end of October. I can’t become addicted to a new show. Can’t. I have boxes to pack. Dammit.

    My inner peach is protesting the box packing. Maybe if I bribe it with chocolate….

  20. McB – Oh man, you asked for those Get Rid of Bradley papers first – you… you… That’s my favorite book. I’ll come visit and look at them with you.

    Jenny, I LOVE finding old things that bring back great memories!! What fun walking down memory lane – all those warm and fuzzies. The only difficult part is figuring out what to keep and what needs to go. Have fun revisiting all those treasures. Think of it as a scavenger hunt. Then maybe you’ll be able to look forward to the boxes (then again… maybe not).

    TGIF everyone!!

  21. Count me as another Burn Notice fan. They rerun the most current episode on Saturday nights at 6 pm. According to my tv section, USA also has a 1-1/2 hr. episode this Saturday morning from 9-10:30am. Maybe the first episode?

  23. You were there, Mary? Wow. Yep, I think Fromm pretty much summed it all up.

    Yes, I was. I still lived in New Jersey then and drove up to Penn State with Shirley Hailstock and Christine Mattera. I know there were numerous other writers and authors there, too, but the only other name that comes to mind at the moment (Other than you, Pat Gaffney and Mary Jo Putney) is Stephanie Mittman. The conference offered a visit to a supposedly haunted, historic house one night and a psychic gave quick readings. The psychic suggested Stephanie should do something creative with her life. At the time Stephanie already had out several good books and a piece of stained glass art hanging in a museum somewhere.

  24. Found Burn Notice because my TIVO is set to record anything Bruce Campbell is in. Obviously, we get some pretty strange things. And I have to admit my love for The Bruce goes all the way back to the original Evil Dead. A classic if ever there is one.

    Yes, the 1 1/2 hr episode is the pilot. We’ve been watching all along and I have to say the very beginning is a bit rough. Fiona is *brilliant* but Michael (or actually the actor portraying Michael) takes a few episodes to loosen up.

    Cannot wait for the dvds!

  25. You know, I usually don’t like the model-type girl friend, but Anwar is really great in this. And then there’s Sharon Gless who is just amazing.

    Besides, any show that names Bruce Campbell “Sam Axe” is my kind of show.

  26. Auction off the GRoB papers, and anything else like that you want to get rid of. Really. I think Bradley may be my favorite, too. Love the him and her.

  28. I know I’m horribly off topic here but I was reading some of your old blogs because I’m a little bored here this Friday afternoon and I just thought you’d like to know that your tattoo has another charming name. The Tramp Stamp. You’ve helped me achieve my inner peach so i thought I’d help with yours…

  29. Bruce Campbell has a new TV show? Dammit, now I need to find money in the budget for cable! Anybody else read his autobiography that came out a couple years ago? Very entertaining!

  30. Because of Yo? Who’s Yo, you tramp? I thought I was your BFF.
    Just kidding, Pgaf. I love yo, too.

    If Chins Could Talk. One of the best autobiographies EVER.

    I took a break from emptying boxes to clean out my closet. Took everything out and dumped it on the bed. And the table. And the floor. God knows where I’m going to sleep tonight.

  31. Bruce Campbell? Bruce Campbell has a TV show? Where have I BEEN? The same Bruce Campbell who was in Brisco County Junior?

    See, this is why we love Argh Ink. (Well, besides the fact that we can house clean vicariously.)

    Jenny A, rushing off to find TV schedule now.

    P.S. Agnes should win a Rita. WONDERFUL book.

  32. Bruce Campbell? Bruce Campbell has a TV show? Where have I BEEN? The same Bruce Campbell who was in Brisco County Junior?

    See, this is why we love Argh Ink. (Well, besides the fact that we can house clean vicariously.)

    Jenny A, rushing off to find TV schedule now.

    P.S. Agnes should win a Rita. WONDERFUL book.

  33. P.P.S. Sorry. Don’t know why that posted twice, except that I really believe the part about the RITA…can’t say that enough.

  35. So who’s going to be the first to admit they watched Xena:Warrior Princess and Hercules just to see Bruce in action? Oh, and the short lived Daring Dragoon?

    Ok, I’ll be the first.

  36. Laura! I just saw the Gwen Goodnight 20 minutes ago in my local bookstore, and had the same thought! That’s a delightful synchronicity.

    I’ve been thinking about Gwen lately–since I keep re-reading Faking It. I love how she’s at the locus of the wrongness in the household, but the extent of it only gradually becomes apparent.

  39. I have to agree that model-type girlfriends are pretty aggravating. Only my true love for Ron Livingston and Gina Torres kept me coming back to Standoff because the lead girl was BEYOND irritating.

    But Fi is so… delicious. The writers really gave Anwar something to sink her teeth into.

    It’s very good to know that I’m not the only one out there with The Bruce Collection. Anyone else pick up Jack of All Trades yet?

  40. Lori J – I’ll take your dare. To this day I still love me some Kevin Sorbo. But I think we all know the true star power behind the Saturday Action Pack was Joxer the Mighty (aka Ted Raimi).

    I should stop now before my geek really gets out of control. 🙂

  41. Sounds like we’re living in parallel universes. I’m going through 13 years’ worth of hard core pack rat stuff in prep to move to Washington state.

    Happy belated BD.

    Warmly,
    Gayle, Black Cherry Kisser

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