Parting is such sweet sorrow...well...maybe not.

As I have begun organizing and packing all of the items I have been lugging around for the past five or six years (longer in some instances...teddy bear Sparky, I'm talking about you), I have come to realize that I have WAY too much stuff. A lot of it was piled upon me by forces that were out of my control (my mother), but then there are just some things that I have not been able to part with...up until now. It's funny how preparing for a big move to the ends of the earth can prompt one to shed some weight in the belongings department.

As I sort through my clothes, books, and movies, and catalog my furniture, decor, and kitchen gadgets into four piles (pack, chuck, store, sell), I have noticed that tossing items into the 'chuck' and 'sell' piles is an unexpectedly liberating feeling. I've never really thought of sorting as being this cathartic, but it feels good to discard some of these superficial, material, layers of my life.

I will be the first one to say that I have a pretty cute apartment. I may not have top-of-the-line stuff, but I have configured my hand-me-downs and Ross finds into an arrangement that feels homey and looks pretty nice (compared to the living spaces of many of my peers). The thing is, I would never choose most of this stuff for myself. All my furniture was either cheap or free, and it is all in decent shape, but anyone who has spent much time in my apartment knows that I have the MOST uncomfortable couch on record in this world, and perhaps even in other worlds. It is also old and heavy and honestly I can't believe I have moved with it as much as I have.

The couch in question...even Roman looks uncomfortable on it!

The point is, it's really easy to get rid of this stuff because I am now moving on to that new chapter of my life where the next time I furnish my living space, I will be able to afford the kind of furniture I actually like and want. Who cares if I get rid of the stuff now or later -- it's gotta go sometime, so it might as well be now! If anything, this move is just a great excuse to flush out the sandy eyeball of my life and move on, Visine in hand (how often do you get the chance to use THAT metaphor, I ask you?!). There is one thing, however, with which I will be sad to part...

...and that would be this little nugget, my not-so-sweet cheatie, Polly. 

She is an absolute terror, but for some reason I just can't get enough of her vicious fangs and lovely lady lumps. She's the best frenemy I've ever had, but somehow I think she would find Alaska disagreeable. Or, at the least the bears would find HER disagreeable. Either way, I am trying to find her a tranquil new home which will include an option for me to take her back if anything should prevent her new owner from caring for her at any point in the indeterminate future. Because just look at that fuzzy tummy...could YOU say goodbye to that forever? Not that I've ever been able to touch the fuzzy tummy without being seriously maimed, but sometimes that's the price you pay for love.