Packing

[fivemack]

Flat-pack furniture is very satisfying to convert from a large free-standing corner unit into a single cardboard box with lots of extra space in it. Unfortunately, this points out that the current real deficiency of my set-up is the paucity of flat-pack clothing. The house has a large wardrobe; accordingly, I had many shirts on hangers. I've filled a large squidgy suitcase and a large duffel-bag with the shirts on hangers; I've one suitcase left for all the rest of the clothes.

And, as always, there's Not Enough Time to get rid of the crap properly. I have two microscopes, both in large and cumbersome packing - a normal desk microscope and an Intel Video Play Microscope which requires Windows and weird drivers, and comes in a box almost exactly the size and shape of an irritatingly-sized box. I don't want to throw them away - they work. If anyone in Cambridge decides they want between one and two microscopes next week, they'll get them cheaply. But this means I have to find space in one of the boxes that goes in the car for two microscope-box-shaped boxes.

This sort of exposure to Huge Amounts of Stuff not really providing happiness enough to justify its volume leaves me wanting to head to India with a couple of changes of clothes, dress myself from Indian street markets, department stores in Bangkok, and traders selling weird batik shirts in Bali, then post back to England things I'm particularly fond of and give all the rest to Goodwill in Montreal at the end. That seems mad, but somehow no madder than carrying two warm sweatshirts around the jungles of Malaysia so that I'll be able to wear them when I get to Montreal.

Comments

[redbird]

Mailing the sweatshirts to Montreal seems entirely sensible.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Second-hand sweatshirts here are a lot cheaper than international postage.

[aldabra]

Goodwill in Montreal will have sweatshirts already. Take one with you on the offchance that jungle nights are cold, and buy any others you need when you get there.

[scottscidmore.livejournal.com]

Given the way the weather has been, carrying sweaters to Malaysia might be sensible, along with taking a kayak to the Gobi.

Note on the Intel microscope. At least one model of that line will work with standard 'webcam' drivers, you just can't control the lamps. Given that the lamps are expensive and power hungry, one would come out ahead ripping them out and replacing with some of the newer LEDs.

I picked up on of those microscopes in a thrift store for $2, did some hunting on the web, and found the driver info.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

It seems totally sensible to me, especially considering that Salvation Army and Value Village here sell warm sweaters for maybe $5 each. We'll even buy some for you before you get here, I know what size you are.

If you did that with clothes it would cost you $X, and what you have to decide is what value of $X is better than carrying stuff around, and then budget for that.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, and being as you fit in my dragon shirt, you'd probably fit in my sweatshirts -- which almost all started off life in men's departments.

(In fact, I only have one warm jumper that was originally intended for someone female. See also shirts and trousers -- at least my skirts were intended for women! The reason for this is not closet transvestism but men's clothes being generally better made.)

[jvvw.livejournal.com]

One of the notes I wrote to myself from my time travelling a few years back, was that if I ever decide to go o round-the-world trip, I'm not going to go anywhere cold. You just need to carry so much more stuff if you have to take stuff for cold weather. That's ok when you're actually in the cold climate, but it's damn annoying carrying it all round when you're later somewhere ridiculously hot.

Siberia was lovely though.