stuff, stuffity stuff, and more stuff

so we have now made the decision to keep all of our personal possessions in storage for another unspecified number of months. some of our things were stolen back in October, reminding me of the moment all my film was stolen in India on my first trip over there. all of my spent film, that is, along with my good friend Debby's film. And of course, as murphy's law would have it, we were a few days away from finishing our multi-week trip. a lesson in what's important—not stuff, not records of stuff, but doing things, hanging out, people, good food, and not stuff.

then I dropped my powerbook while on my dissertation research in Patna, India. dropped it on a concrete floor from four feet. needless to say, it did not bounce, and broke into many pieces, but I mashed it back together, crossed my fingers, and pressed the power key, and miraculously it worked. many many many people have written dissertations without computers, and I kept envisioning that yellow legal pad upon which my research could be recorded. either way, just stuff.

then Bekins destroyed all our things by "professionally" packing them, and proceeded to pay us next to nothing for the privilege. opening each box when unpacking was a lesson in separation from material goods and also a lesson in how to control a nervous breakdown.

and so when we got the call and the horrifying, out-of-focus, almost psychopath-like polaroid (you know, like the ones they staple to the wall in multiples in the small dark room that the hero stumbles on just before getting killed?) of our storage unit, we were disturbed, but consoled ourselves that it was unlikely they took anything fully irreplaceable, as those things tend not to fence well. we were right, so that's good, and I'm gradually coming to terms with the fuller no-stuff existence. on a side note, I was sort of hoping that the thieves had taken everything—a picture of a completely empty storage unit. The upside: no stuff to move. The downside: fairly obvious.

All this to say, we have sealed up our possessions again, neatly packing them in case we do find a place to settle for more than a year and can call movers to bring it to us. Jackie's kitchen packing came through the theft beautifully, and the antique furniture is all there. And of course, waaay too many books. stuffity stuff stuff.