After paying off some debts (in the sum of 1600 gold pieces) tonight (for credit cards) and realizing again that I had some freedom from the brokers and guilds, I started looking around this amazing apartment of mine. It’s no wonder I call it a lair. Batman’s got his darkness and trophies, and so do I! I have trophies that show that I’ve helped designed and make toys, that I ride a bike, that I stole a highway sign once, that I (apparently) like to take apart and collect pieces of electronics, that I have a healthy appreciation of art and books, that I will sleep in my living room[^1], that I love the majesty of the inanimate becoming animate (nicely framed wind-up toys). I’ve even framed and hung classic literary works that I’ve read and admire. (One of them I haven’t actually read—Kurt Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle”—I swapped it out for one that I’m reading now. I’ll get to all of them; although I do sometimes feel that the amount I’m supposed to read is a flurry of pages around my head. But, I’m getting better these days, and I WILL get to them. There is much time.

Back to the lair! You see how that sounds? It makes it easy for me to stay late at work until I’m tired and stressed because there is such release in knowing that as soon as you finish this one daunting task, it’s BACK TO THE LAIR!!!

At any rate, it took some kind of Karma of the day to just get me to lie down on the bed early in the day (instead of being the usual night owl) and just take a survey of my surroundings. Most everything here is something I did or created. When you really step back to look at it, it’s a museum. But MUSEUM sounds so boring. I much prefer lair. Several times this evening while drawing, i jumped up to get a pencil of a particular weight or an eraser, or more paper, and I had to search for none of those things. They were right there, just like the weapons of an art ninja. Nah, ninja’s are passé. Besides, my Epic Win character is Thorin the Thoughtful, Swarthy Dwarven Toiler. And I think I had a moment (several) of weakness this week. But lo, I am only fourth level, and there is very, very far to go!

It is useful to have a lair when one seeks adventure.

[^1]: Something about the arrangement of my building—an old factory of some sort—all the apartments are split-lofts with spiral staircases—something about that makes everyone put their bed upstairs. I put the workshop upstairs (and by workshop I mean play room). The bed is right next to the living room couch. Whatever. When I have company over, it’s made and makes a good extra couch. LAIR.

Read the whole thread: A Field Guide to the Socially Inept