Stuff.

We're surrounded by it. It presses in on every aspect of our lives. Here in the US, it's like some kind of bizarre plague. The media screams it--buy, buy, buy. Even if you don't have a cable, you can't escape it. Web pages, billboards, even the radio... we get the message that we need to buy things because that makes us successful and happy.

The strange thing is that people become very attached to their stuff. This coming from the woman who was just professing undying love an affection to her laptop, I know. But I love my laptop because it allows me to do things I love--write, namely.

I've been browsing Craigslist and eBay for used furniture for the new townhouse. I don't want to get new stuff  just because it's convenient. I like the idea of recycling furniture, and I love retro things--unique items that I'd never find at a Rooms2Go.

What's funny is how much crap there is out there for exorbitant prices. Teak nesting tables "from the 50s!!!" for $150. That's ludicrous! Maybe I do too much thrift store/tag sale shopping, but seriously, though cool, I wouldn't shell out $10 for those tables. Then there's the people that lead with "Great stuff, great price! $175" and link to pictures of furniture that looks like it was from a tenement, complete with wrappers, electric cords, and a variety of dirty sundries.

Michael and I just had a tag sale and we GAVE stuff away. I mean, the idea of a tag sale is to leave with less stuff. It's a failure if you don't. Sure we didn't make gobs of money, but we got rid of stuff we haven't used (and won't use in the new house). To me, that's a freeing experience beyond mentioning.

I guess my whole point is... it's stuff, people. In the end, it'll be nothing. Just like you. Corroded and bashed to bits. Even your most beloved stuff (yes, Darcy and Romulus) will be a mess of plastic and jumbled wires someday--in fact, it will be less than that. Give the likelihood of some catastrophic event happening before the end of time...

Hey, there's lot of things more important in this short life to worry about than stuff. Fashion? Haute couteur? In ten years your kids will be laughing at your decorations anyway. Be fun, be funky--be thrifty, eh?

I won't go into the saga of the Adventures of Michael, Natania, and Liam Renting from Family in Chapel Hill. Really, I'll sound ungrateful. And I don't want to do that.

BUT HEY!

We bought a house! It's new and shiny, with all appliances conveying, and it's in lovely Hillsborough, NC. :)

Can't wait to get outta here.