i've finally made the decision: Project Recalibration has begun.

for the past several days, you'd have thought Dance Party USA was going to pull up at any minute and have their way with my living room. for months [years?] i've been thinking that i should really -- no, really! -- shampoo the carpet here, you know, like, sometime because, well, i guess it would be a good idea, right? oh, and also to eliminate the faint smell of what might possibly be some sort of animal pee from a small quadrant of the carpet [thanks, prior tenants!]. so i finally borrowed a friend's steam vac and my living room is hoover fresh -- and all of my furniture is now scattered to the outer edges of the 15' x 12' space. sort of creepy, actually. so after a few days of bumped shins and manueverability issues, today was the day i needed to decide: do i, or do i not, want to rearrange this living room that has remained virtually unchanged for over three and a half years? [note to new readers: I AM RESISTANT TO CHANGE OF MOST ANY KIND.] the biggest obstacle was going to be the tangle of wires and electricity known as My TV 'n Stuff. egad. is this something i really wanted to undertake?

the current carnage of audio/visual equipment scattered across the dance floor is appalling. if this new floor plan doesn't pan out, i'm gonna be so pissed.