the existential problems of packing

packing up is giving me an existential crisis that i'd rather avoid by writing here. i have a balikbayan box waiting to be filled. i took the first real leap the other night by moving my books into my neighbor ana's library-writing room, where she generously offered me a whole bookshelf. and now, what to do with everything else?



  • college handouts i've been moving with me through the years with the intention of using them as reference material for work (but which i never have)

  • handouts and kits from workshops that hold precious information for maybe research in my MS studies (but that i'll probably never get around to reading again. EVER.)

  • bags and bags and bags of unlabeled negatives (from September 2002-present), photo albums and loose prints (from when i was still willing to spend for printing the whole roll), contact prints (from when i didn't want to spend for printing the whole roll, but photo CDs were still expensive), index prints (from when they still came free with the photo CD), and photo CDs (some of which i haven't transferred to my laptop!)

  • stationery & stickers (some of them dating back to college), pretty notebooks, recycled ribbons and wrappers, art materials, and my bag of emergency gifts

  • bottles of cologne, body spray, perfume, and make-up i've accumulated over the years (i get so many but it takes me so long to use them up)

  • clothes, shoes, bags

  • CDs, VCDs, DVDs and tapes

  • toys and memories (powerpuff dolls, old journals, cards and letters, artwork, gifts, etc.)

which ones do i leave, and which ones do i ship home, and why? tougher than any question in a beauty pageant or qualifying exam. it all depends on where home will be after this summer....


davao is the logical place to leave everything in, of course, because it's my permanent address. but our house has so much junk already. and there's hardly anybody there now. what if it burns down or something? where will that leave me? will i still be me? every time i go home, i can't even keep track of my other stuff there anymore. maybe it's better to find a safe place to store my stuff here in cebu? especially my negatives

Comments

  1. Alistair IsraelMay 3, 2006 at 5:34 AM

    I've moved several times in my whole life. Each time I'm faced with the same dilemna - what to do with your junk - old letters, magazines, handouts, reference materials, movie tickets, postcards, pictures, CDs, etc.

    What if I lose something or leave anything behind?

    Only recently did I begin to understand the wisdom in simply leaving everything behind.

    No, I don't throw them all away. I just leave them behind (in my parents' house). And if they lose it, or if I lose something in the move - so be it.

    You are not defined by what material objects you posses. You are not diminished by what material things you lose.

    ReplyDelete
  2. kaloy bugoyMay 3, 2006 at 6:42 AM

    i've got lots of room!

    ReplyDelete
  3. noel villaflorMay 3, 2006 at 7:35 AM

    packing shet. kabalo ko unsa rating ana tanan bai :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. mikel .May 3, 2006 at 6:05 PM

    hehehehehe... thats a good one!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jemi AquinoMay 3, 2006 at 6:41 PM

    ah! the answer is faith.

    like you, i've been moving house all my life, and the only thing i can do is leave my memory boxes and pray, every now and then, that the patron saint of mementos will keep my siblings from burning everything down.

    or, you can always buy a house for you to keep everything in. i've been contemplating this since college, actually. so, wanna share the load and be my housemate? =) i won't live in the house, just keep my most prized possessions in it. =)

    HUGS!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ryel sleeps the whole day throughMay 3, 2006 at 8:16 PM

    Make-up is the easiest to throw out since those things do have expiration dates, think germ farm :)

    Paper trails = an afternoon spent at the shredder.

    And.

    Garage sales work wonders too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Farrah LapinidMay 3, 2006 at 8:27 PM

    there's a charity you can donate these to, namely... me. heheh.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Crisanto CayonMay 3, 2006 at 11:12 PM

    Just a recom:
    When you sort, just keep the most important, most memorable of any one item you've had, any one person you've been with, or any one event that you've been in... that way you are sure you have some keepsake of everything even if you've thrown out more boxes than you've packed up for keeping.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ryel sleeps the whole day throughMay 4, 2006 at 1:09 AM

    Tch tch. That means mementos from psycho exes are out :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Jeneen GarciaMay 4, 2006 at 5:06 AM

    actually, that's the idea, and that's what i've done the other times i've moved. except that i don't have a "parents' house" anymore =( nobody to make me feel that my stuff are "at home". you know that feeling of not having a safe, secure place to go back to?

    and yes, of course, i know i'll still be who i am even if everything i possess burns down in an instant...but isn't the grief deepest just before the loss?

    *drama ko, no? yan, yan ang epekto ng 16 units of philosophy and 15 units of theology...*

    ReplyDelete
  11. Jeneen GarciaMay 4, 2006 at 5:17 AM

    wow, so many suggestions =) believe it or not, what i have right now is actually close to the essentials because i also had a major clean-out of shoes, clothes, bags, little objects that take up space, and paper last december. most i gave away to the streetpeople i pass by every morning, others i brought to davao for our yayas, etc.

    make-up: many of them unused and just recently given to me.

    paper trail: being the environmentalist that i am, i simply can't shred any of them (i actually have a collection of scratch paper in every place i stay in). and what about the precious knowledge that they contain?? ack!

    mementoes: i've already disposed of stuff that don't fit into my memory "box" (photo to come out in a later album--it's actually an attache case made of recycled paper).

    garage sale: anyone want to buy handouts? (i'm not willing to part with my stationery and art materials =(

    am i a hopeless case? a prize for anyone with a brilliant suggestion for the photos and negatives....

    ReplyDelete
  12. Farrah LapinidMay 4, 2006 at 7:44 PM

    from a sentimental basurera's point of view: just take them wherever you're going, if you can.

    ReplyDelete

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