My shelf, my self

Im hesitant about making a proper profile in Blogger - I know its a bit strange to write down happenings in my life, my crafts and my thoughts in these posts and not just give a brief overview of myself in a profile section, but I just feel a bit 'safer' somehow that way. Maybe thats just me. Anyways, after my earlier post regarding arranging things by colour, I rearranged the bookshelf in my bedroom. I have more books than this in various places around the house (the coffee table, another smaller shelf for big hardcovers, text and work books in the study...), but the majority of my novels are on this shelf. So I was looking at my bookshelf last night and I thought how much the books and objects on this shelf show the type of people Lak and I are. So as an indirect profile, here is an overview of my shelf/myself.

I will pick out special things that say something about me and my life, although now that I look at it there are so many meaningful things on this little bookshelf that this could end up being a really long post! :) So if you'll bear with me, Ill explain things from the top down, left to right:

• Out my bedroom window there is a view to Wollongong Harbour and around to South Beach. I love my little apartment, the only thing I would change would be for it to be in Sydney instead of Wollongong!
• My lemon box, which I want to give as a special gift but secretly I dont want to part with
• A photo of my best friend Pete and I on her wedding day, in the frame she gave me for my 21st birthday
• A chinese seal/stamp kit given to me by our amazing friend Mimi
• The sock monkeys Winston and Benjamin
• Collection of Dan Brown books. I read the Da Vinci Code from cover to cover in 2 days - it is a fantastic book. I love ancient mysteries, secret passages and clever puzzles.
• (Purple section) Backyard Blitz book, one of my favourite shows. Im a sucker for makeover shows of any kind (Queer Eye, Changing Rooms, What Not to Wear...)
• (White section) Stack of books all written by Oliver Sacks. When I was at school, my aim in life was to be either a neurologist or a graphic designer, and I ended up a graphic designer. I had grand plans to study at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York where Oliver Sacks teaches. I still wonder what my life would be like now if I had taken that path - I might not have met Lak, I might be still living overseas, I might have been hurt in 9/11, so many things could be completely different. Im definitely happy where I have ended up though.
• On top of the stack of Oliver Sacks books is the princess crown Lak got for me to wear at my birthday/ New Years Eve last year at Cockle Bay Wharf on Darling Harbour. He also got me a pavlova cake, my favourite.
• Next to the crown is a kiwi I got Lak on my first overseas business trip to New Zealand
• Semipermanent 2003 book, from the graphic design conference. Conferences like Semipermanent confound me - the speakers are always amazingly inspiring and down to earth, but the attendees are all a uber-trendy and aloof.
• 'When Dining With Tigers' book, written by our friend Brad's dad, Frank Chan Loh
• Lak's 'Guiness Book of Cricket Facts & Figures'. He's Sri Lankan, so he's all about cricket.
• (Yellow section) Small chicken, on top of 'The Beach' by Alex Garland - this book is concrete proof that the book is always better than the movie, its one of the best books Ive read. I bought it second hand for about $2.
• 'Design Literacy' by Steven Heller, the bible for graphic designers
• Lak's 'Guiness Book of World Records' 2005 (theres also an earlier one in the green section). Lak loves trivia, this is about the only book he reads from cover to cover.
• (Black section) Englebert the crow, next to 'No Logo' by Naomi Klein, a highly interesting read on its own, and particularly relevant for designers
• (Blue section) Lak's thesis on MPEG4, and a few books over, 'More Than A Hero' by Hana Ali which Lak loves to read (he's a huge Muhammad Ali fan)
• Gus the crochet elephant, just near Stitch. It sounds a bit crazy (philosophy from a cartoon character?), but we love Stitch's idea of ohana, and I try to keep a hold of that idea when things with my family are not 100%.
• (Green section) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Ive always loved english and writing. I studied the Sonnets at school for english, as well as making a set of postcards based on them for my art major project.
• And finally, to the right of the shelf, The Monkey. I got him for Lak for Valentines Day because whenever I ask him what he would like for a present, he says without hesitation "Monkey." So now he has one :)