I’ll show you mine. one

So let's start with where I usually sit to watch tv and listen to music. I spend a lot of time in this part of my space, especially now that we are sheltering in place. It's a collection of things that mean something to me and that I have accumulated through the years and that come from many different sources. This space came to be because one of my gurrlz gave me a (leather?) sofa and I built this 'room' around it. Remember this is not a conventional living space, so I defined the areas by their use. I imagine this would be the 'media room' or the 'tv room' in a conventional house. There's nothing conventional about it, of course. Starting with the two beer boxes that are supposed to be the table where I keep the remotes and some DVDs. Those belonged to my one friend's and I basically told him I needed them. I saw that same box in a thrift store in Milwaukee and as soon as this pandemic is under control I'm making a trip to see if I can get it. I'm silly like that.

I tend to cherish little things that have been given to me and place them around me to look at them. They remind me of moments and people in my life. Take for example that little glass flying pig and that bird. They were in an RV that I helped drive to Texas. They belonged to my one friend's mom and she gave them to me. I love them! The glass perfume bottle was another gift. I admired it and boom! It was mine. I've had it for like, ten years. The paperweight came from the Art Institute. I got it as a gift, too. I could not get over how pretty the paperweight collection at the AI was and have visited it several times. My friend, who collects paperweights gave this one to me for my Bday or Valentine's or Xmas. I cannot remember. It's very pretty and the heart is made up of tiny roses.

I like flowers but they're expensive and I have not bought any since the beginning of the year, so I decided a dried arrangement would be a good replacement. The candle was a gift, too (there's a tons of gifts in my place!). It's handmade and it smells delicious. The books were also gifts. One of my co-workers knew that I like Ann Rice and gave me hardcovers of several of her books. The woman in the photo is my mum. I know they took the pic when she was very young, but that's about it. I have no idea of how young. Also, that's one of the few pics I have of her. The frame was handmade by one of my exes, customized to fit that picture. Don't get fooled by the Buddha in the background. I am not that self-reflexive. I wish I were. It's a wood carving that was a gift from a friend, along with the embroidered little cloth on which it rests and the Tibetan little rug on which it sits. My friend is a Buddhist and bought that for me in one of his trips.

Same with these other figurines. One is Shiva, who I think it's one of those super cool deities with tons of charm and danger and this representation I think encapsulates what he really is. It was a gift from a friend. We saw an original, ten-inch tall Hindu sculpture of dancing Shiva once in the Cleveland museum and I had to go and read on Shiva right away. I am fascinated by him and I think he's cooler than Brahma or Vishnu. More dangerous, too. The bronze figurine on the right was another gift from an ex. He brought it from one of his trips toThailand and I treasure it. It's some sort of angel and it's very heavy. That Pickwick and Co. box has a candle inside. When I light it it perfumes the whole place. It was a birthday gift from many years ago. Ron, the guy who gave it to me had the most fascinating stories to tell. He grew up in Chicago and lived through the AIDS crisis of the late seventies and early eighties. He could tell the greatest stories about those times and knew all the cruising spots around the city. He passed away two years ago. Pancreatic cancer. And nowadays I seldom light that candle. I will keep it as long as I can. It reminds me of him and his stories.

As most of the artwork I have, these four came from different times in my life. The Body Double poster is from an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art. We got to meet some of the artists who were showing that day and we ended up doing the tour with one of the artists who created the guides. I should have asked them to sign it but I was too shy. I know. Who knew?
The two similar posters are from the New York Museum. We went to NY to meet my friend and his husband who were coming from Madrid and we spent a long weekend there. I got these prints by chance, because I was talking to a lady who was giving me directions to the Museum of Sex (as one does) and she turned out to be the museum store's manager. I told her I loved museums and she grabbed those two prints and gave them to me. The secret charm of being geeky.
Ah, the Obama poster. When Obama was running for president for the first time, I went to a talk offered by the Democrat student body at the University of Akron. They were talking about this senator from Illinois who was running for president and they were giving away this poster. I thought the message was super cool and that the poster was awesome. It was shelved for years and then I framed it and put it up. Now it's a conversation piece that brings memories of the good old times, when there was an adult in the White House. 

Ha! My record collection. I told you that I got into vinyl and that I used to go crate digging a lot. I have not bought many this year, because I like to go to the record stores and choose and pick. Buying records online is boring. I also have seven inches, but they are in little containers. You can see some I have yet to categorize on the bottom. The turntable was in one of my friend's mom's basement for years and he found it and gave it to me. The sound system looks tiny but it can pack a punch. I basically stole it from a friend who had it in his closet collecting dust. When he comes over, I play Aerosmith for him full volume. It's crazy.

The artwork were gifts, too. The painting on the left is an oil on canvas and the artist is a Russian lady who lived in the Chicago suburbs. I love the colors and the man reminds me of someone that I used to know. The flowers are watercolor on paper and they were painted by one of my exe's aunt many years ago. I got to meet her and she signed it. The two pieces on the bottom were made by my Gurrl's nephew when he was in kindergarten. He gave them to me and I framed them. Just because.

Oh. These photos. I dated a boy many, many years ago while I was living in Pittsburgh and going to UPitt. He's one of the sweetest men I know, very talented and a whiz with computers. He turned out to take on photography and started taking photos of everything. Those photos are from the Phipp's Conservatory, I think. I told him I loved orchids and roses and I guess he remembered it. Those were some of the first photos he took with one of his new cameras and he sent them to me. I printed them and hung them up on my wall. I have moved several times but they always stay with me. They cheer me up. The chairs were thrifted and I got them for $15. There's porn in that carton box and those are Stephen King novels that I've been trying to finish since last summer.

And that's the tour. I think I feel a little exposed but I also think that now you know that I like things other than handsome naked men. Hope you enjoyed it...

XOXO