I have several freecyclers stopping by today to pick up various things that I have found around my apartment and no longer have any use for, like VHS tapes and 35 mm film. It is a wonderful feeling to know that they will go to someone who can use them and an even more wonderful feeling to know that, however small their size or slight their weight, I will not have to see, pack, carry or ship them ever again.
Similarly, I've been giving out a few things around the office, so far mostly Kinder Surprise toys accumulated from my previous travels. There is general agreement among my co-workers that the Kinder Surprise engineers are geniuses of their trade. If you don't believe me, you design a super-hero-chasing-a-super-villain-over-NYC toy that will disassemble and fit into a plastic egg about 1 1/2 inches long.
Two other things that will be leaving my apartment today are a library book - Bill Bryson's Notes From a Small Island, which I enjoyed, but don't think is his best work - and a check for a library book.
I spent some extra time at my parents' house this Thanksgiving, partially so that I could begin the process of minimizing my possessions there. I spent lots of quality time with my mom's paper shredder, and you will all be thrilled to know that I've finally gotten rid of my last pay stub from 1998.
Anyway, on Thanksgiving day, I had been reading a library copy of Watching the English when Mom's extended family arrived for Thanksgiving dinner. One of the guests was Mom's youngest brother who has Down Syndrome, and who has also recently spent a bit of time shredding paper. We were unaware of this new past-time until we saw one of my parents' fold-out maps being slowly reduced to a width and length suitable for sticking into a back pants pocket. (Upon reflection, this might be a very convenient size, if it didn't mean the loss of most of the information which makes a map valuable.)
After dinner, as my relatives were preparing to leave, we found a solitary page with a library bar code stuck to the top. I retrieved Watching the English from the living room coffee table, and found, to my dismay, that it now began on page 27. After much insistence by the rest of the assembled family, my uncle was persuaded to turn over pages 1 - 26.
And the library wants a check instead of its book back.
So despite my efforts to reduce the number of my possessions, it looks like I'm still managing to accumulate some things here and there.
At some point, I may write more about my Thanksgiving trip, but for the moment, I will simply say, that whatever material things may come or go over the next few months, I have accumulated a huge store of my family's love, support and excitement for my future in the UK. It's easy to pack, costs nothing to ship and can be replaced with a phone call to the right people. And those qualities alone make it worth immeasurably more than any material thing I could ever get or give away.
~~~ LeAn
Similarly, I've been giving out a few things around the office, so far mostly Kinder Surprise toys accumulated from my previous travels. There is general agreement among my co-workers that the Kinder Surprise engineers are geniuses of their trade. If you don't believe me, you design a super-hero-chasing-a-super-villain-over-NYC toy that will disassemble and fit into a plastic egg about 1 1/2 inches long.
Two other things that will be leaving my apartment today are a library book - Bill Bryson's Notes From a Small Island, which I enjoyed, but don't think is his best work - and a check for a library book.I spent some extra time at my parents' house this Thanksgiving, partially so that I could begin the process of minimizing my possessions there. I spent lots of quality time with my mom's paper shredder, and you will all be thrilled to know that I've finally gotten rid of my last pay stub from 1998.
Anyway, on Thanksgiving day, I had been reading a library copy of Watching the English when Mom's extended family arrived for Thanksgiving dinner. One of the guests was Mom's youngest brother who has Down Syndrome, and who has also recently spent a bit of time shredding paper. We were unaware of this new past-time until we saw one of my parents' fold-out maps being slowly reduced to a width and length suitable for sticking into a back pants pocket. (Upon reflection, this might be a very convenient size, if it didn't mean the loss of most of the information which makes a map valuable.)
After dinner, as my relatives were preparing to leave, we found a solitary page with a library bar code stuck to the top. I retrieved Watching the English from the living room coffee table, and found, to my dismay, that it now began on page 27. After much insistence by the rest of the assembled family, my uncle was persuaded to turn over pages 1 - 26.
And the library wants a check instead of its book back.
So despite my efforts to reduce the number of my possessions, it looks like I'm still managing to accumulate some things here and there.
At some point, I may write more about my Thanksgiving trip, but for the moment, I will simply say, that whatever material things may come or go over the next few months, I have accumulated a huge store of my family's love, support and excitement for my future in the UK. It's easy to pack, costs nothing to ship and can be replaced with a phone call to the right people. And those qualities alone make it worth immeasurably more than any material thing I could ever get or give away.
~~~ LeAn
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