The lair is born

It's hard spending 24/7 in other people's places. Makes it difficult to be true to oneself if you're never in your own habitat.

All my life, I have been dreaming of a space of my own that would be the ultimate in mental comfort for me. Not just a space for my junk, but a distinct area that emanates me and only me in every sense. From the design to the lighting to the furniture to the clutterstuff. A combination of the Batcave, the Fortress of Solitude, Obi-wan's house on Tatooine, Picard's ready room, Inara's shuttle and the really cool offices and cubicles from which a thousand creative souls produced their genuis work.

It is said that this is a common desire on the part of men to have their own room. Some primeval urge to carve out one's own terrain or something. A guys place with deer mounted on the walls, a bar, pool table and lots of English drawing room decor. That is not what I have in mind.

Neither is it an office/den. Or a playroom. Not a pub. Or a home theater. Not a meditation room. But all of those and more.

The rest of the world, irrespective of gender, would just find it bizarre. You might find the movie posters okay, but probably not the Legos or the blue LED lights or the starship models or the video game worship or the primary colors that would be on the walls. I haven't worked out all the particulars yet.

When growing up, I didn't even have my own room until my teen years, and then it was limited in how much I could personalize it. When I went off to college a dog replaced me and got the room and I was back to roommates for at least six years. When I was finally able to buy my own place, all the rooms were taken up by the family and our commingled stuff. But I knew that I was closer. I began to collect bits and pieces of decorations but they were scattered across the house and universally scowled at.

But now the lair, the haunt, the sanctuary, the refuge, the haven, it lives. It has no heat, walls, power outlets, furniture, flooring and only a single light bulb for light. But all of the existing lair items have been assembled in one place. The other stuff has been cleaned out. Over time it will be improved and turned into its ideal.

Long live the lair.