Letting Go Of The Old

The apartment is looking a lot emptier now, and feels a lot lighter too. We or rather I, have managed to sell off quite a few pieces of furniture and other odds and ends. Surprisingly, Christmas time seems to be a good time for people to be scouring the classifieds to see what they can lay their hands on. And at the prices I've advertised, they know a bargain when they see one, especially those who like retro, vintage furniture.

So good bye to the old, familiar pieces, especially when they had been with G for so long. It is with a twinge of reluctance to let some of them go, especially the low orange plastic Kartell-era coffee table on which we've had many weekend brekkies on the balcony of our other apartment in Surry Hills. We tell ourselves that since we've moved to this apartment, we have not done the same, so it is time to let it go.

I was a bit sad to see the orange vinyl dining chairs go as I like them a lot. But we had to make a choice between them and the green vinyl Parker-ish chairs and those won, even though they were squeaky and will need to be repaired in due course.

The pink retro toaster which can toast 4 slices of bread at a go used to sit on the bench of my apartment in Oxford St as it had been a spare which G had. I like the retro design but on my own, I will never need 4 pieces of toast at any one time!

The Danish-style wooden table was always a tad high for a coffee table although we like its clean lines. So we last used it as a table for the printer. The top was a little water-damaged and had started to warp a little and the slates in the second tier were loose. So we really didn't want it THAT much.

G was also a little sad that his light green table lamp had to go, he used to have it on his bedside. I didn't like it that much for some unknown reason. The low Ikea coffee table was the right height for us to prop our feet on when watching telly but once we've got the Noguchi table, we used it as a side table for odds and ends.

Hence as the Chinese saying goes, "If the old things don't go, the new ones don't come". How very apt. And with furniture, and other general aspects of life, we probably have to let go of the old and the familiar in order to welcome some other newer, better changes into our lives...

Packing, Recycling, Reusing

The apartment was looking like a bomb site for a while before G tried to put things away and hide them in the bedroom so that it was a little more presentable for Christmas. Not that anyone or even Santa paid us a visit.

I was in a packing frenzy, trying to wrap my precious glassware gleaned over the last 4 years from various sources and keep them safe enough to survive the journey. Paper was strewn all over the floor, boxes and suitcases were open, items were repacked. I wasn't that confident that they would survive to be honest. So we've decided to pay the professionals to do the job and we can obtain comprehensive insurance for them in that case. Some things aren't expensive but they are worth a lot, they cannot be replaced because they are hard to come by, especially where we are going. It's kinda price vs value.

I've put up some stuff on Gumtree and surprise, surprise - I've had 1 person respond who was very keen in a few items and is coming to see them tomorrow morning. With some luck, we might get rid of most of them. It is a shame to let our retro pieces go and it is with great reluctance that we do so. Some of the pieces like the replica Wassily chair and the Caroma stool will go to friends and some time down the road, when we visit these friends, we will see some of these old treasures find a place in someone else's lives and giving them the same enjoyment that we've had...

Impromptu Swim at Cronulla

The sea has rejuvenating and healing properties. We had an impromptu swim yesterday when we drove up to Cronulla with G's friend, Patrick who's just come back from China to where he is now staying. It was a fabulous apartment with a view to die for. And we felt that we were on holiday straight away (even though it is still in Sydney!).

Patrick suggested a swim after tea. He could loan G a pair of shorts but has nothing for me. Fortunately, we had a huge armful of my old clothings that we were donating to the Salvos. So I rummaged in the pile and picked out a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and we were ready. Never having swum in the sea in Australia before, after being scared to death by stories of rips pulling people into the surf, I was apprehensive at first. But Patrick assured me there were no rips in that particular beach. Bracing myself for the cold water took a while, but once in, it was great! We paddled around for a bit then got out and sat on the sand and chatted till the wet clothes started giving me a chill and we went back up for a hot shower. Then it was fish and chips on the grass overlooking the sea. What a wonderful way to end a great afternoon. And as a bonus, my 2-week old mouth ulcer and the starts of a cold were arrested by that salt water dip - natural healing! That was the best...

Life's Little Ironies

December was a chock-a-block month.

On the job front, it was a month of ups and downs. It was a month of near offers, real offers, real misses, almost misses and everything in between.

On the personal front, especially from the perspective of settling down into a new-old place, it was exciting and promising.

Now with the job settled, we are moving. I relocate in 2 weeks' time and that means lots of hectic planning, packing and organising. G relocates a month after me. In the meantime, we got invited to the neighbour's Christmas Drinks where we got to know the neighbours better and where we broke the news that after meeting them properly that evening, we were moving. Life's little ironies once again.