Notes To and From a Packrat

My Rectilinear Life

overworkedtiredandnumb

Location: Dalian, China
Birthday: December 11

Bio: US expat living in China. Another 40-something woman experiencing mid-life crisis, only this time in China, with dumplings.

MY RECENT POSTS

Job Hunting
September 20, 2011 04:46PM
Home Again
September 16, 2011 04:38PM
What does it mean?!
April 20, 2011 01:42AM
Reality Check (India, part 4)
February 16, 2011 04:19AM
Tiger, Tiger (India, part 3)
February 13, 2011 04:35AM

MY RECENT COMMENTS

“Oh shit. I think I might be one, too.”
February 16, 2011 12:12PM
“In my experience, the peasants of China are much harder to find. They are mostly…”
February 16, 2011 08:05AM
“I think the Mahajahs took two years to give up the land. :-) It was awesome!”
February 13, 2011 06:57AM
“Control? We always act like we can control every minute detail. What a crock.…”
February 11, 2011 09:32AM
“Uh oh, now I'm on the hook. Working on Day 3 now. Thanks for reading!”
February 10, 2011 10:59PM

Overworkedtiredandnumb's Links

My Posts: 83. Tiger, Tiger (India, part 3); 82. Ridin' That (Turns Out to be Midnight) Train (india, Part 2); 81. A Passage to, uh, India; 80. A Dream; 79. Learn the Language; 78. When My Morning Comes Around; 77. 2010: The Year in Quotes; 76. The Immigration Bunny; 75. Google Translate, 一半半; 74. Motherhood, a photo essay; 73. Special Friend: Clay; 72. US-Chinese Relations: Slowly Warming Up; 71. Good Job, Bad Job, Any Job, Please; 70. Ideas That Shake My World; 69. Would you like some hot water with that?; 68. Special Friend: Brandon; 67. Special Friend: Jane; 66. A Visit to Hong Kong; 65. Pork Pastries 不好吃!; 64. Rock, Paper, What?; 63. 很可爱的女儿（Very Cute Daughters); 62. Digesting China; 61. Adapting (?) to China; 60. Christmas in China; 59. Expat Drunk Blogging; 58. Adventures in Translation; 57. Settling In - In China's Rust Belt; 56. And we're off; 55. Preparing for Our Move to China, Part V; 54. Preparing for Our Move to China, Part IV; 53. Preparing for Our Move to China, Part III; 52. Ft. Hood: Potential Lessons; 51. Things We Are Doing to Prepare for Our Move to China, Pt. II; 50. Cyber-Anger: Not New, But Lasting; 49. Things We Are Doing to Prepare for Our Move to China, Part I; 48. Attending the Theater; 47. Gloves On: Slightly Better Than Awful Pizza Now Available; 46. Old Couple Overheard on Flight from Chicago to Phoenix; 45. The Toilet Reveals Something Deep. But What?; 44. More Food Notes from China; 43. Lunch in China; 42. The Way We Made the Decision; 41. Choosing a Home in China; 40. House Hunting in China; 39. 不看 Facebook (No Read Facebook); 38. Almost a Year; 37. 15 in 15: The Quote Quiz; 36. Thoughts on Southern Liberals (i.e., Mama and Daddy); 35. Notes To and From a Packrat; 34. Dude, Where's My Brush?; 33. Dad is Awesome; 32. My American Idols; 31. Dinah Washington; 30. Spansion Lays Off Thousands While Spending to "Retain" Execs; 29. She's Mean and Evil Through and Through; 28. Signage; 27. Who Could Resist?; 26. A receipt; 25. Saturday, July 25th, 1925; 24. My Afternoon on OS: Or, I really need a new hobby.; 23. 2008 The Year in Quotes; 22. 25 is a lot of things; 21. Open Salon Cherry Juice Debate, a call for volunteers; 20. Open Salon Debate Format, Version 1.0; 19. Debating Debating: A Proposed Open Salon Debate Format; 4. Unearthing Treasures; 18. Hard Times; 17. Portrait; 16. OS Collage: o please o please o please let me in; 15. Hope Springs Eternal; 14. Pre-school Civics 101; 13. The Consolation of Laughter; 12. Circling the Square; 11. Compromise; 10. Here I Am; 9. Dull Ache; 8. The Way of Clay; 7. This is My Favorite Picture; 6. Poor Cissy Hadn't Got a Mama; 5. Some Beginnings; 3. Maintaining Sanity; 2. Mama Died Today; 1. Death 'n' Shit

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JULY 30, 2009 6:17PM

Rate: 1 Flag

I am a major packrat. I have a sentimental streak combined with a librarian's sensibility. This is a bad combination, as when we moved to Arizona a year ago and paid an enormous amount owing to my inability to throw out stuff. Books are a major weakness. So are notes and cards from friends and family. I'm mad for ephemera.

Our next major move comes in November when we leave for 2 years in China. Most of our stuff will go to storage and I'm having a hard time justifying storing things like an Italian phrasebook for a trip to Italy that never materialized. And yet, who knows?

I'm now mounting a major campaign to digitize my life and simultaneously lighten the load. So I'm sorting through old cards and such and I've hit upon a major theme: Notes left for people taking care of our cat (Kudzu) when we travelled and replies left by the caretakers. Here's one from a friend that we barely knew at the time. She's now the godmother of our children.

NoteFromLina

My favorite is this one. It starts with instructions on cat care from my husband (he also attached a five dollar bill). The caretaker then replied on the same page. (Also still a very close friend.)

NoteFromBeth NoteFromBeth0001

Good friends will take care of your cat when you're away. Even better friends will leave you a report.

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awww... What a charming post. Actually that digitizing idea is a good one. I did that with old cards, letters. I stored them both on a thumb drive and on flickr.