13 Things On Or Near My Desk

Gah! I seem to be getting caught unprepared on a regular basis, as of late. I apologize for this, and for the fact that I'm resorting to this old chestnut for my Thursday Thirteen this week:

13 Things On Or Near My Desk

1) Altoids. Not that I need them. Heh. I have these on my desk because I cleaned out my bag to take it to work and forgot to throw them in again. Oops.

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Mine doesn't look like this, but it's kinda close, I guess.

2) One of those alarm clocks with a built-in thermometer. The batteries are dying and I really need to replace them. Soon.

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3) A spray bottle, full of water.

This is to deter my kitty - in a non-violent way - when she decides just absolutely needs to
a) stalk-and-chomp me
b) destroy furniture in my office
c) knock things off of any surface above floor level.

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4) At the moment, the bottle isn't necessary. As you can see in the photo here, illustrating that the kitty in question - easily within reach from my desk - is trying to sleep. That is, she'd be able to sleep if I'd just stop taking pictures with...

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5) The camera my mother gave me in London last November. This was a sort of "celebrate your book launch/Christmas" gift, I suppose.

Then she went home and sent me a bunch of home-made cookies for Christmas too.

My mom is awesome.

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6) A Staedtler eraser. Not only is it good for erasing pencil marks, but it's also good for getting scuffs off of white shoes and walls.

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7) My phone. It's almost always close at hand.

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8) My other camera. I'm really not a gadget geek, but this was the camera I used in London before my mom gave me my new one.

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9) My iPod - given to me by my stepfather several years ago. It's always plugged into my computer so I can listen to music all the time.

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10) Yes, you read that right. I had a Prick Test done about a month ago.

That's what they call an allergy or "scratch test" here.

It took me a while to quit laughing at the thought of it too.

I'm soooo immature.

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11) A 50-Lire coin.

Can you guess why I keep it around? Heh. It's a shame Italy had to go to the Euro, isn't it?

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12) I still have four packets of the hot cocoa mix I brought home from London. Yummmmm...

Why they're on my desk is a question which will go unanswered, I suppose.

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13) This picture. I printed it out as an 8x10 and put up on my magnetic board so I could enjoy it and draw inspiration for 27 Stages from it.

It is, of course, my man Fabian Cancellara, talking with former model-turned-pro cyclist Matti Breschel.

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And there you go: 13 Things On Or Near My Desk.





















Of course, there are always things I wish were nearer to my desk than they are.















Or at least closer to my knick-knack shelf.

























You know what I mean.

Ciao for now!