what we own now

Lists, lists, lists, scattered behind me in a long trail. Lousy memory, too much to do. Eventually, if I get my way, I'll stop needing them for a bit. But meanwhile, nasty habits die hard. Here are my current lists:

Take to the thrift shop:

• Three tall lamps, all leaning at funny angles
• Shoes, two pairs pretty but hurt my feet, one pair very practical for snow, but more snow than I ever walk through anymore, and one pair just ugggly. What was I thinking when I bought any of these?
• Two office chairs

Sell or leave behind for house-buyers:

• BBQ
• Lawn mower
  

Throw away:

• A lot of broken outdoor furniture
• A rug that Future chewed on and barfed on a couple times
• Old, uncomfortable mattress that hurts my back, hate that fucking mattress
• Frame that mattress sits on, part of the problem too
• Broken sewing machine
  

Put in storage:

• Two dishes, two bowls, two pots, wok, French press coffee maker, silverware, spatula, carrot peeler, chopstick set, rice cooker, can opener, wine opener, wine corker
  
• The rug that Future didn't barf on
• Stereo amplifier, DVD player
• Sewing kit
• Alan's cute painting of naked girl that I think is hot too
• Futon couch, three little pillows
  
• Tool kit, Makita, little handy saw
• Little writing desk
• Three boxes of clothes
• Five boxes of files
• Art I just can't part with
• My bicycle

Bring with us to temporary crib:

• Two sets of sheets, two towels, bedspread, four pillows
  
• Traveling clothes and just a few winter clothes to get us through November, three pairs of traveling shoes, three pairs of winter shoes
  
• Camping stuff
• Two laptops, two briefcases, two crates of current paperwork
• Spanish language books, South America travel books
• Travel stuff - passport, vaccination paperwork, drugs of all kinds, sunscreen, mosquito repellant
• Purse and all that crap that goes in a purse
• CDs of favorite music
• Keyboard and table to put it on
• Future's food, bowls, toys, treats, leashes, poo-bags, travel water bowl
• Future

Do:

• Finish off this bottle of sake I'm drinking right now
  
• A half-dozen different contract gigs between me and Alan to make money for trip
• Get travel medical insurance
• Buy plane tickets to whatever city in South America on whatever date is cheapest
• Book accommodations for Carnaval in Brazil
• Sell one of the cars
• Confirm a temporary home for Future
• Pick a date to leave
• Close on house
• Read South America travel books
• Vote
  
• Stop making lists
• Leave
  

Those are the shortest lists I've had in a long time. We actually like the house a tiny bit better now that it's empty.

I've already waxed rhapsodic about being jobless, but I'm going to wax a little more. Because I'm still discovering more. Hey guess, what? I do voices. Funny voices with funny accents, for no reason at all. I'm funny. And I have crazy, million-dollar ideas. And crazy, laugh-at-midnight ideas. And crazy, what-the-hell-did-I-just-say ideas. All the time now. Must have before too, but I forgot. The creative brain needs a lot of room to breathe, or it just becomes a machine.

Alan came home from a party tonight and said, "Rich people are wierd. They're all looking for something, but they have no life to leverage." I have no idea what that means, but it sounds vaguely profound to me at the moment, as I leverage what matters to me and jettison what doesn't.

I feel OK about what we own. Less stuff. More ideas.

P.S. Go see Bug at Pillsbury House Theatre. Exceptional performances, great script, fantastic directing, hell of a show. The whole audience squirmed visibly. And they just kept shaking their heads after it was over like people who had been in a really big earthquake together. Disturbing, moving, haunting, thought-provoking, alive-making and disorienting in that really fabulous way that only theater can be.