Having moved around a lot in the past 7 years of my life, I am coming to realize which things i consider indispensable to feeling that I am, loosely put, “home.”
Beyond this category are items that I always end up buying relatively quickly despite the fact that I never take them with me when I move and that they’re more of a luxury than a “have-it-or-die” type of item. In no particular order.
- A bicycle. (not yet true but I’ve been scouring for one and lost out on a good craigslist deal. wah-wah.) I find this one interesting because I’m not a serious cyclist, but I really like the option, I suppose. While in Suji, it may prove indispensable as walking a full 20 minutes in the blistering sun is arduous compared to thought of sailing along on a cruiser for 10 minutes in the blistering sun. Number owned in past 7 years: 3 going on 4.
- A scanner. (just acquired from craigslist at a very reasonable price. though it will be one more thing I have to get rid of.) I suppose that most of the things that I really delight in are still of the tangible rather than digital variety, so I always find myself with a scanner to record them digitally. (obviously) Though its indispensability will make itself known through this blog. Being an English teacher to Korean children who have to do at minimum 3 drawing assignments a week, how could I not scan some of their creations? Number owned in past 7 years: 3
- Books. (another thing that craigslist helped me with. and then I went to Techno-mart in search of a flat iron and/or toaster oven. what did I leave with? Two more books.) Books are indispensable, period. That said, it doesn’t require me purchasing them. My school has a small library of books in English and my boss has a collection of his own that I’m sure he’d let me peruse. But the need to read is not a waiting game. I should mention that I was so pleased with today’s purchases that I took the longest route on the subway just to have more time to sit and read. Number acquired in the past 7 years: Definitely over 100.
I think rice cooker may need to be on this list, too, but I omit it because I’m considering not buying another one while I’m here. (I know, I know. The one time I’m actually in an Asian country, I don’t have a rice cooker.) Just because in terms of kitchen appliances, I’d like to have more money to spend on an oven. And I’ve been doing surprisingly well just cooking rice the old-fashioned way.
