Time To Pack It Up...Literally

No, this isn't about quitting this blog or any other metaphorical version of 'packing it up'.  I've just recently moved in with my lovely and amazing girlfriend and along the way, I made a pretty drastic, fairly un-American decision:  I decided to get rid of most of my shit. This led me to deciding that I'm pretty sure I'm going to leave America for good soon.  As Inugo Montoya so famously said, "Let me explain."

When I said I got rid of most of my shit, I'm not talking about the 'spring cleaning' style of junking that most of us do doing a regular move.  See, most of my stuff was purchased either post-Katrina or during my last hideous grotesque of a marriage.When I decided to move in with my current lady, it dawned on me that, as a woman who owned her own home and had very much made it her own place, I didn't want to wreck her vibe by cluttering it up or making her rearrange everything.

In that spirit, I decided that most of the things that I owned just sat there and took up space.  What did I really need? Well, clothes, a newer laptop than the one I owned, my camera, and a few select pieces of memorabilia and art that were irreplaceable. That was it. Enough to fit into my battered '96 Honda Civic.

I sold my TV, three computers, my furniture, dishes, kitchen appliances, my bed.  What didn't sell went to Freecycle, ended up on the curb or got donated.  As terrifying as that all was, I feel pretty liberated as well.  There's a lightness to not being weighed down by your possessions.

At the same time, I'm watching the usual 'feces flinging primates' show that is the American election cycle.  My blood boils now listening to all the empty rhetoric (at best) and the out right lies (standard). I subject myself to online forum and threads about atheism vs. theism, idiots reactions to polyamory, and the joke that is the daily news. All around me, American just seem enthralled with their own bullshit.

That stuff exists everywhere, I'm not naive. But as a still fairly young, unencumbered, childless, almost debtless, petless man with a halfway portable skill set, why would I not take this opportunity to get out of here and see some of the world?  More than anything, I describe myself a human being. Second descriptor would be a tie:  mostly straight, male, ethnic mutt, fairly smart, and a few others.  Way down on that list is 'American'.  I just don't care that much.

The exceptionalism routine in this country is getting really old.  As a person who's traveled enough to know better, there are some great places out there, and some great people. I love the idea of seeing some of the Nordic countries, or going back to Germany, or drinking with some more Aussies, or driving out to Tierra Del Fuego. There's an entire planet out there. Full of people! And Booze! And People! And Food! And cool shit that existed long before the American Electoral College or McDonalds!

 I think the time has come to really start considering packing up and getting out of here.  Forty years as an American is plenty, don't you think?