liquidating that pack rat mentality...

i'll forewarn you -- i've written about this topic before... but until now, i've never quite looked at it in this way...

over the past few days, i've begun the dig through my room... rummaging through pay stubs, clothing, keepsakes, photographs, books, cds and knick-knacks... this isn't the first time i've done this -- but it's the first time i've looked at my life's possessions with the thought, "would i take this 5,554 kilometres?"

yes, that really is how far whitehorse is from toronto...

suddenly many items have been downgraded to nothing but pieces of paper... photographs are now neatly stored in either albums or photo boxes... many items have become garage sale worthy... addresses have become more fruitful than letters, as the future becomes the new target, rather than the past... it's still difficult to imagine life without certain seemingly useless items, but airlines only allow you to tow so much...

there are many things i have no choice but to leave behind... mattresses and box springs don't pack so light, and photos in frames are likely to create glass-weaved garments... an ipod saves me from a headache about which music to bring along... in hindsight, dvds seem like an unnecessary purchase... and finally i'll be forced to rid of those stacks of magazines... material things hold less value now -- i'd rather stuff my last few inches of empty luggage space with memories...