Recently for me it's all about change. With "The Capitol DC" moving out, I moved over to the bigger room and so I had to move my stuff that's been gathering dust for the last 2 years. So the last month I've switched departments at work (I had been on FIFA for the last 2 years), moved to another building at work, switched rooms at home, bought a tv, and cleaned house on my stuff. I've got bags of clothes to donate, books and magazines that I've thrown out, toys to give away, gifts to give, pictures to take down, and furniture to throw out.

In the process I think I've realized that I really don't need that much stuff, and for me, keeping stuff is a way of remembering the past. I have t-shirts from past experiences, cd's from places I've traveled, maps from around the world, artifacts and gifts from all my travels, magazines that I've kept since college for inspiration, and I'm beginning to throw them all out. It's almost like throwing memories and experiences out for the sake of not living in the past. So gone are my mandarin textbooks from Taiwan, tour guides and books from Zurich, toys from thailand, soccer jerseys from Asia, I'm giving or throwing them away.

Maybe this is how I deal with painful times. Maybe this is also why girls get a new haircut when they break up with someone, or leave for a new city or buy a new wardrobe. But the more I throw out, the more I feel relieved, like there's less of a burden, a burden to remember. I guess I can just relive all my memories in my head instead of collecting little things here and there to remind me of the past. And if my memory fails me, then I guess that's the way it should be.