Moving house and shopping

It never seems to come to end. Moving. Putting all that I have amassed over the years of my life into boxes and unpacking my treasures into the new house.

In my 32 years, this will be the 15th house I will be living in. Crazy rite? And the craziest thing is that I am a collector. Unfortunately not a collector of antiques or anything of appreciating monetary value, but a collector of things that were a part of my life.

The amount of 'property' I own has accumulated to levels which I cannot contain in one house. This is crazy, I think it is time to start throwing things away. But what is worth nothing? or worth everything? That is the most difficult decision to make.

We lived in Arizona, USA the past 2 years. Feb 2006-Apr 2008. I had a whirl of a time shopping there. Added much much more to my house, having lots of business ideas, which have yet been put to action. (This reminds me that I've got to do something about that soon. Will update it here as soon as I get things going, so keep a lookout!) Shopping in USA is fun! You can get extremely good deals, that you will not be able to resist. Shopping in Singapore is really nothing compared to it. Imagine, I got a pair of crocs for my baby for less than USD10! HA! and most of the clothes I buy for my troop don't cost me more than USD5 apiece. And they are branded stuff, okie... Nike, Oshkosh, Timberland, Spiderman (Originals, not what you get at pasar malams) among others.

Well, we're back here in Singapore and I'm definitely not shopping unless I really really need it. I'm thrown back to reality. No more shopping haven for me.

Actually while packing to return to Singapore, questions run through me. A fire can just burn everything you own in a few seconds. Saw a video of how quickly a curtain caught fire and destroyed everything in that room. The question of how much I have amassed came. How quickly everything can be destroyed in that few seconds. Is it worth it all? Why not instead of spending the money on physical acquisitions, spend the money on acquiring experiences, going on holiday or even by being more philanthropic?

Just this week, I read about holidays taken by this family, which I think is a really good idea, to help others. They spent their holiday at an orphanage. First, you bring the children great joy by just being with them. Second, the gifts you bring are really necessities that they may need, but never will be able to dream of having. Third, you might just leave them feeling that you are indeed fortunate to be able to take that holiday, be on a plane, go to a new place, and be a bringer of great joy. There are many things that we take for granted. I think it is good to go places where people are not so well-off for us to learn to be more grateful. Maybe then life will be more meaningful.

OK, the more I write, the more I digress... I shall end here for today. I have more to ramble, which I will. I think I'm getting a hang of this!