-%define GRID ORG + 512 ; current cell grid (80 * 25 bytes)
-%define NEXT_GRID GRID + COLS * ROWS ; next cell grid (80 * 25 bytes)
-%define XSS NEXT_GRID + COLS * ROWS ; xs() state
+; constants -------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+%define COLS 80
+%define ROWS 25
+%define VGAPGSZ (COLS * ROWS * 2)
+
+; memory layout ---------------------------------------------------------------
+
+%define ORG 0x7c00
+%define VGA 0xb8000
+%define DAT ORG + 512
+
+; static variables ------------------------------------------------------------
+
+%define xss DAT ; xs() state (word)
+%define currvgapg DAT + 2 ; current vga page near pointer (word)
+
+; =============================================================================