how did this tiny pile of empty DVD cases on bleecker st. provide sweet, sweet relief for three human beings last weekend?* it might not mean much to the casual observer, but it actually means the world to me that they are there on the sidewalk and no longer in my tiny, tiny world.
my name is tamara and i live in a 350 sq.ft apartment in greenwich village with mark, my soon-to-be husband and nolan, my eight year old son. yeah. i know! small, right? so, in an effort to protect our sanity, we've assigned functions to different spots in the common area. there's the usual spots like the living room, the dining room and the kitchen. then within these spots, there are several places. like the place for shoes (under the cabinet by the door), the place for coats (piled on a chair by the larter), the place for our scarves and hats (stuffed under the chair that is buckling under our winter coats) and the place for bric-a-brac that has been sentenced for eventual removal.
wait! before you shudder claustrophobically sideways off of your chair over this, i want to let you know that there is more to the apartment than that. well, just to get it out of the way, we DO have a bathroom! in addition to the bathroom, we have a bedroom that collides with the common area. the bedroom itself is spacious and is full of bright light, but is currently a stomping ground for heaps of organized belongings that need to be put into storage. don't worry, we'll get to it the day we move out or something.
ok, you're thinking, why are you doing this to yourselves? i know it's greenwich village - but damn, kids. get a(nother) room!!
let me explain: mark lived in this apartment as a single-guy for two years. during those years, he had a place to put his coffee mug. he had an area in which he could set something down without it being kicked or stepped on accidentally in the night. he had air. then, just as he thought he might be able to continue this zen-lifestyle, my son and i appeared out of nowhere. poor guy had zero time to put up a defense shield and/or twist the deadbolt shut as i had already wedged my foot in the door (after having struggled up the three flights of stairs with my wealth of belongings trailing behind me).
fast forward several months and it's today (hi!). no matter how many zip cars trips we've taken out to our storage unit in brooklyn, our stuff continues to pollenate the place. eventually we threw in the towel (which didn't land because you can't see the floor) and gave up.
