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May 19, 2012

Vacation from Things

I'm taking my first vacation since 2004. That's entirely too long. The leadup to the trip was pretty intense, too: I contracted bronchitis and pink eye, and was sick and exhausted during the few days that I had to pack up an entire 2,000 square foot house into two tiny moving pods.

Moving convinced me that I have entirely too much stuff. Living in our huge house for four years allowed me to accumulate a lot of stuff: outdoor gear, electronics gear, clothing, brewing supplies, tools and other accoutrements of home repair. It was a disturbing experience, one that reminded me of cleaning out my great-grandfather's house after he died (being four or five years old I didn't help much, but I do remember a bit of the enormity of closets full of everything imaginable).

From this day forth I am instituting a policy of buy and toss: for every new 'thing,' I get, I have to jettison things of equal or larger size and mass (whichever is larger). I plan to buy a shiny new motorcycle at some point this summer, which is going to mean tossing a lot of stuff. It's a healthy policy, I think. Laura and I won't have children to clean up after us when we're dead and gone, and moving around while we're alive should be a fun experience, not a stressful one.

I'm still a little uneasy with the nomadic lifestyle after staying put for the last few years. Here is hoping that it gets better, and that a few weeks away from the continental US will fix me up.

In happier news, Laura graduated from WSU! She received her PhD in Molecular Plant Science after a five-year stint as a research indentured servant. Graduating is what prompted us to move. I was rather happy that our house sold so quickly. We had to price it quite low, but it was better than sitting on it for months in my opinion. We're on to Hawaii for a spell, and then Portland for the rest of the summer. That part should be relaxing, indeed!

I was in Portland half the summer but only bothered to check this blog after I came back home! Congratulate Laura for me on graduating, glad you guys are rejoining civilized parts finally.

Posted by: MK on September 1, 2012 1:05 AM
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