A Place for Your Stuff

Whenever I think of moving (or hear of friends who are moving), I always think about George Carlin's bit "A Place for your Stuff". If you haven't heard it or read it, it's basically Carlin ranting about how our stuff practically rules our lives. I can't quote him right now because my copy of his book "Brain Droppings" where it's printed out is currently in a pile of my "stuff" in a container making it's way across the Pacific Ocean. But I do remember him saying, "Think about your house. All it is is a big pile of stuff with a cover on it."

I can't believe I fit all that "stuff" in a twenty foot container. I had the container for a week and had to practically load it by myself. Only on a few heavy furniture items did I have to call for Susan's help. You may ask why Susan didn't help and the answer is a 19 month old child. Someone had to keep him from running out the door every time I opened it to take a box of "stuff" out to the container. I can't believe we have so much "stuff". Moving house really makes you realize how much crap you have. I highly recommend you never ever move if you can avoid it. Moving sucks. But I'm sure you most of you already know that.

What's shocking is that we really aren't bringing that much furniture over to California. We sold our couch and love seat. Dining room table and chairs are gone. All that's coming with us are a few dressers, our bed, Dylan's crib, and a coffee and two end tables. And yet, I packed that container to the top and the very edge with "stuff". In my defense, it's not all my "stuff". I've also got my in-law's "stuff" and my brother and sister-in-law's "stuff". But make no mistake, a lot of that "stuff" is ours. I don't understand where it all came from.

Truth be told, I'm a sentimental fool. I keep the weirdest "stuff". I've kept a whole bunch of "stuff" from my childhood. Pictures I drew, papers I wrote, etc. Every once in a while (usually when I move, which has been quite frequent the past two years) I go through it all and throw out some of it. But being the sentimental doofus I am, I can't part with most of it. I'm also a collector (or pack-rat as Susan calls it). I collected all sorts of comics and cards and toys from my childhood days. I'm just hoping for that one day when they'll all be worth millions. Of course it won't happen in my lifetime. Maybe in my grandchild's lifetime that X-Force #1 will be worth more than the cover price.

But for now, my "stuff" will remain with me. I'm kinda freaked out to be honest with you. Susan and I have our life in that container. It's weird to think that our life is floating along the Pacific Ocean. What if a hurricane hits? What if it hits an iceberg? What if the captains at Matson decide to strike while they're still at sea? Will my stuff ever get to Cali? Hopefully soon.

I really wanted to post some before and after pictures of the container but like I said, moving sucks and somehow Susan's camera has disappeared. Sadly, we know it's not in the container because we had it with us when we were visiting family on Oahu. We had stuff all over the place and I'm sure it somehow got misplaced (again, that 19 month old may have had something to do with it). So if any of you see a GE camera probably in a sleek blue camera case let me know and you can claim your reward. Just so you know, the reward is a kiss from our dog Snoopy.

Susan is bummed. She loved that camera. And I had some real cute pics of Dylan pulling a bag of towels and sheets down the hallway. Everyone chipped in on the move. Hopefully it'll reappear somewhere. Probably went into that black hole that forms once your child is born. All you parents out there know what I'm talking about.

But anyway, back to the "stuff". As much as you hate packing it and moving it, it doesn't feel like home until it's with you. I know that a lot of it I can do without and that in the end all I need is my family and friends. But whether it's the 3rd grade report I did on "Timber Wolves", my senior year high school yearbook that the guys defiled with swear words, or the pictures of my wedding or Dylan's first year of life, they all have one thing in common, it's my memories and my life. And stuff like that is worth way more than the paper it's printed on and the space it takes up in a house.

And I'm sorry I used so many quotation marks when using the word stuff. I was kinda curious how many times I'd use that word.