Trip Like I Do

Whoops

Whoops. I hit publish too soon.

I’ve been really busy cleaning the closet/my future room. Fred came over Tuesday night to help me clean some more stuff out and bring some stuff upstairs for sorting. It just gets so very frustrating and overwhelming sometimes. Like, I came across this box of Grandma’s bank statements. Okay, sure, holding onto bank statements isn’t a bad thing. But, the oldest ones in there were from – wait for it – 1967! 1967!!!! Grrr. So, I’ve taken it upon myself to shred 30 years of bank statements for her. Of course, she would probably get extremely upset with me if she found out, but I am hoping that she won’t remember that she had these down there. Especially since they were in a pretty inaccessible box for almost 20 years. So, I pretty much spent Tuesday night cutting up old canceled checks for something like 5 hours. I didn’t make much progress.

So in order to keep my hand from cramping, I went and got a shredder on Wednesday. OMG, it’s wonderful. I can now tear through 5 months worth of statements in like a minute. I got one of those semi fancy ones that will also cut up credit cards, although I haven’t tried that yet and this one also cuts the paper into little diamonds instead of strips. It’s pretty neat. Of course I am not overdoing it with the shredder though. I won’t overload it and I’ll stop for a few hours if it starts to get warm. I learned my lesson the hard way on that. Tom and I had a shredder once. I think we got maybe a month’s worth of use out of it. Or was it a week? I don’t remember specifically – but it died an early death because it was a 6 sheet feeder and Tom kept putting in like 10 sheets of paper at a time. It didn’t like that.

But the room is basically all I’ve been working on for the last 2 days. I now have 2 more bankers boxes of stuff for goodwill and a gigantic pile of crap on the curb for the bulk pickup this weekend. That’s one good thing the mayor has done around here. The city pays for trash collecting and you used to have to call for the garbage guys to come out and pick up the big stuff that wouldn’t fit in a trash can. Of course if they said they would come on, say Tuesday, those guys would more than likely come maybe a week later – if at all. But now the bulk pickup guys come once a month to every neighborhood, so you don’t need to call anymore and wonder if they are ever going to show up. I have some pics of the stuff at the curb, but since I took them at night with pretty much no ambient light, they are all blurry, so I’ll try to take some when it’s light out. Of course some of that stuff may not be there anymore, but that’s cool. I left some old golf clubs out there and some carpet scraps and they were gone the next day. Hurray!

I didn’t take any pictures of the room before I started working on it, but I really should have – just so I could be reminded of the comparison. I will be taking pictures of the semi empty room tomorrow.

That’s a picture of some of the boxes we brought up to the living room Tuesday. What’s sad is that this represents maybe a quarter to a fifth of all the crap that I have thrown out over all these months. Closer to a fifth I think. (Oh yea, that is my Grandma’s giant TV in the back there and yup, I was watching “Snakes on a Plane” while working.

Hmm, not much more to add right now.  I do feel like a bad ass though.  There was a twin bed box spring down in the room and I was going to wait for Fred to help me bring it up, but I was in the mood to get some work done, so I brought it up the stairs all by myself.  It really wasn’t as heavy as I thought it would be, but I just feel so bad ass that I could get it out of there myself.  Yeeehaw.

The bulk pick up comes on Saturday, so I am hoping, really hoping, that I will be able to break down the unfunky dresser from the 70′s that is still down there and if I get that done, then I’ll tear the carpet up and take it outside.  Grrr.  It’s going to be a pain in the ass to break that thing down.  I know I have to though since my Mom and I tried to get that thing out of there once and we just weren’t able to do it.  I think we tried for a couple of hours before we gave up.  I am still confused as to how it was brought in there in the first place, but it doesn’t matter.  I will get it out of there – even if I have to get a saw and cut that thing to bits, I will get it out of there.

So, I’ll just end this post with a couple of pictures from our New Year’s Grilling Party.

Mmmm, Meat.  Buahahahahahah

January 5, 2007

Week In Review

I went to the Daijingu Shinto temple on Tuesday to get an Omamori. I am not sure why, but I just felt like I needed one this year. I hadn’t been to temple in years. I think I went to this one a few years ago for a class, but I don’t remember why or if it really was this one. But, as soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I remembered the temple as the place my Grandpa used to take me for New Year’s. It’s sad, but what I distinctly remember is that I would love going there because I would get these Japanese rainbow lollipops. It’s a good memory for me though – a memory of me and my Grandpa sharing a tradition. I still look for those lollipops in stores, but I don’t think I’ve ever found them.My Mom came along with me. I think we were supposed to ring a bell before entering, but we didn’t because it’s been so long since either of us went there. Upon entering, I saw the big old donation box that I remembered being there from childhood – as well as the Omikuji vending machine. After we entered, a guy there waved a branch covered in strips of paper over our heads. Again, it’s been so long, I don’t remember what that symbolizes unfortunately.

We then headed to the Omamori table to see what was available. I was offered a little cup of some liquid out of a tea pot, so of course I thought it was tea. It wasn’t. It was sake! Sake is used in Shinto purification rituals – much like wine is used in Christian churches. You know what’s funny? I think that is the first time I can remember drinking sake. I really don’t know if I ever had any before. I thought it hit me pretty hard even though it was less than a medicine cup full. I just don’t tolerate alcohol all that well. Doh.
Anyways, of course since I am poor, I was hoping that the Omamoris would be for sale for a “suggested donation,” but alas they weren’t. Oh the prices listed were listed as donations, but it’s not like I was going to haggle the ladies there. I picked up one Omamori for general good luck and I also got some good luck rice paper. You are supposed to tear pieces off of the paper and cook them with your rice – so you get good luck when you eat rice.

I didn’t take any pictures of the actual temple. I just thought it would be disrespectful for some reason.

January 5, 2007