Crazy Days, Crazy Nights: Getting Ready To Move.

A busy, tiring day. There are a few things I have to write tonight before I sleep, but it's simply been a crazy day.

The tickets for me to get to LinuxWorld got here today, which started a cascade of events that I've been awaiting. And as usual, nothing happened the way it was supposed to.

Good Morning, Fed Ex

I like the people at Fed Ex. They are dependable around the world, including Trinidad and Tobago. As such, I got a phone call bright and early (ok, maybe not early, but it was bright!) for directions to get to my place. So, without caffeine, I murmured into an electromagnetic device and gave the directions without thinking. Hastily brushing my fangs and defoliating my face, I could have sworn that I saw a yellow bulldozer in the mirror... but I realized that I'm not in that book. But I do know where my towel is.

So the tickets got here, and verily I know I'm on the way. All that has to happen is the odd job of packing what I think is important to me now and in the future to get where I'm going. To the new reader, LinuxWorld is actually a stop in the adventure of my relocation to the Dominican Republic. So when I'm at LinuxWorld, I will not actually have a home, per se. A vagabond; a hitchhiker. Kind of cool, actually. Very freeing. Except... well, except getting to that point.

The Packing

I started packing odds and ends a few days ago - a bit a day - and I think everyone should pack, every year, as if they are going to move. Everything one owns should be able to fit into baggage so that you can carry it around. What you can't carry, you don't keep - and this creates an odd sort of detachment when dealing with physical objects.

The hardest part is over - the books. Deciding which books do not go was a time consuming task, considering that over the years I have collected thousands of books - and each time I have moved, I've left a trail of books. If you check out a book from a library, or purchase books in a used book store, check for my name in the inside cover. If you see my name, email me and let me know what you got. I'm curious.

The books I decide to keep every time I move are always interesting. It's amazing how many books become outdated. It's scarey. They talk about how much money one could save without gambling, without smoking, without drinking... my book budget could probably finance all three of those habits. But the good news is that I've already read those books. One of these days I should compile a list of the books I've read.

Clothing is another interesting thing. How many pairs of worn out (but comfortable) jeans does someone need? How many ripped t-shirts can you possibly keep as 'out in the yard' t-shirts? So there's a bundle of clothing that will go to someplace that collects it.

Then there's the miscellaneous crap that one picks up. The radio that never worked, an award for asking the best questions at an ICT Open Forum here in Trinidad and Tobago - to my nieces. The expired cold medications, flushed. The packs of old magazines, tossed. The outdated software - tossed. Amazing.

It's just amazing what one finds in such packing. And with a time limit of 2 hours a day, it's amazing how fast one can sort through 4 years worth of future luggage.

Family

My Great-Uncle Ram was visiting in South, which meant I had to spend some time with him - not out of duty, but because I honestly like being around him. He's cool in a way that most people half his age will never understand. I hope I'm half as cool when I'm 78.

This of course meant meeting the rest of the family, answering the same questions over and over... but that's just part of life (and not a part I will miss too much). My youngest niece informed me that she will turn 5 soon.

5. I remember when she was just a sparkle in her parent's eyes. She's going to be 5. What's wrong with this space-time continuum? And her sister will be 7! Seven! 7! Relative time. Haha.

Nap Time

I got a lot of reading done today, and I do need to write some things - but I'm beat, and can barely write this sensibly. I'll take a nap. Yeah, a nap. And I'll write it down tomorrow. I promise.