i don't want to be a hoarder!

So, a few months ago, I was watching that hoarders show.. that show FREAKS me out. Every time I watch it, it reminds me of.. me. and that’s scary. I keep so many stupid little things for “sentimentality’s sake.” It’s really ridiculous.

One of the people on this show, like many others, had strong attachments to some of the objects, even though she didn’t use them anymore. Her therapist told her to take a picture of the object, and then get rid of it. A digital picture takes up less space than the actual item.

I figured, since I have hoarding tendencies, I need to start combating them Now, instead of when things take over my future home. And since my feets aren’t doing anything special as of late, and this space has been pretty quiet, I figured I’d document the process of ridding here. I’ve got several boxes of memories stowed under my bed, so I’ll go through them box by box, item by item, and recount the memories as best I can, then get rid of it! This way, I can keep the image, and the memory and story it provokes forevs! And not eventually end up on Hoarders. Sound good? Good.

Box #1. Apparently my mom sent me some stuff while in the studio.. I think most of this stuff was taped to the walls of this bitty studio I shared with Ellen.

I laughed out loud when I saw this sign! I was taking a city planning class at the time, and as a requirement, we had to go to a city council meeting. Ellen needed to go for one of her classes, so we picked a night and went. As most of you know, living in Berkeley was quite the experience, and the council meeting would be a bigger glimpse into the craziness that is Berkeley. As we headed into the meeting, we were given these signs: note the no public urination on the bottom.. that’s a real problem in Berkeley - on a side note, I was waiting for the bus once, on University, and this woman was waiting there too. Before I knew what was happening, she was squatting next to the tree on the side of the road! I couldn’t believe it! On other occasions, I have seen guys peeing in MY front yard..

Anyway, turns out, that night they were holding an open meeting about this black and white liquor place. There were about two-dozen people there, half on the side of the store, half outraged by the store. The store had been damaged by a fire and they were going to decide if it should reopen or close forever. I remember one woman standing up and saying that the owners of the store had helped her out on several occasions when she had to leave her home fast. Another man was an employee and said he was grateful for the job he had there.

Others talked about the people the store attracted and how they would get drunk and then pee or puke on their front porches. That their kids couldn’t play in the front yard, because they didn’t know who had peed in it that day. They were outraged and crying.. it was the most intense city council meeting I’ve ever been to!

I can’t remember if they closed the store or not.. but I remember the adventure.