Some of you asked about the stuff on my desk. It's an ever-changing collection of junque, but here's what things look like at the moment.
The pottery pencil cup has been in the library longer than I have, and I don't know who made it or how old it is. It's just always there.
The Stonehenge cup came from this trip I took with some high school classes back in 2022. One of the teachers bought some souvenirs to distribute to the kids, and the cup was left over, so it was mine by default. It usually has pencils in it too, but we seem to be momentarily low on our pencil supply.
The Beanie Baby parrot ("Jabber") I found among the holiday decorations in a cabinet in our conference room. I set it out on the desk so everyone could enjoy it. Hilariously, they are listed on eBay at prices ranging from £4.50 to £4,774.03! I'm pretty sure if that latter price was realistic Jabber would have been parrot-napped by now.
The wooden bird at left looks like a Latin American souvenir. I don't know where it came from -- again, I found it in a library cabinet. I used to have a little blue hippopotamus from the same cabinet but someone recently absconded with it. Hopefully it found a good home.
The gold cow is a game piece from the Hollywood edition of the game "Herd Mentality." I found it on the sidewalk while walking Olga.
The plaster "Happy!" face I found among some furniture being discarded by the school, and the artificial leaves and acorns are scattered around the library at the moment as a seasonal decoration.
Finally, the container of BYOMA (whatever that is!) was something a student left behind. I usually have a rotating collection of makeup, personal-care and school supplies sitting up there, depending on what's been recently lost. (Which is why the dinosaur pencil case was displayed there!) The BYOMA was reclaimed yesterday afternoon.
On the surface of my desk, underneath the ledge where all that stuff above sits, I keep pictures and some other random objects -- work-related books, my good pens that I don't want students to steal, and a bowl of debris I've picked up around the library over the years.
I've actually shown you the contents of this bowl before, though the collection grows and changes over time. Every once in a while I get motivated to find a home for the various game pieces or puzzle pieces that accumulate there, and then I inevitably find new stuff. It never ends.
So there you have it. Wasn't that FASCINATING?! I'm not taking any of this stuff with me when I leave in April, except the pictures. I bequeath everything else to my fellow librarians.
Yes it was fascinating....that things get claimed.. because they know that you won't just put wandering objects in the bin. I hope the next desk occupant will carry that on
ReplyDeleteSome things get claimed, some things hang around up there for a long time. I do occasionally have to throw away the odd unclaimed cosmetic or skin lotion.
DeleteIt was indeed fascinating - especially for someone who is well-read in psychiatry. The appearance of a work desk reveals a lot about the person who works there and I conclude that you are one crazy dude.
ReplyDeleteMy theory has always been that people who keep a hyper-neat desk (like me) are not as smart as people who keep a messy desk and can find anything amid the mess!
DeleteIt is the little things in life that please us, the big things we worry about.
ReplyDeleteThis is true!
DeleteOoh, I really like that bowl. Will you take it with you when you leave?
ReplyDeleteI dunno. Maybe. It was a gift from a former department head -- I think he got it in Morocco.
DeleteClassic
ReplyDeleteOr something!
DeleteIt's great to have that ledge behind the counter, for your secret stashes of various things. I wonder what your successor will make of the things you leave.
ReplyDeleteYes, the ledge is very useful for giving me and my stuff some privacy!
DeleteThat was most enjoyable, but the thing I like most is the bowl of 'bits and pieces' - a little reindeer, a die, a horse , and sundry other bits and bobs.
ReplyDeleteI should do another post about what's in the bowl. I think the contents have changed since the last time!
DeleteOne man's junk ... ?
ReplyDelete...is another man's junk!
DeleteI suppose some of them are mascots but it is funny how the young amass bric-a-brac. To give them courage I suppose. Enjoyed the video of Stonehenge.
ReplyDeleteYes, kids love their toys and bits-and-bobs.
DeleteI don't think this will make an episode of MTV Cribs!
ReplyDeleteMaybe the most boring episode ever!
DeleteNow that really IS fascinating, I love seeing other peoples little bits and pieces. Now THAT sounded weird!!
ReplyDeleteLOL -- I won't tell anyone.
DeleteSo fascinating.
ReplyDeleteHe says unconvincingly...
DeleteThis is fun! Has anyone ever called you a magpie? I love how you collect!
