If a bomb was to go off in the hallway. . .

. . . I would be safe. My doorway is currently blocked by a barricade of full extra large garbage bags. Nothing short of an a-bomb will put a dent in that pile.

Now that I have guaranteed I will be working downtown for the foreseeable future, I've decided it's time to finally get off my ass and move somewhere closer/more interesting/less rundown. I put my two months notice in with the corporation that own the building and I have started the search for new digs.

While I will likely buy a condo somewhere eventually, I am looking to rent a place close to downtown for a while. I want to experience a downtown life that isn't bookended by hour-long subway and bus jaunts. I want to live near a neighbourhood bar again. I want to see more plays and bands and readings and all the things I pass on now because they are such a hassle to get to.

To make things easier when the time comes to move, I am reducing the amount of stuff in my apartment. Hence the garbage bags. I never really realized how much of a pack rat I was until today.

The books and cds, I can understand. While I have put a small dent in my library lately by donating two big plastic bins of books to the Barrie Public Library (most of them wound up in circulation, apparently), I will always have way too many books and cds. It's just who I am.

What I cannot explain is why I still have:
- games for Windows 95 computers
- worn out work clothes for a job I will likely never work again
- 10 chess sets of various styles and sizes (I'm parting with 6. I will explain why I still want 4 at some future date.)
- a Winnipeg souvenir spoon
- a game boy advance when I also have a DS
- a backgammon set with a "Chess Players Mate Better" bumper sticker on the side
- 2 sets of bedsheets I will never use again

The list goes on to include plenty of papers, trinkets and gizmos I will never need and, frankly, had not thought of in years.

I'm glad to be doing this. It's a hassle I have put off for way too long. Much like when I downsized my library, though, I find that it gets easier as you go. Once I start, it becomes a game to see how much I can get rid of. When I got rid of the books, I wound up slipping in some books that I really was not planning on parting with, simply because I wanted someone else to have the chance to enjoy them as much as I did.

I can't say today's cull has been quite as high-minded or quixotic, but I am feeling better already. The weight of my possessions had become too much. It's an odd notion, but it's true. I knew for a while I had lots of stuff I no longer needed but I could not bring myself to act because the job just seemed so large. It was easier to ignore it.

Well, it's time to get back to the bedroom. I'm through the worst of it, I think. With the new job and everything, I'm not going to have much time to move. Doing this stuff in advance should make things much easier.