Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Stacking Crate Geometry





This is from my illustrated 2003 journal. It was just before I took the job at Trader Joe's. I was going through a frenzy of housecleaning, for some reason, and was trying to wash even plastic openwork boxes like these, which are almost impossible to keep clean. I was studying mathematics at the time and I wondered how one could compute the surface area of one of these complex structures. In other words, I had too much time on my hands and it was my good fortune that Trader Joe's came along to take up my time in more profitable pursuits. 

I still have these boxes and they are still stacked somewhere, and I am still working at Trader Joe's. I have been living in the same apartment for 18 years and have filled it with so much clutter and packed possessions that it is driving me crazy. Would you like a plastic openwork box or two?


2 comments:

emikk said...

Yeah, I'll take 3.

Pyracantha said...

Emikk, I'd love to get to sunny Santa Cruz someday, but I can't fit into a plastic cargo crate.