Spring Cleaning

I spent a lot of time over the weekend rummaging through my closets... not really for nostalgic purposes, more for practical reasons. (I need to make room for someone else, not to mention her boxes of stylish shoes and well-conceived photographs... and arty magazines and CDs full of big songs.)

I found a few cassettes of me singing songs in New Jersey. Did you know I used to sing in a band with my friend Patrick? He played drums. There were no other instruments, save for the very rare harmonica or outdated ill-played Casio. Did you know that there is a permanent record of me singing Billy Joel's The Longest Time and the Violent Femmes' Add It Up, in a sincere and dynamic fashion?

I found my old glasses. I used to require corrective lenses before my life-changing Lasik surgery in 2001. I'm wearing my glasses right now, with the non-prescription lenses. It helps with the computer glare at the office. I look cool.

I found many clothes that I had no business buying in 1997, 1999, and 2002, much less wearing in 2007. Let's just say that if you happen to be a man of strapping athletic stature and you want to inexpensively pursue a flashier, stripier, silkier look, you should maybe check out a Goodwill store in the greater Hollywood area later this week.

I also found 60 cents in the pocket of some pants I hadn't worn in a year and am wearing now. You'd think it was two quarters and a dime... maybe two quarters and two nickels. Nope. A 50-cent piece and a dime.