tHe LoGic oF PaCkiNg

Packing, whether for a trip or vacation or moving houses, always starts off with the best of intentions.

There is this initial period of rational, logical, thinking. Where you try to categorize and organize the things you need to pack into groups. And this initial period tends to be slow, measured, thoughtful. For each piece of thing that you pick up, brings with it memories. It is as if they have a life of their own and a story to tell as well.

But as time goes by, your energy sags, weighed down by their stories. By this time, you no longer hold the book or dress or CD and try to remember where you bought them, when you last used them. Your thoughts are perhaps not as logical, but impulsive.

And right at the end, the packing becomes a frenzy as the day of your departure draws near. Things no longer stand in and for themselves, they become thrown together in a heap of near confusion.

I don’t remember where or how or with whom I got this T-shirt I’m wearing today. In fact, I look at my room and I don’t remember how each piece of thing came into being.

I wish I could.