Woe is me . . . in the Laundry Room

Sad news this morning . . . John Travolta & Kelly Preston’s son died yesterday while on holiday in the Bahamas. Sorry to hear that for anyone’s family but this one had more impact than usual.

Years ago when I was a corporate pilot I did my training for my ATP and type rating for the business jet Cessna Citation in Dallas, Texas at Flight Safety. John was going through his training at the same time and we had the same flight instructor during our training. This was after his ‘sweat hog’ days but before he became a ‘famous’ movie star as he just loved flying. We fell out of touch after that time but I was always struck that he was just a nice guy and as we did our check ride in the airplane one after the other the world was in front of both of us. He commented at the time that if he had a son he wanted to name him Jett and later on I see he did that which brought a smile to my face.

My heart goes out to you and your family during this time of sadness and you will be in my prayers.

Well, I'm still writing from the laundry room (home office) but it is not the worse place I’ve had over the years. In one place many years ago my ‘office’ was in what was a very small space that had been a toilet room. It even had the toilet flange capped off under my feet below my desk. It was hard to be inspired while writing from there but I survived it.

When I first started writing my book it was while in that little space and luckily the writer’s block was only brief at times. Maybe it was the underlying idea that the space was meant for things to flow freely.

I usually do laundry on the weekends so I can complete those tasks while I may not be actively writing. My wife may drop a load in during the week but we try to keep that to a minimum so it does not interfere with my work bidding projects or with the television that sits next to my computer. When the laundry is saved all week and the call to get things done I refer to my laundry pile as Mt. Neverrest, whose steep heights I climb several times a day. I have instructed my wife and granddaughter that if I do not return from the laundry room within a ten to twenty minute period of time, they are to call 911 immediately and tell the dispatcher that we have a code “Downy Blue”. If you look at the very beginning of my blogging days my first blog was about what it would be like being a ‘Downy Ball’ in November of 2005. It’s crazy thinking back to the different things I have written about since then.

If your home office is in the laundry room, work at creating a more professional and energetic environment away from distractions. That is sometimes hard to do but that is why we try to only do laundry on weekends when I may be away or not trying to be in a focused mind frame. Keep your home life and work life separate, even if you are in fact working at home. Remember it's hard to feel like a writer when the spin cycle is deafening your ability to focus. You might be yearning to be a writer, but your laundry is calling for more fabric softener.

There's something about having to stay in a warm room with the doldrums of washers & dryers running that just lull me into a sense of belonging. The sound of the computer and the sound of a motor running (as in a dryer or computer fan motor) have the same effect on me because I did laundry today.

It's the thoughts that occur during this time of relaxation when it's just me and the machines that really get me though. That sound of a zipper being tossed around during the drying cycle and the slightly off balance of the washer’s spin cycle drives me into weirdness that comes across in my writing.

Till then . . . I guess I’m in the laundry room . . . thankfully sweating like a pig while it minus 25 outside today.

Ice