Thoughts on sorting thru a lifetime's worth of stuff

What the heck is a Chinese walk of a thousand days? I love to hike, but I'd definitely need several heart transplants to do that.

What will you be doing at UVI on St. Croix? It's a beautiful campus with lots of nice people.

hi Kinsey:
I think you put the process and emotions beautifully into words. I too have experienced the same and have read other posts from people working through the emotional part of "letting go". I think it is a tempory feeling. I tell myself that when a door closes another opens and the great thing about this process is that I am CHOOSING to close the door and turn to open another that in my heart I know will be wonderful. I'm already having almost as many feelings of freedom from clearing these "things" but there are still many wistful moments 🙂
Good luck to you in completing what I think is one of the harder parts about making this move. Look forward to meeting you in an upcomming get together!
Doreen

Hi FOG,

To answer your question about the Chinese walk of a thousand days, I mean literally that. A monk would take to the road with very few possessions: a day or two's worth of food and the clothes on his (or her) back. He would then walk through the Chinese countryside, relying on the generosity of the people to feed him and provide him with shelter. If none came, then he went without food and camped on the ground. The idea was that he would grow in spirituality along the way as he experienced the countryside, the kindness of the people, and the alone-time spent meditating on the gift of life.

I read about this in a book once, although I can't remember which one now. I've always thought it would be an incredible experience. I've known people who've biked across the USA, and I've read books about others who not only biked the US but also the world. Riding a bike would mean that I could cover more ground and carry more stuff, but that would defeat the purpose. Also, I wouldn't want to have to do bike maintenance all the time and have to have cash on hand for tires and such. No, it'll be better to keep it simple and walk, IMHO.

There is an old saying in China that walking ten thousand miles is better than reading ten thousand books. As a book lover, I would like to test that expression. If nothing else, the observations and experiences I'd accumulate after walking a thousand days and many, many miles (probably not ten thousand, tho!) would undoubtedly be enough to produce quite an entertaining book. 🙂

Remember when Forrest Gump went on his run? That's the sort of thing I'd like to do, though quietly and unobtrusively.

As for where I'll be working once I get to the islands, I have accepted a position as Science Librarian at the St. Croix Campus Library. It's a year-to-year appointment funded through a VI-EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) grant. I'm very excited to be a part of this new initiative, and I plan to work my butt off so that we'll be sure that the grant gets renewed for next year. :-)))

Kinsey (aka EvaMarie)

Thanks, Doreen! I really, really appreciate your sympathy and understanding. Maybe it's harder for packrats to go through this process. . . . I don't know . . . I sometimes think we have an inner insecurity to begin with that drives us to hang on to all this stuff. Slowly, slowly, however, I'm learning to let go and be free!

Great dialog, can you guys counsel my husband the king of pack rats. ;)))
Iris

Hi,
Thanks for sharing your feelings about this. As I comtemplate a move to the VI and consider the attic full of "stuff" and the house full of "stuff" (not to mention the life full of stuff ) I ponder how that stuff does not represent the essence of me. How liberating.
Blessings on your journey.
Kirana

I am looking at a position with UVI also, Did they offer you any type of moving allowance or to reimburse any moving expenses? Not at that stage of negotiations yet, but interested to know what to expect if anything... Thanks!

8/31/04

Dear People, I, too, have spent lots of time living in other places outside of the US mainland. Packrat?!? Oh, yes, that monicker stricks a chord with me. When I moved from Istanbul, Turkey to Israel, I had 20 (count 'em) pieces of luggage and military duffles (the 60" tall ones) with me!! Just for ME!! When I left Israel three years later, I shipped what I wanted via postal service to my daughter who held them for me. Now as I contemplate the move to STX in two year, I'm beginning to pare down again. How do we accumulate so much "stuff" - that was the right word, Kirana. The properties for sale seem to have enough sq. ft. that I could bring what I need, but not all that I have. I mean, how many books on basic English grammar does one need, or bowls, or... We've all faced that dilemma, eh?? Iris, I understand your husband's want to keep what is his, but as was so wisely pointed out by Kirana, the "stuff" doesn't equate with who we are. I can't wait to set up my home on STX and decorate it with the Turkish, Venezuelan, Ecuadorian, Israeli and Mexican art - talk about eclectic!! One big question and I think I already know the answer cuz Venezuela was 110 - what is the electric current in the VI?? 110, right?? Do hope so - haven't picked up on any chat about this issue, so I assume it's a non-issue. Best of luck to you Kinsey in your job. I'll be doing my pre-move trip to meet with the STX school community. As of now, I work for a local community college teaching adult basic ed. and GED. If you hear of any like classes, please let me know. I saw GED on the education site, but I really love adult basic ed. All islanders - I hope you are passed by this time from the hurricane and that the rain we all need is all you get!! Thank you to all who take time to write on this board. You are a lifeline to those of us who are "waiting in the wings".

