All my life for sale

I started listing my stuff for sale on Ebay and I thought that it would be fun to start documenting why I have this stuff and what it meant to me. Rather than clog up this blog with a database of the stuff, I have started a second blog that is just that. It will have a picture of the items and a link to the Ebay posting. As I get deeper into dealing with all of my things, I will also add pics of things that I am keeping. Along those lines I have also started to keep a spreadsheet of the things I am discarding and how much they weigh. My goal is to get to at least a ton, but who knows? Haven't you ever wondered about just how much stuff you have?

I did get a really fun note from an Ebayer - Roger (cycleminnesota) wishes me luck on going back to my Irish roots (LOL - I have Celtic roots, but not Irish as far as I know) and he was just looking at my set of Jazz videos that I have for sale - anyway Roger, I'll raise a toast to you when I get to Dublin!

Life Changes

Today I am officially embarking on my plan to completely change my life in six months. As part of this project I intend to relocate to Ireland to start work on my largest overdue project, acquisition of a PhD. I first learned of the new interdisciplinary degree offered through Trinity College, Dublin about three weeks ago from the Iconic Books blog and just that my last entry here mentioned the program. A week ago I started thinking that my life just isn't what I wanted, expected or needed and I should make a huge change. I mentioned the possibility of this degree program with Fr. Frank at work and he told me I should go for it. I wrote to Dr. Gribben who runs the program at Trinity and he encouraged me to reply. I have downloaded all of the pertinent information and now I need to get my application ready. I ran my research idea past Dr. Gribben and he thought it would work....sooooooo.....I have told my co-workers that I am applying which is the first step to making a dream come true.

In order to make this huge change, I need to eliminate virtually all of the physical and emotional stuff that I have carried around with me for the last 54 years. Yes, I am a hoarder! I used to just think I was a compulsive collector but now I realize that I am really a hoarder. I have boxes and boxes of things that I have moved and never examined. I have all of the stuff left over from the bookstore that needs to find a new home. I have boxes and boxes of books that I need to repack and ship to Better World Books. I need to come to terms with all of this stuff and let it go. In that way I will be ready to embark on a new life across the sea. I plan on selling as much as I can on E-bay, giving away what is not sellable and throwing away the trash. I plan on recording all of this so I can see what the cumulative weight and value of my possessions is/was. Along the way I plan on digitizing those things that I wish to remember but don't need a paper copy of and to finish up with just the bare necessities to start my life anew.

Let the journey begin!