I recently went over to my friend's place to help him and his partner pack up his stuff. He'll be moving out of his rented apartment by the weekend and it was a race against time to sort, pack and throw. It's amazing how much 'stuff' one can accumulate over a course of just two years (and I'm guilty of this as well); there was so much clothes and so many books, souvenirs, and dvds to sort out.The idea was to keep only the essential and most memorable items; the rest goes to either the Salvation Army or the recycling bin. A lot of time was spent trying to convince him that neither the tacky Vietnamese table runner nor the interestingly faux hawaiian shirt were in any way essential nor memorable. In the end we ended with about five bags worth of clothes that we all agreed would be of use to the Salvation Army. Some six footer who wears size XXL is gonna be really happy come Sunday.
Terry is an American expatriate who's been living here in Melaka for the past two and a half years and I've known him for almost two years. We'd meet up for dinner and explore the wonderful culinary variety that Melaka has to offer. Even though we would usually try something different each time, oftentimes we'd end up at one of our favourite restaurants, Bonani. It serves North Indian cuisine and I love their mango lassi. Terry can't get enough of the Chicken Tikka which is like Tandoori chicken except without the bones. Oh and of course we've called for Aloo Ghobi so often, we actually know what it means (a spicy mixed vegetable dish containing mainly cauliflower and potatoes). Sadly, he will be reassigned to Prague (or Praha as the locals call it) in January 2006. Sigh, it won't be much fun having garlic naan, chicken tikka and saag paneer by myself from now on.
On a brighter note, plans are now underway for some of us to go visit him for the CNY hols (yahoo!). I've never experienced sub-zero temperatures before and look forward to seeing snow for the first time. Looking at the Euro exchange rates, I hope this doesn't break the bank account. :-)Terry is a great friend, a wonderful travel companion, an excellent scubadiving buddy and a genuinely kind human being. I'll miss you, buddy.
1 comment:
You're right. It's so easy to stock up on things based on sentimental value rather than functional value.
I was in a similar situation about a month ago, trying to pack my parents' apartment for a major renovation. My mum surprisingly was happy to throw out most things (possibly because she didn't collect a lot of things) but my dad hung on to a lot of his possessions...she was at her wit's end trying to convince him otherwise.
Congrats on your virgin blog! Can't wait to read more.
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