Reading r_pendragon's journal

That's the weight allowance for the two pieces of luggage I'll be able to check– it doesn't include whatever I carry on. (Which will be a hiking backpack, my laptop, a winter coat and the Fucktard Cat.)

I've known for a long time that that's all I'll be able to take, but getting down to the last two weeks here, it's painful how little of my life I'm going to be able to squeeze on with me.

Part of the problem is books. I'm an obsessive bibliophile, and I brought a ton of books with me when I first came to Japan, and then another ton when I came back after Christmas. Leaving me with the mammoth problem of reducing 2 tons down to 64 kilos.

And then there are clothes, of course, which I can't bear to part with, either. I know I don't need 6 different coats, but they're all so cute....;)

To stop being facetious, mostly the packing has been very thought-provoking, because it involves reducing yourself to what you really need, paring away all the extraneous items to ascertain what the necessities are. I've spent a lot of time weighing items with the idea of "Is this worth lugging home or paying to ship it, or would I be better off just replacing it when I get back?"

It's definitely forcing me to come to terms with my own materialistic consumerism. Perhaps I should consider the whole thing an exercise in self-improvement.

My stepdad isn't mean, he's just adjusting. -Death to Smoochy

This post was edited by r_pendragon on Oct 14, 2004.

That's the weight allowance for the two pieces of luggage I'll be able to check– it doesn't include whatever I carry on. (Which will be a hiking backpack, my laptop, a winter coat and the Fucktard Cat.)

You are lucky, dont you know? Sören-san was not allowed to carry more than 20 kg on his flight back home. The rest of his stuff he has sent via snailmail back to Germany, where 'it propably arrives at Christmas' (translated cite). :D

My suggestion is: the stuff you really, really really reeeeally want to take with you, which is most important to you - put that in your backpack/suit cases. Anything else ship by UPS, FedEx or any other international working fright shipping company ;)

cu, w0lf.

Multiple exclamation marks are a sure sign for a diseased mind!

This post was edited by ginsterbusch on Oct 14, 2004.

You are lucky, dont you know?

True enough– flights into North America/Asia seem to have a much higher weight allowance than flights into Europe. A friend of mine moved to Japan from the U.S. with two massive suitcases, and was horrified about having to reduce down to 20 kilos when she moved to Wales in August.

My suggestion is: the stuff you really, really really reeeeally want to take with you, which is most important to you - put that in your backpack/suit cases. Anything else ship by UPS, FedEx or any other international working fright shipping company

Good advice, and ironically enough, I will be able to ship much more than I had expected (for very, very cheap). My boss, I think partially because I let spill that I know about her extramarital affair, has been tiptoeing around me and my co-workers lately. This has neatly translated into her letting me ship everything from the Air Force base where she lives, which means I will only have to pay U.S. DOMESTIC RATES to ship things all the way from Japan. I think it's going to work out to be about $1 per lb.

Nothing better than sticking it to the government. :)

My stepdad isn't mean, he's just adjusting. -Death to Smoochy

I suggest that when it comes to going through the books, see which paperbacks are easily replaced at your local Barnes and Noble/Waldends/used book store, convert the easily replaced paperbacks into money via shops that buy used books and then crying and screaming at the possibility of loosing some cherrished hard backs or ancient paper backs that you've been toting about for upward of several millinia and...I'm a bibliophile as well.

Good luck with sorting. Shoes are always the worst thing for me to attempt to weed out, when it comes to clothing. Its that constant fear of getting rid of a pair of shoes and then three days later needing the damn things for some reason you never even contemplated needing a certain style of shoes for.

As for an exercise in self-improvement, I'd consider it a double work out.

--Jami

You fail it.