Monday, December 21, 2009

Officially Packed, But Am I Ready To Go?

The deed is done.  My bags are stuffed to the gills.  I have managed to pack everything I need to bring and quite a bit of what I want to bring.  Some things have been discarded out of necessity due to weight restrictions and space limitations in my bags.  These things consist of a dozen books and a few clothing items.  As it stands, my carry-on bag contains far more books than I should bring, but I can't seem to do without them.  Should I feel the need to lug around a carry-on bag pushing 50 pounds?  I deem it necessary.  I will be checking two bags that are just under the 50 pound limit and lugging my slightly smaller, yet just as heavy carry-on with my skateboard deck duct-taped to the bottom of the bag.  The trucks and wheels are packed in the carry-on.  I was going to tape the skateboard to the bottom of the bag fully assembled so that I could wheel it around the three major airports I will be spending time in, but I don't want to draw any unwanted attention.  It is probably wiser not rolling my bag through the x-ray machine at customs anyhow.

So the packing part is over.  It was a semi-stressful process, but I have packed and unpacked, selectively reduced and sorted my life's belongings more over the last 10 years than most humans.  I have lost count of how many times I have moved, but on average I would say once every six months making it close to twenty times.  It does get easier when you have condensed your life for transport like a professional vagabond.  However, there is always that ever present nostalgia that makes packing time consuming and somewhat emotional.  You realize that you only have so much room for the keepsakes and mementos that tend to take up much needed room with their often times, odd shapes.  You sort through these items and put some aside, retiring them after so many moves together and say goodbye in a makeshift memorial.  It can be quite sad.  You realize that you are human and things grow on you, shaping you in ways you never realized until it comes time to part with them... time to move on.

A new beginning should be just that.  It is probably unhealthy to lug too much old baggage to a new locale.  Shedding some of this physical baggage does actually help shed bits of the emotional baggage that is carted around wherever one goes.  To evolve as an individual one needs to adapt to their new surroundings and take in aspects of their current situation so that it can mold them into a functioning member of their new life.  A few memories of their former self is good to keep ones' roots alive, but to hold on to too much could interfere with new growth.

This openness is really important when I think about what I have gotten myself into.  This is no move to a different state in the US or a vacation in a foreign land.  I am moving to East Asia.  My sleep patterns and dreams are all over the place these days and my nerves go through cycles of excitement, calm, confidence and anxiety.  I have to admit I am psyched though.  Disappointment in the good 'ol USA has grown tenfold and life here predictable.  My surroundings lose their luster rather quickly and life seems a bit stagnate.  I am looking forward to a challenge and from everything I have read about Korea, a challenge awaits me without a doubt.  A monkey wrench thrown right in the middle of the mundane cycle of life that continues like clockwork...    

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