Mirilady

Hi Tom,

The moving allowance that UVI offered me is $1250. I might have negotiated a larger sum, but I really wanted this position and the salary offered was really, really good, especially when compared with the pittance I have been making at TAMU.

Get this, folks: Eight years ago, when I was working at another job on campus, I had a bachelor's degree and my take-home pay was $1914 a month. Today, with TWO master's degrees (M.Ed. and M.L.S., neither one of them rocket science, I'll grant you), I am only making $94 more per month. This is with about 25 years experience as an editor, almost 6 as a librarian, about 10 as a teacher and/or supervisor, and 18 years of service to my alma mater.

The writing was on the wall: I realized that I have been losing a lot of ground by staying at TAMU. Now I'm going to STX, and I'm thrilled! My self-esteem has risen about 1000% in the last two months, and I no longer feel like a beaten dog, the way so many of the lowly lecturers on this campus feel.

When it comes to how it treats a lot of its employees, TAMU = Texas Awful & Mediocre University. Sorry if that offends any Aggies out there, but it's the truth, IMHO.

Kinsey

Hi Kinsey: you are going to beat me there by 2 days; Don't knock the packrat sindrom as I have been a traveler all my life and everytime I move I have to get rid of a ton of stuff and wonder how I ever aquired it. Ijust got rid of 2 ton of stuff this time as I stayed here in Texas for 7 years. That is 6 to 61/2 years longer than I ever stayed before and boy Did I have the stuff I could do with out to get rid of. Will see you on the 14th at the otw get together. Good luck and just go with the flow and everything will work out just fine

Thanks, RockportJohn. I appreciate the encouraging words, and I'm looking forward to meeting you, too!

Isn't Dat Nguyen, the Dallas Cowboys linebacker, from Rockport? I've heard that his parents have a pretty good hamburger restaurant there.

Yea STX is 110 volts.

You are half right Kinsey, Dat Nguyen is from rockport but the restaurant is an oriental type called Hu Dat and it serves chinese, vietnamise, and foods like that as well as regular american foods. They serve some of the best I have ever eaten.

Thanks for the info, I was hoping for better news really, $1250 is a small drop in a big bucket for moving expenses. But maybe since your position is a grant funded position?
I am hoping for about 4-6times as much... But it may be a dream... Are you hourly employee there or salary now? I hope you are much more appreciated there then at A+M...
Would love to know how much your move cost you? Did you ship whole house and car or just bits and pieces?

Hi Tom,

Yes, $1250 isn't a whole lot. That is why I am being very judicious in what I send before I leave Texas. I elected not to ship my 1999 Mazda ("My Little Mazda," after the 1950s TV show, My Little Margie) as it would have cost $1311 to ship her, which would have eaten up my entire moving allowance.

Also, my car has only 46K miles on her, and I didn't want her to become a rusted out junk-bucket on the islands. I have a sentimental attachment to her as she is the first and only new car I have ever owned all by myself. No one else has ever driven her either, except for various and sundry mechanics when they were changing her oil.

Thus far, I have only sent off 7 boxes of books, which I am donating to the UVI library system (if they want them, that is). That cost less than $70 as they went media rate, which is very inexpensive compared with the parcel post rate. Tomorrow and Friday, I'll be sending off several boxes containing sheets, towels, shoes, extra clothes, my ancient wok and cleaver, etc.

I know I can buy whatever I need on St. Croix once I get there. However, considering that I won't have personal transportation for some time to come, and that I'll be starting my new job right away and probably won't have much time for shopping, I decided to ship the bare minimum of household goods to get me through the next 3-4 months.

