The Fortress of Solitude
Oct. 14th, 2008 12:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grim23So, several years ago I was seriously talking to a real estate consultant named Beth that I know about what I wanted in a residence. I quickly whipped out the fantasy specs and the features of my house, and how cool it was gong to be. Size, acreage, house features, blah, blah, blah. She nodded, and wrote it all down. All of that conversation took maybe 5 minutes.
Then she asked me what I wanted emotionally and psychologically in a house, and what would drive me coming back to that place every day after day. I said that I wanted a sanctuary, a place to come home and rest and think, and heal when necessary. I wanted a place to decompress from the emotional and mental crises of my clients, and my own crises, and a place I was not likely to be bothered by uninvited humans. I wanted a place that was a home base that I could store big projects, and work on them at my leisure, without having to move or reorganize them. I wanted a place that was easily defended, and almost inaccessible unless you knew how to get there, but close to work. I wanted a place I could find solace, and quiet, and be a place to be myself, or with Tam. This conversation took over an hour.
The BF actually helped me find the place when I was driving with her and my agent looking at houses. We drove past the place and would have given up, except for her knowing the area. Many people are still not able to find the FoS, even with a map, and good directions. Once I saw the place, it felt right for my needs, and I was able to finance it at the time.
The RWB was close when he suggested Superman's Fortress of Solitude, but incorrect. Actually, I didn't follow Superman very much as a child and adolescent. I took the concept of a sanctuary from Doc Savage, a 1930s and 1940s pulp fiction hero, who had a Fortress of Solitude where he performed scientific research and study, and rest and recovery, when he needed to get away from his life of adventuring. I'd read all of the Doc Savage books by the time I was 13, and he was a man with cool gadgets and great training and amazing adventures who made mistakes and got hurt, but still managed to secretly save the day. *smile* I'm closer to emulating him than some invincible guy in blue tights.
On a related note, the Fortress got some preventative maintenance and winterization this week, with the help of Miss Rebecca. She's sporting clean gutters and lots of cleared and burned brush, and less weeds and garbage, and everything outside has been put away and stored. She still needs a good mow, but the feng shui is much better. I'll likely be wintering there and working on the bus, and then selling or renting out the Fortress when the market is improved, and pulling out on the bus, which has not yet been officially named.
Then she asked me what I wanted emotionally and psychologically in a house, and what would drive me coming back to that place every day after day. I said that I wanted a sanctuary, a place to come home and rest and think, and heal when necessary. I wanted a place to decompress from the emotional and mental crises of my clients, and my own crises, and a place I was not likely to be bothered by uninvited humans. I wanted a place that was a home base that I could store big projects, and work on them at my leisure, without having to move or reorganize them. I wanted a place that was easily defended, and almost inaccessible unless you knew how to get there, but close to work. I wanted a place I could find solace, and quiet, and be a place to be myself, or with Tam. This conversation took over an hour.
The BF actually helped me find the place when I was driving with her and my agent looking at houses. We drove past the place and would have given up, except for her knowing the area. Many people are still not able to find the FoS, even with a map, and good directions. Once I saw the place, it felt right for my needs, and I was able to finance it at the time.
The RWB was close when he suggested Superman's Fortress of Solitude, but incorrect. Actually, I didn't follow Superman very much as a child and adolescent. I took the concept of a sanctuary from Doc Savage, a 1930s and 1940s pulp fiction hero, who had a Fortress of Solitude where he performed scientific research and study, and rest and recovery, when he needed to get away from his life of adventuring. I'd read all of the Doc Savage books by the time I was 13, and he was a man with cool gadgets and great training and amazing adventures who made mistakes and got hurt, but still managed to secretly save the day. *smile* I'm closer to emulating him than some invincible guy in blue tights.
On a related note, the Fortress got some preventative maintenance and winterization this week, with the help of Miss Rebecca. She's sporting clean gutters and lots of cleared and burned brush, and less weeds and garbage, and everything outside has been put away and stored. She still needs a good mow, but the feng shui is much better. I'll likely be wintering there and working on the bus, and then selling or renting out the Fortress when the market is improved, and pulling out on the bus, which has not yet been officially named.
