the last few days have been crazy. i spend my pre- and post- work hours packing, hauling trash, and playing musical boxes. here are a couple of pictures of the “staging area” in the living room:

jana and i have thought a lot about stuff and its accumulation over the past year or two. we feel like we put too much emphasis on material possessions. especially while in the process of going through the never-ending process of packing for a move, we are coming to the realization that even after a year of trying to shed our extra possessions, we still have a ton of things which barely see the light of day. we own things–shoes, china, games, chairs, magazine back-issues, old computer peripherals, etc.–from which we get very little pleasure or utility, but from which we can’t bear to part. instead of using what we have, buddha would say that we are way too attached to our possessions.

i need to stop thinking that i have to have new things, or that physical goods will bring me pleasure and satisfaction. i am so addicted to stuff! when i do buy, i need to use it to its fullest, the way the plains indians used every bit of the buffalo. right now, i take the white man’s approach, shooting in the herds for pleasure from the train, or sometimes stripping the pelt, but leaving most of the carcass to rot.

what i need to do is simplify. and i need to do it now.

…

but first i need a powerbook g4…and that 20gb ipod::