Things and Stuff (Sorry its a long one)

Since our acceptance into Peace Corps Guyana, we have been doing our fair share of research; reading numerous books, internet searches and blog reading have absolutely consumed our lives. While reading all of the different blogs from people who are in or are going to so many different places I became aware of a common trend that each blog had. Each one always contained at least one post in which our societies over-abundance of stuff was mentioned. While I am not one to follow trends this is one subject I feel that I can't avoid discussing.
       It came to me this morning while I was in the shower. I was looking around and realized (not the first time I have had this realization) that we have way too much stuff in our shower and bathroom. From shampoo and conditioner, to shaving cream, soap, nail clippers, Q-tips, feminine products, I could honestly fill pages with just the things we have in our bathroom; and that is just the bathroom.
        Overnight our apartment has been run through by an extremely rare feat, the southern California tornado. After spending the better part of the last month selling or giving away most of our life it still amazes me that we have anything left, let alone an overabundance. All of this makes me wonder what the people in our soon to be new country would think of all of our "stuff"? It also makes you wonder, what, if anything is really worth keeping? Im not saying that none of the stuff has value. We have gifts from our wedding, sentimental photos, things for our hobbies (surf boards and scrapbooks), practical household items, but do we really need all of it?
         Peace Corps poses a unique opportunity for the Quinlivans. We have the ability to strip our lives of our things and stuff. We are keeping a few things, of course, mostly the things that are too expensive to re-purchase (if we come back) or the things that just are irreplaceable. But this purging of our life is an extremely freeing endeavor. Sort of reminds me of a quote from the book Fight Club, "It's only after we have lost everything that we are free to do anything." This quote is of course referring to a complete philosophical nihilism, which I in no way endorse, but it still relates to our stuff. Christ asked a man to give up all of his possessions and give his life to the Lord, but he couldn't so Jesus said "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Luke 18;24-25)." Its a long process but I think by getting rid of our things we are helping the camel lose weight (or creating a bigger needle, which ever way you want to look at it).
       I pray that this purging process of our things and stuff will ultimately simplify our lives to the point where we can be free to do anything God asks of us without restrictions. 
PaulQ

True Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Love the Quinlivans

Are We Packed?

No.

Not even close.  That's what this weekend after Christmas is for. :)

We did, however, prioritize our "to do" list into three categories:

Immediate

Not So Immediate

Just Needs to Be Done Before We Leave

It's a long set of lists.

And our apartment looks like this:

And this:

And our Peace Corps pile only looks like this:

And Sally is enjoying the empty boxes. 

Fortunately for us, we should be filling them more this weekend (not so fortunate for Sally)

If those pictures are not a good enough indication as to the extreme disarray we are living in, the fact that this has been sitting on our dining room table since October might help.

Regardless, it all has to be done by February 5th.  However, much of it has to be finished before January 5th when we drive all our stuff up to Washington.  This might require some more coffee....

Alyssa

Oh Sweet Stressful Irony

This weekend was our "unoffical" purging on stuff. On Saturday we had our yard sale in which we were able to get rid of 75% of our stuff and make over $400 in the process. Strangely some of the things we were sure would be hot-ticket items were still lying on my parents lawn at the end of the day (If you want or need an oversized chair, papasan chair, dining room table, dinged up surf boards, a snowboard jacket and a womens bike, let us know).

The other major sale of the weekend was going to be my truck. Our friend Heidi was in dire need of a vehicle after losing her job earlier this year and our thought we to give her a good deal on a fairly reliable car. Before driving the car over to her house to complete the sale we decided to stop by the store so we could quickly clean out the interior and make it look somewhat nice. On the way I coasted to a stop sign in neutural and when I went to drive away the truck would not go into gear. So Alyssa and I pushed the truck out of the road while I said a few choice words and laughed at the irony of the situation.

This morning I talked to the shop and it looks as if we are going to need a new clutch, which will roughly cost half of what we were planning on selling the car for.

Can't wait to get to Guyana so I can breathe again.