ReplyDeleteI have been called an urban archaeologist, which I think is somewhat flattering because I'm not that scholarly. Magpie is probably a lot more accurate!
DeleteIt is fun to see all that stuff though I wish you had spread out all the 'debris' in that bowl. Also would like to see the inside of that bowl.
ReplyDeleteA future post!
DeleteThat is quite a collection of the bits and pieces left behind. I love the little beanie parrot, he's very colorful.
ReplyDeleteBeanie babies were cute when they were just stuffed animals, before people began treating them as investment opportunities!
DeleteCodex: I actually do not think this is boring. As a child this "stuff" was treasure. Maybe that's the artists mind. Can't recall if I saw it on your blog or elsewhere but there is now a glass lamp where people can put all these treasures in. Is it junk if it has meaning?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not junk if it has meaning. Some of my desk stuff is rather meaningless, though! I liked your recent take on the human fascination with objects.
DeleteMy mum would have called these things, bits and bobs. I'm pretty sure you were a crow in a previous life:) I collect rocks so I can't say anything.
ReplyDeleteYes, bits and bobs! That is indeed what they are.
DeleteThat's an interesting desk. It's unbelievable what kids travel with and what they leave behind.
ReplyDeleteKids carry around a lot of junk. I suppose that's always been true, probably since the Stone Age and before!
DeleteWell, that was fun, Steve. Thanks for the tour!
ReplyDeleteYou get what you pay for. LOL
DeleteYep, fascinating indeed
ReplyDeleteHa!
DeleteI like that you display all that random stuff - I'll bet there are kids who are interested in checking it out whenever they come in.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there's one kid who always tries to balance the parrot on top of the pencils. I have no idea why. Other kids always ask about the stuff and where it came from.
DeleteI like the bowl of debris, that's a nice collection of small stuff.
ReplyDeleteTen years of accumulation and editing!
DeleteThe way each object has its own backstory, from Jabber the Beanie Baby to the Stonehenge cup, makes it feel personal and alive. Makes me wonder what little curiosities I’d collect if I had a space like that. Thanks for sharing the chaos and charm. It’s oddly inspiring.
ReplyDeletewww.melodyjacob.com
With little kids around, it's hard NOT to collect curiosities, because they naturally do it and then lose them!
DeleteGive me the carrot
ReplyDeleteParrot, I think you mean? LOL
DeleteIs "junque" an upscale spelling of junk?
ReplyDeleteYes! It's like saying "Tar-zhay" for Target. :)
DeleteI rather like the Beanie Baby parrot ... it's so colourful.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
It IS colorful. Seemed a shame to let it keep languishing in a cupboard!
DeleteIt's nice to have little reminders of people and places but I do try to limit what I keep, and what the lads want to keep.
ReplyDeleteWell, we all have to edit now and then. You can't just let stuff stack up or you'd be buried!
DeleteYour desktop collection is fascinating and doubles as an unofficial lost-and-found. I'm thinking the hippo went home!
ReplyDeleteYes, the hippo was "adopted," I'm sure.
DeleteI love that bowl! I remember hiding my best pens in my desk and putting the junky ones or abandoned ones on my desk for students to take. They thought I was being generous whereas I just wanted to get rid of them!
ReplyDeleteThe ones in the pencil cup for public use are usually pencils and pens that I find on the floor. Some of them probably don't even work!
DeleteYou seem to find quite a range of 'junque'. I find rocks mostly.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's all about our respective environments, right?
DeleteThe debris bowl is so colourful. My own debris bowl (catch-all) is larger and much less lovely. I like your collection and thought perhaps the moisturiser was your hand lotion. I hide my "good" pens too.
ReplyDeleteI actually don't use hand lotion much. I'm not a fan.
DeleteI had another look at the video and this time noticed "HALE" and "WC", could that mean "HAIL! WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR" ? I also paid more attention to the music, hearing bagpipes, pan flutes and something -a mandolin?
ReplyDeleteI had to re-watch the video to see what you meant! I think "HALE" was just the name of some visitor a couple hundred years ago. The music is a "jingle" from Apple available via iMovie, so I have no idea what the instrumentation is. Probably all electronic!
DeleteI love that everything has a story. And you're wise to hide those pens :)
ReplyDeletePens and scissors seem to go walking quite frequently!
Delete