Buried treasure

We go through a lot of paper in my office, as our primary output is large financial reports and supporting documentation. As a result, our office recycling bins are kept pretty full of paper, and it's not unusual to see a delivery person dropping over several cases of copy paper in our supply room. It's not genuine typing paper, but as there's an ample free supply, I have been helping myself to the castoffs for the past few months, since the typewriter affliction first struck. In that short time, I've accumulated several hundred sheets of used-on-one-side castoffs, more than enough for my typecasting and multiple drafts of Nano novels, plus enough to keep me in a supply of paper hats and origami cranes for years.

I found a Large Steel Box of mysterious heritage at the thrift store (yes, I live there) that seemed perfectly suited for the task of holding these cast-offs. A large, steel box with a hinged lid, a bright red "BM*T PAPER" decal on the front. PAPER it says, and so PAPER it holds, sitting snugly at my feet under my desk like a small dog. A few of my coworkers have learned of my typer obsession -- hard to ignore the clicking and dinging -- and have even taken to leaving me little bundles of blank sheets in my mailbox, or sitting on my desk. A neat white offering for the treasure chest.

This isn't really intended to be a green eco-hugger-type post; I'm collecting the paper out of cheapness, and to prevent the pangs of wanting to find real typing paper elsewhere. I am actually excited about my collection, as it is a box full of potential. Since it's scrap, I don't feel like I need to fill it with worldly pronouncements (ha!) or Great Art (ha ha!) but can grab a few sheets, load them up, and just type.

Update: photo of "the vault" now on flickr.