Vaulted Ceilings

I am amazed at the amount of thought that I give to finding ways to keep myself busy at work. My latest plan is books on tape. A friend of mine said that was the only way he got through his summers doing data entry for a company. I'm not sure how I'll react to hearing someone read to me all day, but I'll give it a try. I guess I just want to do something more productive for myself than what work provides me.

More than once people have seen me reading in my cube, but I don't care. It makes me feel better when I am reading. I like to learn new things and the only way that is going to happen is if I do it myself.

The ideal vacation for me would be a month in a cabin where I could just read. The cabin would be fully stocked with food and supplies so that I would not have to go anywhere. Everyday I could just wake up, shower, grab a book, then lie in a hammock and read. All of this is easy to imagine, because I know the perfect place even though I can't go there anymore. A few years ago an old girlfriend and I went to a cabin that her parents owned by a lake in northern Wisconsin and that is where I would escape for a while if I could.

What appealed to me the most was the distinctive shape of the cabin. Unlike most cabins it wasn't square. It wasn't even what they call an A frame either. The cabin was a hexagon with a staircase winding along the side of the building. Another unique element was an old barber chair on the second floor. Why it was there I have no idea. It certainly added to the character of the cabin by giving the decor a somewhat whimsical if not slightly disturbing quality. Barber chairs really aren't that comfortable and evoke some torture images in my mind. Maybe I watched the film Brazil by Terry Gilliam a few too many times.

They used the cabin primarily as a vacation spot, but it could easily have been a year round residence. I think that they said the previous owner did live there on a year round basis. The kitchen and plumbing facilities were very modern and so was the heating. If I owned the property I would make a few minor changes, but for the most part it was an ideal place to relax.

Architecture was not something that I ever considered for a career, but I can appreciate a well designed building. I like rooms that have what I call an organic feel to them as opposed to living in a simple box of a building. For instance rooms that have curved elements in them appeal to me. I find the curved ceiling of my living room to be very inviting. Its like a natural shelter. Another element that I think a house should have is skylights. A person should be able to see the sky even when they are inside. All of this might sound a little strange, but this is coming from someone who thinks that it might be fun to live in a lighthouse for a summer.

Spending a month in a cabin isn't really an original idea. I remember reading how Jack Kerouac did it in his book Dharma Bums. He lived in a fire watch tower for a summer where he was surrounded by nothing but forest and his thoughts. Then there is the far more famous example of living in the woods known as Walden.