The very idea of sending my entire household to St. Croix gives me the willies! My sister and her husband moved from Virginia to Texas two years ago, and that move cost them more than $15,000!!! She has a lot of antique furniture that she didn't want to part with, as well as a dish fetish. I've never seen someone with so many sets of dishes! I think she has a shopping habit, too, which is real easy for her to satisfy as she works in retail and gets phenomenal discounts.

So when I take off on Monday, I'm going to be traveling with my new wardrobe, a few pairs of shoes, some toiletries, maybe my needlework bag unless I ship that. I'm nervous about that getting lost in the mail, however, since the projects I've been working on are pretty far along and are irreplaceable.

Which brings me to a question of my own: What has been the experience of other people on this board who have sent stuff through the U.S. mail? Has it arrived safely? (I won't even ask about their stuff arriving in a timely manner!) Have you experienced much breakage of goods? Any theft of goods? How about theft or loss of luggage (or the contents of one's luggage) by airline or customs workers?

Also, should I insure everything I send? It would be quite difficult to prove a claim for a lot of the stuff I'm sending as it was purchased a long time ago and I have no receipts for any of it. Therefore, my feeling is not to waste money on insurance that I might not be able to collect. Am I right about that, folks?

Kinsey (who is not only verbose, but also a bit of a worrywart)

I sent 11 boxes through the mail at economy rate. It took about 30 days for them to arrive. I used a lot of stuffing and wrapped everything in plastic bags, as I heard the airport in San Juan can get wet. I saw no signs of water exposure. Ninety-nine percent of it was unharmed. Some of the boxes were very banged up. Pack well.

Initially, I had only a suitcase and a carry-on bag. This was my absolutely vital stuff.

I didn't even bother to unpack the boxes until a couple of weeks after I retrieved them at the post office! It was so nice not having a bunch of stuff around the apartment.

I have never lost a box sent either standard parcel post or priority mail. Boxes did not look that bad when they arrived.

I tapped all the seams and edges of all the boxes to be sure they wouldn't bust, wrapped anything fragile in bubble wrap and made sure all the boxes were solid and crush resistant by filling them with packing peanuts.

Jim

Hi Jim,

Thank you so much for the comforting words regarding USPS shipments. The main reason I've been nervous about shipping stuff is that I found out - AFTER I had packed my books and taken them to the post office - that the boxes would be going by sea and that it sometimes gets wet in the hold of a ship if there is a storm.

The person who helped me at the post office suggested that in the future I line each box with a plastic bag, pack the books inside the plastic bag, and then seal the bag at the top. This applies to items going library and media rate.

I don't know how parcel post items are shipped, however, whether by air or sea. If by sea, it seems logical to enclose everthing in plastic also, unless it's stuff that won't be affected by seawater. Obviously, wet books are not a desirable commodity. 🙂

Kinsey (who's shipping her stuff anyway, come hell or high water)

As I previously said I had no problems and I sent linens and towels. None of the thirty or so boxes I sent looked like they had gotten wet or were that beaten up. Just reinforce the corners and don't overpack the boxes. The heavier the box is the more likely that some poor postal worker will drop it. I tried to limit my boxes to no more than 50 Ilbs.

As for modern ships I not sure they still put things in holds. My guess is that the mail goes in a cargo container in Florida and from there it goes to Puerto Rico and then on from Puerto Rico to the VI.

If you ship something from Florida using a freight consolidator it takes about a week to get to the VI depending on when it gets to the dock and what their sailing schedule is. Therefore I don't imagine that even when you send a package by mail that a package is on a boat for more than five - ten days.

Jim

I've been at UVI all of three weeks now. While the moving stipend is a pittance, I have been extemely impressed with the students and warmly welcomed by the faculty. The STX Campus is beautiful. People will go out of their way to make your transition a smooth. Let me know what I can do to help. I'm in EC 504.
Kelly

Hi Kelly,

I finally made it to STX, and I've been ensconced in the UVI Library since Wednesday. Today, I team-taught my first class here and received an ovation. 🙂

I will definitely look you up. Are you going to the get-together at Off the Wall on Tuesday, 9/14? If so, I would love to share the ride with you.

Thanks,
Kinsey (aka Eva)