Finding joy in the little things and flea markets.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Finding joy in the little things and flea markets.

This has been yet another busy week for me. It's both a blessing and a curse. I'm so glad that I have a job and truly meaningful things to get done to prepare for this job, and there are so many things that I can do over the next few weeks to enjoy the rest of my time here in California. However, I'm neglecting some duties to focus on others. Yes, it's prioritizing, and I'm doing what I feel is most important for me, first. But the past two weeks have flown by.

I finally got my car detailed and inspected yesterday for the purpose of selling it (good news: it's in great shape!).

Friday was another productive day away from the home, as I shipped two packages (Ryan L and Cliff). I then drove down to San Jose to visit a couple card shops I wrote about earlier, and came home with six boxes of cards (you'll hear about those eventually).

It feels like every other day this week I've headed out to shop for my trip to Japan. I've bought several new (to me) suits - I am very glad for the existence of Salvation Army family stores, because I never could have afforded the jackets otherwise. I've also bought new underwear, t-shirts, shoes, belts, etc. Exciting, right?

While I've added to my wardrobe, I've also been sorting through my belongings, and deciding whether I want to take it to Japan, leave it here, or give it away. An entire trunk full of stuff went off to Goodwill, and there's another pile building in the garage as we speak.

And this is where baseball comes in. Obviously, I don't mind shopping around for value. I headed off to Laney College exactly one week ago to search for sunglasses (success), and I picked up some cheap DVDs. Now that I can watch Super Troopers whenever I'm lonely for American culture, I also noticed something promising in a pile of random goods:

It's an SGA lunch box featuring the Looney Tunes and the Giants! I paid $2 for this, a good deal even though it's not in mint condition (you can tell it's a bit warped by the overbite between the lid and the base on the right side). I love these random oddball stadium giveaways (I mentioned this before). I also found a 2007 All-Star Game seat cushion and bat bag for a buck each at a thrift store last week.

It's these little things that I'm enjoying more and more. Finding cheap cards that can have a home in my collection. Getting some delicious Mexican or Chinese food. Watching every South Park, Family Guy, and Futurama episode for the umpteenth time. I've enjoyed the smiles random people walking on the street have given me, and I do my best to ensure I smile back (sometimes they catch me off guard). Playing drums on Rock Band for a little while. It's great to be able to enjoy these things.

Now I just need to find time to...

photograph and sell my car (dangit, it rained tonight right after getting the car detailed)
record all the cards I've received in the past week that you've already seen
sort, scan, and record all the cards I bought on Friday
finish sorting through my stuff and boxing up/donating everything I'm not taking to Japan
scan all the cards I have here in California so I have images for posts while I'm overseas
finish sorting my media files so I can back them up
if I can sell my car fast enough, book a flight back to Georgia to sort through my stuff in storage, and then drive back cross country to store the keepers here (instead of paying $1000+/year in storage fees)
enjoy my last Christmas as I know it, for a while
write posts for this blog, Cardboard Zoo, and a few posts for my Japan blog (I'll announce it when I make it live, for those who are interested)
do a whole bunch of other random stuff I haven't even thought of

All in six weeks! Trust me, I'm not complaining. It exciting, invigorating, thrilling, etc. But it's so hard to focus my thoughts on writing a quality post when my mind is also saying "hey, don't forget to do this tonight, and that tomorrow!" fifteen times an hour.

Soooooo