“For Sale/Wanted” in Annalemma

I’ve been traveling heavily for the last few weeks, but am very excited to say that Annalemma recently put up an essay of mine. It’s about moving to a new city (Colorado Springs, in this case), selling things on craigslist, and being a little bummed out in the transition.

Fun biographical note: I had an altitude-related sleep disorder that it took about six months to figure out; I wrote “For Sale/Wanted” before I understood the extent to which the sleep issue was affecting my mood. If nothing else, I hope that the piece does justice to my slightly dissociative, sleepwalky state. Here’s a taste:

A few days after I sell the camera, Mike emails to ask about a rolling laptop stand with adjustable height and a tilting platform. The platform has two black plastic guardrails to keep your expensive laptop from crashing to the floor like the dead weight it can be if you’re not working. I am asking fifteen dollars, a bit less than what I paid when I bought the stand at Rite- Aid, when my freelance career was at its peak and I was working from home daily. I have scratched the stand thoroughly.

On the phone, Mike has a dozen questions, since, as he takes care to explain, he can only tell so much from the picture. What are the minimum and maximum heights of the desk? How many of the casters lock? How big are they? Can I describe the mechanism that allows the cantilevered platform to swivel? What’s the platform made of? Is it cherry?

I say, “Good eye. I think it’s a composite stained to look like cherry.”