As i prepared to leave my house yesterday evening, much later than i wanted to, i felt my environment shift from how i currently dwell to how i used to. You see i used to live in Megan’s apartment, Megan technically took over my lease when i decided to move closer to school. On August 15th 2006 i moved into 2625, i was a single girl. Moving from Towson back into Baltimore excited me and cautioned me. Single white girl living alone, on her own. While in this transitory state i was not getting along with my family, who thought graduate school at MICA was a bad decision, breaking up with my former boyfriend was horrible and generally my life was headed nowhere. Never had i felt so alone. What did ease my emotional state was my apartment, my very own place to dwell. If the TP ran out it was my fault, dirty dishes stinky trash, it was all on me. No more battles with roommates, no more bad roommates. I did not however have a lot of furniture, even for an efficiency apartment. I slept on the floor on a futon, i had no kitchen table, one bath towel, 5 plants, 5 paintings, a dresser, to many clothes, to many shoes, books, enough knick-knacks and bric-a-brac for 18 people and a bottle of wine. Fine by me i was happy as a clam. My first night i danced to Prince, cried with Nina and contemplated with led. But always dancing. As i stared up at the ceiling that night i could hear the rats in the alley and the soon to be obnoxious wind chime on the neighbors back porch. I considered my new situation, as fragile as it was and smiled. I lived here for 11 months, back and forth between my place and the man i now deeply love and live with. I never truly felt like i lived here, unlike Megan who has made this place into a home. Part of me wishes i would have taken my time here more seriously, slept here more, cooked and had wild parties. Last night was a very strange feeling, i was doing exactly what i did two years prior… walking from my boyfriends house after spending the weekend together to mine. Being back in my old place conjures up how we are creatures of habit, we fall into our old routines so easily. To underscore this i even made a stop at Safeway to buy some snacks, (because i never had food here when i lived here), the liquor store for some wine then back to 2625. As i approached the familiar set of steps and door i did not even fuss with the keys, the building smelled the same, junk mail stacked on the radiator, the downstairs tenant watching TV. So is it true? Do the places we inhabit really not change after we leave them? Walking up the steps i unlocked the door to #3. The door still slid close to the wood floor, the push button for the light was still in the same place. Not sure what to expect i essentially found the same apartment, but now with a new smell, different furniture and a much more lived in feel. Immediately i took to the place as an anthropologist would. Observing and taking meticulous notes, photographing with a disposable camera parts of Megan’s apartment that would be cataloged and bagged. I felt as if i had been given the key to a much anticipated archaeological find. Needless to say i was full of excitement and ideas, and felt very much at home…
Here are my first observations:
1. Megans apartment smells nice.
2. organized
3. vacuum (left for megan when i moved out)
4. Discovered the web cam
5. Discovered the How We Dwell Composition book
6. Same pink leopard print shower curtain
7. Shelf and shower organizer still the same (both here when i moved in)
8. Same garbage can (left for Megan when i moved out)
9. Same pots and pans ( left for Megan when i moved out, xmas gift from family 6 years ago)
10. Same kitchen knifes ( left for Megan when i moved out)
11. Same Michael Graves cooking utensils, (left for Megan, xmas gift, part of pots and pans)
12. Favorite childhood artist on Megans itunes, Cat Stevens
13. You Gotta Have Art Button on Megan’s desk. Photographed and bagged.
14. broken record piece ” Hark the Herald Angels Sing” still on nail in hallway. Found outside the Copy Cat before a 2012 potluck at the old Wham City Space. Photgraphed, not bagged.
15. medicine cabinet still has the same mushroom contact paper, who knows how long thats been there! Photographed, not bag-able.
16. Tester lives! Photographed, not bagged.
17. Black sticky mat in medicine cabinet, here when i moved in.
18. Bodum glass with deflated balloons, glass from house in Towson, Balloons must be Megans addition.
(((Its crazy that i can still recall the stories of these “things”)))
19. Tulip Table from IKEA! Sold to Megan when i moved out.
20. Same green chairs from sketchy thrift store in Fells Point, found by me and my ex when we first moved to bmore.
21. OMG! Single-Origin Subtleties! Stolen off a fridge at a party. Photograhed, not bagged.
22. Megan needs more plants. Perhaps i will buy her one.
23. ame crate under sink. I used it to move small plants when i moved in. Then for cleaners under the sink, still in use today! Photographed.
24. Megan has a great sense of humor. Photographed and bagged her magnetic board by stove. Accidentally dropped a calling card for cory berant, tried to fish it out with Megans T-square, not luck. Sorry.
25. Megan is intelligent (observing her books).
26. She hid the annoying closet doors well.
27. This is Awesome!
we are now leaving observances into creation.
28. Designated artifact holding tank, the ikea vase from megans desk, placed it on the tulip table, preparing for totem creation.
29. Dumbo Keychain in package. Photographed. Brought to table.
30.Cards and Hammer. Photographed. Left on desk.
31. Chinese umbrella. Photographed. Brought to table.
32. Standing Solitude, by Suzanne Vega..Records removed from desk to table, photographed.
33. Megans google bar reads ” Belgian Wheat Beer” (this is an observance)
34. Another observance, Megan saves her fortunes, bagged fortune by computer, “Don’t be afraid to take that big step.”
35. Voter registration reminder….Megan votes! Obama i hope!
36. Bagged everything small on Megans desk.
37. 38. Morning has Broken comes on, my Moms song, sung at her funeral.
38. Megan likes ballons (observation)
39. Wooden IKEA dish rack still here, left for Megan, photographed.
40. My first dinner to mimic my first dinner when i first moved in. Yum! Photographed.
41. i prefer to be nonsensical
42. Tea infuser with ceramic tea cup, fomer towson roommate had the same thing.
43. David Bowie-Changes///in my all time top ten
44. Is that my old Virgin Mary Candle? X related
45. 33 28 35
46. I think my friend J is checking me out on the how we dwell web cam.
47. tired
48. megan has bigger feet than me, she wears a 8.5 i wear a 7.5/8
49. she has some really nice shoes.
50.created short playslist on Megan’s itunes…Coming Home
51. Hung “history” post it, have to photograph first thing in the morning.
52. Its strange how we need all these things around us
53. Garden State soundtrack…love this movie. I will watch it when i go home tomorrow night.
54. awoke to your 6:41 am alarm 1 and 2
55. re-awoke to shane calling me at 9:30 am on Sunday September 14th 2008
56. i made some green tea, ate yogurt with raspberries and brie.
57. i wish i had one more day.
58. oh , yes the rules. I forgot to state the only two rules. I cannot use anything not from megans and everything that i consume here stays here, including the towel i used for my shower (green onhook in the bathroom)
59. Its 12:02 i have a long way to go….
60. Began to create totem on megans table.
61. finished bagging.
62. took more photos
63. did some yoga.
64. snacked on more brie.
65. drank tea.
66. dimantled books and categorized
67. arranged books, shoes and bathroom items.
68. more photos.
69. everything is coming together. i will be done before i thought.
70. placed umbrella, turned around paintings.
71. found xeroxs of women and bubble wrap, hung above painting above the bed.
72. Found loose change, arranged on table.
73. stacked sweaters ont op of the hamper to keep it warm from the AC.
74. took a shower.
75. ate some more.
76. drank some wine
77. its now 5:36. meeting becky in one hour at donnas
78. at 8 megan will be here to get her keys
Photos coming soon…