the things we leave behind

quick apology for the downer of a blog! my previous post started out good then it turned into a full-on, hate propaganda for the philippines...i guess i just wasn't in a good mood for a few days. anyway, my vacation was good. that's all i will say but it was also tiring. actually, the whole last month has just been tiring. changing jobs, moving house, holidays, friends leaving...it's all over. the old saying is true, it never rains, it pours. i felt sopping wet all last month and only now am i starting to dry out....ok, enough with the water metaphor, on with the blog...

have had this week off to get settled...finished most of the unpacking in the first two days, but it was a mess and a half to sort through...boxes of everything imaginable. it's astounding how much detritus we bring into our homes. i mean, do i really need a pair of overstuffed, mickey mouse-style glove? answer: no, i do not need a pair of overstuffed, mickey mouse-styles gloves...no one does...except possibly mickey himself.

the chaos was everywhere...where to begin? i would open one box, and cart it off to the room where its' contents belonged, and instantly become distracted by another project. most of monday was spent moving the already moved boxes.

tuesday was more productive...i started to set things up. it was nice to get all my things in their new places.

amazed though i am, about the things i keep, what shocks me even more is the things we leave behind. i like my things, but they are just that...things. they can be replaced. i try to go through my belongings about every 6 months to see what can be gotten rid of...my family suffers from a severe case of packrat-itis and i don't want to come down with it. some of the things left behind were of the everyday, garden-variety we all leave behind....crockery, books we haven't read, dry goods and oodles of coathangers. some of the more surprising things were like 150 DVD's, jewellery, and a washing machine...bonus!!

with all the need in the world, doesn't it seem so excessive that we can just toss away these things? these things that we work so hard for, sometimes sacrificing other necessities, just to be able to afford them? to have them? to possess them? i say, free yourself of these chains my friends! embolden yourself to not be a material goods-monger and choose to live a more spartan existence!!!

yeah right...practice what you preach.

as i said, i do like my things but i've learned that i can do without a lot too. since coming to asia, it's scary to watch how quickly goods are bought and then 6 months later, upgraded for the latest and greatest. taiwan really does embrace a consumer culture and you see it everyday. i have never had so many bits of paper given to me when i buy the smallest of items...bottle of water, phone card, pack of gum...it doesn't matter, you are given a receipt. refusing to take one does nothing, it just goes in the garbage. during the "ghost month" of the lunar calendar, people will just up and throw out nearly-new appliances, furniture and electronics. these actions have religious stigma attached to them, but talk about waste! it's a garage salers' proverbial wet dream.

i do have a few things i seem quite attached to. a personal belonging which is of incalculable value to me is a baby quilt my grandmother made for me. it is as old as i am and still stays with me today. i look at it more of a piece of history from the day i was born, but it also has sentimental attachment. plus it has magical powers. that would have to be the only thing i would really miss if it were lost or destroyed. amongst the shallower things in life, i do really like my ipod. it has brought me hours of musical bliss and i would be remiss if i said i wouldn't notice its' absence. also, my mobile phone is, for lack of a better term, svelte. i bought this phone out of sheer sex appeal and i still really like the way it looks. the last item on my list would definetely be my camera...i have it with me at all times, ready to snap another art-gallery quality photo. once again, also i would be put out about the loss of these things, i wouldn't miss them for long...they are just things.

plus, i can always upgrade :)