stuff

My life is so full of things. I use the word "things" here not to mean events, like when we say "I've got a thing tomorrow". When I say "things," I mean actual objects, material possessions, things that you can pick up and own.

I have too many. Clothes, gadgets, toys, junk. My condo is getting smaller and smaller from all the clutter. My real home in Cagayan de Oro is much worse.

It makes me feel like a horder. It makes me feel claustrophobic.

I wish I could let go of a lot of my things, because the spaces that I inhabit are becoming so small that there's barely enough room for people anymore.

This is the reason why I don't like buying unnecessary things. I don't like spending money on things with no real use, like jewelry, or keychains, or decorations. (That isn't to say that I don't like receiving these things.)

Practical is what I like. I look for practical when it comes to the clothes that I buy ("How often will I wear this?") and the food that I eat ("How long will this loaf of bread last me?").

And so whenever I go out "shopping," what I really do is I wander around in malls for hours, looking at the nice things being sold but only buying food. I like to point out the things that I like to the person I'm shopping with (my family, Rap) but almost always, I'm not going to purchase it (or ask for it to be purchased).

This habit of mine frustrates people. For instance, when I saw this really nice ring at Toycon this year, and I said that I liked it, it took Rap an hour of wheedling and cajoling before I let him buy it for me.

I have a thing for punctuation marks.

And I'm really happy that he did!

And I guess people get frustrated when I don't buy these things for myself, because they just want to see me experience the joy that comes with the purchase (and the subsequent ownership) of the thing.

Which is nice. Sometimes, buying things does make me happy, and I'm actually really thankful that people talk me into buying stuff.

But I guess different thigns mean different kinds of happiness for different people. Let's not forget how shamelessly consumerist the Internet has become. Please refer to this list as a very good example.

I wish we didn't spend so much money on material possessions and instead spent more on experiences and memories.

Here's a list of what I do want to spend money on: (Clothes isn't on the list because I already have more than enough.)

1. Travelling
2. Movie tickets
3. Books
4. Good food

Everything else is clutter.