distilling the essence of my life

These days, it's all about minimalism -- especially since I am supposed to be packing everything (or as much as possible) and moving it back to Regina, Sask. Yes, I have somewhat successfully crammed my "essential" documents, clothes, shoes, belongings into two large suitcases, I still have a lot of stuff to sift through and decide if it's worth shipping back out west.

What is considered "indispensable" or "valuable"? As much as I'd like to ship everything, I think I have to be ruthless and take only the bare necessities or things that cannot be replaced (such as photo albums, gifts).

In the meantime, while I am on vacation, I must resist purchasing non-essentials as much as possible, as that means more packing of stuff. :P How much stuff do people need to live?

I would like to read this book (now that I supposedly have some free time): Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine. I came across this book while researching, er procrastinating, at Chapters in London, Ontario. I read about three chapters of it. It was quite interesting the withdrawal symptoms she had from not purchasing consumer goods. It was even interesting to read the preface ... in which her and her partner had to prepare for the year of buying nothing ... determining what was essential or consumer good (as in not necessary). She thought wine was a luxury; her husband thought it was essential (just one example).

Even after I get back to Regina, I have to once again pack the bare essentials since I will be heading out to Vancouver for a one-month contract position. Although this is a one-time project, I will be looking for longer-term positions ... (in North America). Speaking of which ... I should work on those applications (one in Vancouver and one in New York ... both which are one-year contracts) ...

The last leg of library school

Five more classes and four more assignments to go until the end of this program.

No update on the job search. There is a job fair for federal library jobs in Ottawa August 16, which I do plan to attend (network, network, network!). I have applied to CBC Toronto for a temporary full-time position too.

And it seems that some Vancouver friends are going to the same wedding I'll be attending in Montreal. What a small world.

This post is rather disjointed, as is the state of my mind these days.

no cbc interview

yesterday, i learned that all the interviews for the cbc position were cancelled ... due to some bureaucratic reason ... or other.

i did, however, get a phone call notifying me about this cancellation. the woman i spoke with seemed very interested in interviewing me ... and said she liked what skills and interests i had on my resume. anyhow, when the job is reposted at the end of the summer, my application will still be considered.

might be better timing in the long run (if i can't find something else ...)