13 days to go, so it’s time to start thinking about packing. But if you’re the type that likes to seriously overthink your packing, you started about a month ago. You might have even put together a mind-blowing multimedia presentation to show people what you’re taking. Like this one:
In case you missed that:
You can click on the image above to view it in Flickr, and see what all this junk is.
As of this posting, I am officially moving out of my house. The walls are bare, the living room is in boxes, and the bathroom contains, literally, shampoo, conditioner and a toothbrush. At the moment I’ve retreated into my bedroom, which is still relatively intact, and am trying to convince myself that just because I am moving out of a house and into a backpack, I will not be entirely homeless.
Cozy, isn't it?
Giving up my house (permanently) and my cats (temporarily) is turning out to be really tough for me. I’ve been lucky to live in a wonderful little cottage near Wash Park for the past 3 years, and I’ve grown quite attached to all its little nooks and crannies. This is the house I moved into because I was sick of moving around, the house that fit like a glove from the day i moved in. It’s the place I’ve lived the longest since I left home for college, and in 9 days, it will belong to some guy and his chocolate lab. By that time, I probably won’t care, but tonight, I feel like I’m in an earthquake.
It’s worth mentioning that I HATE when people use the dictionary as a jumping off point when approaching a topic because they can’t think pf anything better, but in this particular case, I think it’s relevant. Looking up ‘adventure’ yields more than a dozen definitions, and all of them mention things like boldness, daring, excitement, and danger. A little discomfort, it seems, is par for the course.
Can I pull it together and get my life into a bunch of boxes in the next few days? Of course I can, and I will. I suspect that once that’s done, my remaining trip prep will feel pretty mild by comparison. In the meantime, though, I’m calling it a day. For one more night, I will sleep in my own bed, with its soft, old sheets and the purple velvet duvet that I love. I will eat egg drop soup and play laser pointer games with my cats until they get tired. I will think of all the the good times I’ve had in this place, and tomorrow, I will take a deep breath and leave it behind,so the adventure can begin.
Tuesday morning, and 35 days to go!
Last night I stayed up terrifically late watching this show about a couple buying their first house. The wife was horrid, and every few minutes, a graphic would pop up on the screen detailing her preferences and “must haves” in neat little rows. Her dopey husband did everything short of pounding his chest to show what a good provider he was, and their 1 year old daughter just had to have a bay window in her room.
Why am I telling you this? Because it got me thinking about how few of the things we “must have” are actually necessary at all. I thought about families around the world living in tiny apartments, overcrowded tenements, or nowhere at all, and wished that a few dollars from every bay-windowed nursery sale got kicked their way.
When they started talking about square footage and how “there’s no such thing as too much space”, I looked across the room at my backpack and found myself grateful for its small size. Compactness has definite appeal when you’re carrying your life on your back, and maybe other times too. The more I think about packing up my house, the less of my stuff I actually want!
(not actually my pack, but close enough)
As I drifted off to sleep, I congratulated myself on my lack of materialism and dismissed HGTV altogether.
And then today I changed my mind. It occurred to me that those people were spending their money on a house because they wanted to have the experience of living in it, and maybe that’s not all that different from us paying for the experience of traveling through Asia. Maybe it’s false to believe that if someone else gets what they want, it hurts everybody else’s chances.
I hope this trip changes me forever. I hope that little girl got her bay window with the sun streaming in. Most of all, though, I hope the world grows into a place where everyone gets their real “must haves”.
As I drifted off to sleep, I congratulated myself on my lack of materialism and dismissed HGTV altogether.
And then today I changed my mind. It occurred to me that those people were spending their money on a house because they wanted to have the experience of living in it, and maybe that’s not all that different from us paying for the experience of traveling through Asia. Maybe it’s false to believe that if someone else gets what they want, it hurts everybody else’s chances.
I hope this trip changes me forever. I hope that little girl got her bay window with the sun streaming in. Most of all, though, I hope the world grows into a place where everyone gets their real “must haves”.