Date: 2005-01-29
To: Tomorrow is moving day!!!
Miles today: 0.0

44 days until March 14th...Just about everything in my apartment is packed and I begin moving my belongings to my storage space tomorrow. The more I've had to pack, I've found my attachment to certain belongings quickly diminishing. I can be quite the packrat, which seems to run in my blood. While packing, I went through a specifc sorting phase:1. Do I need it? If so, pack it away.2. If not, will I use it again in the near future? If an answer doesn't come immediately, it goes in the discard pile.3. If I don't need it and won't use it again in the near future, does it have a strong sentimental value?4. If yes, then keep it. Otherwise, discard!This process saw me throwing out items that I'd kept for far too long. I threw out homework assignments from college and high school, greeting cards from various occasions over the years, as well as atm receipts and bank statements (from accounts I haven't had since 1994). As I look around my apartment at the packed boxes, I realize that what I have left over is various pieces of electronic equipment, books, sports equipment, and furniture. Happily, these are the only items that I really care to have.There are a few fringe items, such as plush animals I've had since I was a toddler and trick playing card decks from my teens, but those have sentimental value too strong to overcome at this time. I'd really like to part with some of my old video game systems, especially since I haven't used them in many years. If they don't fit in my storage space tomorrow, I'll take it as a sign that it's time to let them go. I could eBay them for a low price and then somebody who wanted them would get them.As a result of being in my apartment for over 6 years, I've accumulated a few items that I never really needed. This reminds me of a comment from a girl I dated in the summer of 2001. She noted that there are too many coffee mugs in the world. Specifically, that there is a coffee mug made for almost every occasion by almost every organization. I've observed that coffee mugs are almost a permanent business card, as they tend to collect in the cupboard. It somewhat seems that this is a brilliant marketing strategy to obtain a semi-permanent foothold in the household with the side benefit of continued advertising presence. How many coffee mugs does one need? I'm parting with more than 10 coffee mugs, all of which have advertising on them. I can't even remember where I got them, though I do know that I didn't pay for them. The mugs I'm keeping are plain black, with the exception of my Winnie the Pooh mug. During my sorting process, my biggest challenge to overcome was the urge to hold onto something with the thought that somebody might be able to use it someday. Well, I'm donating all of my discards to the Salvation Army, so hopefully they'll sell it at a reasonable price and that will help out somebody that needs it.Speaking of helping out, Thank you so much to MotherGoose and James Kinney. Both have made contributions to my MS Walk fund and, together, they've helped me to reach the 10% mark of my fundraising goal. I usually check my e-mail before I leave for work and when I saw their contributions (each on different days), I was floored. Needless to say, their contributions really made my day as I headed off to work.One last item for today - Now that I've got almost everything packed, I've moved all of my hiking gear into one space and it doesn't look like much. I consider this very good, at least with regards to placing it all in my pack. I've strived to keep to the basics, even though that backpack espresso bar looks mighty tempting. With everything in one place, it'll make my gear list easier to compile.