Feel Good Friday - Desk-orations!

[Kythera]

I’m sure many of us spend a lot of time at our desks for work, whether we work from home or in an office. We probably spend more time there than most other places! So it makes sense to add pictures and personal items to make our time there, well, feel good. ^_^

What decorations, pictures, toys, fidgets, or other widgets do you keep on your desk? Do they have a story? Do they keep you motivated? Do they help you focus? Share a photo of your favorite desk widget (or your desk, if you’re comfortable with that--and photos don’t break any workplace or Community Forum rules)!

[Christine Yory]

I'm sure some folks can relate. I bought this for Christmas for some of our team just as a fun way to get through a difficult project. Here is my version for this week.

[Kythera]

OOF. Boy, do I relate! This is one of those things that's really cute, but actually calling it cute feels a little awkward. 😅

[Amanda Barber]

Similar! My boss sent these out to my team as a bit of a joke at Christmas time. 

[Billy Poggi AUG NOVA_ DC]

Is this a good time to bring up my Lego collection...?  

It's not an addiction, I can stop buying more Lego minifigs at any time... 

Really, anything that makes me smile or keeps my hands busy during a _long_ meeting :) 

[Kythera]

I love LEGO! Do you have a favorite minifig or set?

I managed to find the gargoyle blind bag minifig that came out...quite a few years back. I have the LEGO banshees from _Avatar_ on display in one of my cabinets. I managed to snag the Tree of Souls set on sale, but I haven't had time (or space) to build it yet.

[Kythera]

My own entry!

This is the shelf over my desktop computer monitor. It's packed with art reference books and a few trinkets.

In this photo: 

• Plushie Weighted Companion Cube, signed by Ellen McLain (voice of GLaDOS from "Portal"). It's one of my favorite video games and the convention where I got to meet Ms McLain and get the autograph was a happy, geeky memory. 
• "Tourmalinated quartz" tower - milky quartz with black tourmaline inclusions. The placement and density of the inclusions and the way the tower is cut make it look like...a pencil! I couldn't resist adding it to my collection.
• A small cluster of "spirit amethyst" crystals. I got them because they're pretty and purple is my favorite color.
• Acrylic standee of my gargoyle mascot, Gary. I keep it there to remind me that it's okay to be proud of (and display) my artwork, and that I've accomplished things my younger self never imagined--like ordering merchandise with my own artwork on it!
• Funko "Soda" Goliath figurine. This was a birthday present from one of my partners. "Gargoyles" is my favorite animated series and I'm obsessed with gargoyles in general. I like to keep this toy right where I can see it because it's from my partner and I smile whenever I see it because I think of her. 💜
• And the books...well...that's just a small part of my library of reference books. The art books live near my computer because most of my art is digital, so it keeps them in arm's reach. 😅

[Amanda Barber]

Tell me about your How to Think When You Draw books! I have a couple of artistic kiddos who might love those!

[Kythera]

@Amanda Barber Oh, those books are really neat! I back them every time the Kickstarter rolls around. They aren't the usual step-by-step how-to-draw books. They're more like collections of bite-sized suggestions for how to think about drawing a thing. What to keep in mind, like how the thing moves, what a thing is made out of, or what the thing is used for. The authors post most of the content online for free (the books are compilations of the stuff they post online): https://theetheringtonbrothers.blogspot.com/p/every-how-to-think-when-you-draw.html 

[Amanda Barber]

Thank you!!

[Kris Klima _K15t_]

I'm not sharing a photo, not today :D 

My XXL gaming pad depicts scenes from the Voynich manuscript which is 'intellectually soothing' for some reason.

And I do enjoy the soft sound of my Tannoy 502 studio monitor speakers. Although they played white noise most of the day today....

[Kythera]

@Kris Klima _K15t_ Ooh, that prompted me to look up the Voynich Manuscript. Neat!! :D

Was the white noise at least intentional? 😅

[Kris Klima _K15t_]

Yes! It helps me to concentrate.

I'm working on a series of articles and remembered how tech writers created printscreens and charts 50 years ago. 

Amazingly, this is STILL an active, up to date, piece of tech doc for MICS. That 'screenshot' hasn't changed in 40 years. Which is why I'm reluctant to 'review pages that were not updated in 6 months' :)