Monday, March 02, 2009

Shifting Blues

What amazes me about shifting is the sheer amount of junk one is capable of accumulating over a period of time. I remember when I was new to this country and was happily buying stuff in a garage sale just because the concept of a garage sale was new to me and things were so dirt cheap, a wise friend of mine had rightfully remarked- Wait for a year and you will be amazed to see how much junk you accumulate in this country.

The proof lies in the fact that this is the third time I have shifted to a place on the pretext of having a bigger place so that all my things fit, while I should be thinking the other way round and cutting down on the junk I have instead of shifting to a bigger house every year to fit it all.

Greater spending power stimulates the greedy side of the brain, and you suddenly realize that you cannot do without a little private balcony to keep your plants, that you need a breakfast bar in your apartment, an elevator perhaps, and that the carpeting should look better. Ample reason to shift to a better, bigger, and a more expensive place. I know I could spare myself the cynicism since I am the culprit, yet I am unable to forget the fact that while I arrived here with 2 big suitcases 2 years ago, I needed 3 big suitcases just to fit my clothes this time. And I wouldn’t think I’d come as a shopaholic to someone who religiously monitors every sale in the city or mentions shopping as one of her passions in the social networking sites. For all the one dollar and 50 cents stuff I had crazily bought at these wonder dollar stores and wonder garage sales, I had to shell out more than 200 bucks to pay the movers I hired. Yeah movers, you heard me right. My mother is still recovering from the shock that a single person, barely 2 years in the country, has to hire movers to shift to a bigger place, perhaps to accumulate even more junk so that even this place looks smaller.

Anyhow, I have been ruthlessly trying to get rid of stuff, cane baskets I’ll never need, old rugs that don’t match the floor anymore, bulky furniture picked for free in the university areas because people just left them on the streets, and my old clothes from India that I don’t think will fit me ever again.

Time will tell how much more junk I collect in the next year or so. Like I said, it is ironic how some people suffer from scarcity while some people suffer from excess.

sunshine

7 comments:

Rakhi said...

Moving is a huge pain... i'm so mortally afraid of it that i can't even shift to a room two doors from my current one in the hostel.
that room has a balcony of it's own, the cupboard there is more spacious, there aren't termites in the desk bla bla.
but still i hang on to my old room. a bit for old times' sake, a bit out of the Big Shift Scare. :)

Neha said...

haha...nice post! Well, I hate shifting so much that I have stopped collecting junk though its difficult to resist the temptation of buying cheap stuff. But yes, for some strange reason I still have the clothes i got from india 2 years back, hoping a day will come, when i will fit in them!

Neha said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pavi!!!! said...

I know it take zero effort or lesser to accumulate things ome doesnt need at work ! the damage is done before one realizes it!

So...have u moved to ur new placw?

Clandestine said...

I totally agree with each word you say in here...it is as if i m writing the post.....i m following the same path so hopefully after six more months in this place i m gonna be relating the same story...good job....

JULIA said...

well said...to make it more short of words...."suffocation of Mr.Excessiveness is the byproduct of befriending Ms.Conspicuous consumption".

Ree said...

hey, i just discovered ur blog, via goli's, who is a very dear friend. and i must say u write awfully well. keep it up and if u dont mind, i am linking ur blog to mine. i used to hv an old blog which i discontinued and i recently started a new one which is abt all things indian :) and keep up the gr8 work!