Sometimes i get the feeling my life is a huge mess. A gigantic pile of stuff that i own, but don't really want to deal with. I like owning things.

One thing that was incredibly liberating about living in Japan for a while was my absence of stuff. I left America with a suitcase filed with clothes, a laptop, my DS and games, and a couple personal items. In Japan, i was free of all my worldly attachments as they were back on planet America. Liberated. Though, it was very reassuring that i hadn't lost anything. A world away, my huge pile of stuff still sat there. Still mine. There was, maybe, once or twice that i wished i had a movie of mine with me in Japan, but beyond that, it never brought me down that i didn't have my stuff.

Well, i suppose i did have my online 'Stuff' with me. My blog, pictures, and tons of other crap.

Truthfully, i had really been doing this for years during college. My parents house is home to my main pile of stuff, and i would leave it up in Minneapolis, as i lived down in Platteville. Throughout that time, i would acquire some new things and every one in a while, I would add these new things to my gigantic pile of stuff in Minneapolis. I was never in a position where i couldn't visit my stuff pile without great difficulty.

Throughout my time in Japan, i did acquire several new things. I started growing a new pile of stuff, and forget about what i had at home. When i got back home, all my stuff was in one place, yet again. My game library was all together. My books were there, comics, flyers, etc...

But how much does all this stuff weigh me down. Why do i need issue 43 of Nintendo power? Who do i need a Club flyer of Bad Boy Bill from 2003? Why do i need all my CS notes from College?

These are really just piles of stuff, and the only reason i feel the need to own them is because of sentiment. I got that issue of Nintendo Power in the mail in 1990, and used the maps inside to beat that Nintendo Game. I got that flyer from The Quest or Vital Vinyl when i was there that Summer and probably took pictures. I spent fruitless amounts of time copying those notes down because it was imperative for later use. They are a part of my history, it's not necessarily that they are monetarily valuable. It's like being the curator for my own personal library.

This stuff is primarily relics from the past, but i hold onto things for the future. What if i or some friend wishes to play this game, or read this book, or watch this movie, or etc? Then we can share in part of my past.