Pack List: Take One

OK it looks like a lot, at it really may be, but at least we will be prepared. The idea is to get high quality stuff that we can only get in the states and then get everything else in country. We are limited to 80 LBs, which I (Paul) think is way more than enough. But after looking at all the random things we are bringing may be an issue. Things with question marks are things we are still not sure on. If any of you have suggestions or comments let us know.

Paul’s Clothing
Shirts (SS) – x7
Shirts (LS) – x2
Collared Shirts (SS) – x4-5
Dress Collared Shirts (LS) – x2
Ties – x1
Shorts – x4-5
Pants – x3-4
Underwear – x7
socks (thin/ short) - x4
Board shorts – x3
Pj pants – x1
soccer shorts – x2
Glasses – x2
Sunglasses – x2
hat – x2
Watch – x1
rain jacket – x1
Chaco – x2
Rainbows – x1
crocs – x1?
Runners – x1
Boots – x1
dress – x1
Soccer cleats – x1

Alyssa’s Clothing
Shirt (ls) – x2
Shirt (ss) – x4 (Icebreakers)
Casual tops– x3
Collared/dressy shirts – x4
Undershirts (tanks) - x3
Semi-formal dress – x1
Skirts (knee) – x3
Skirts (long) – x3
slips – x1-2
Pants (lightweight) – x2
Shorts (long) – x2-3
Underwear – x10
Sports Bras – x7
Socks – x3
Pj pants –x2
Hat – x2
Sunglasses – x2
Belt – x1
Workout shorts – x1-2
Watch – x1
Reading glasses – x2
Swimsuit – x1-2
Raincoat – x1
Chacos/tevas – x1-2
Dress (closed) – x1
running – x1
flips – x1

Random
Can/bottle opener
Camera
Camera Batteries & Charger
Pelican camera case
Pelican de-silica
USB cord/ card reader
Rechargeable batteries- AA(6) and AAA(6)
Battery charger
Dry sack (camera)
USB storage
memory cards – 4 GB (at least)
Solar charger & accessories
Books - x10 (at least)
Board game(s)
cards & card games
Puzzle books
Dictionary
Guitar
Gifts for Hosts
Soccer ball & pump
Duct tape
Sewing kit
Journal – x2
Bible – x2
Pens – x10
U.S. Stamps
Stationery supplies
Envelopes (adhesives)
Incense

Gear
Day pack – x2
Multiday Pack – x2
Duffle – x2
Purse Bag – x1
Knives – x4
Multi-tool – x2
headlamps – x4
Pack towels – x4
Nalgenes –x4
Money belt –x2
Lamp –x1
Thermarest/mat –x1?

Financial
Credit card – x1
Debit cards – x2
travelers checks -$50

Toiletries/Health
Prescriptions – 3 months
Fem Hygiene Stuff
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Floss
Shampoo & Conditioner
Hand Sanitizer
Small nail care kit
Tweezers
Hair ties
Brush
Razors/blades
Sunscreen
Deodorant
Lotion
Soap
Make-up? (small supply)
Hair cutting shears
Electric Razor?

Home
Bed sheets – x2
Mattress cover- x1
Measuring cups/ spoons?
Wall calendar
Map of US/ World?
Photos of friends & family (laminated)
Clothes pins?
Clothes line?
Hangers?
Small mirror
hammock?

Job related
Art supplies (kids)
Peace Corps paper work
PC Packet
EDU books/resources
calculator? (solar)
Medical reference book
Mountaineering medicine book

Things to ship
Comfort food
Seeds
Drink mixes
Spices
Books
U.S. stamps
School supplies

Leaving February 5th!

They moved up our staging date as well as the location, so now we leave February 5, 2010 from Philadelphia.

I don't know why exactly we leave in the middle of winter from a freezing city to a hot country, but I don't call the shots. I guess we'll just have to mail home or leave our cold weather gear from Philadelphia before we board the plane. :)

Regardless, we're still excited.