After spending a couple of weeks of slowly archiving the stuff I can’t throw away because of their remembrance values, my lair looked as messy as the time I first moved in all my stuff about 2 years ago.
I plan to spend this week uncluttering and clearing out stuff I don’t need anymore. Let’s see how much I can unclutter in a week… This is the photo of my place before uncluttering:
I became somewhat of an avid modeler when I moved back to Toronto in Grade 12. High school was not too demanding here, so I could easily spend days, weeks, or even up to a month on a particular model. I was very much a perfectionist back then, and I could easily be irritated by the slightest imperfection. The hobby became the cause of frustration rather than the joy of leisure. But over time, I’ve learned to overcome the frustration by giving away my finished models to friends…
It’s been many years since I last completed a model. There are still 6-7 untouched models in my archive that I wish to complete someday.
Balancing out the feminine stuffed toys, I also have a collection of balls (mainly soccer balls).
I loved playing soccer ever since I was little, it’s the sport I enjoyed playing the most. I still remember the times when I couldn’t stand the studying in my undergraduate years, I would go to the soccer field across the residents and spend hours alone dribbling the soccer ball. My attachment to the soccer ball did not end after graduation. For the two jobs I held after undergraduate graduation, I always kept a soccer ball under my desk to make those idling times less boring.
Some of my friends know my love for soccer balls and actually bought me a few as souvenirs! I sure did like them more than postcards and key chains.
As a 30 year-old guy, I ashamedly have a small collection of stuffed toys I can’t throw away. Snoopy and the Cat (I don’t know his/her name) next to him traveled all the way from HK and made it in time to my undergraduate graduation. Other than those two, I actually bought a lot of the small ones as souvenirs because they were irresistibly cute.
Following postcards, key chains may be the second most popular souvenir option. And similar to bookmarks, I have much more key chains than needed.
Most of them are souvenirs from friends, some of them are from my own regrettably limited traveling. Of course there are also key chains that are not traveling-related but still have remembrance values – like those received from previously leased cars and those received from weddings.
When I was in elementary school, my sister Susanna introduced me to the hobby of collecting stamps. I would meticulously cut off the stamps from letters, then soak, dry, and carefully put them in my stamp album. To further encourage me, my sister even gave me her entire stamp collection!
I enjoy seeing the stamp designs and reading the stories behind them, but I was never really an enthusiastic stamp collector.
Sometimes I wonder if people still collect stamps nowadays when emails are quickly replacing traditional letters. And who can I pass on this hobby to?
Today, I’ve archived all the bookmarks I’ve received over the years. I’m guessing there were about 50 of them.
Most of them were from b/s in my fellowships. The bookmarks failed to deliver their physical usefulness as I didn’t fall in love with books until recently. However, the words of encouragements written on them offered comfort for knowing that I were in others’ thoughts and prayers, and to me this is far more important.
One particular bookmark tickled my fancy. It was written by myself on May 17th, 2003 (probably during Church Retreat). In it were 3 short questions I dropped down:
Once in a while, those questions would pop up in my mind. I’ve always believed that each of us is uniquely created by God to live a purposeful and fulfilling life.
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
After archiving my postcards, letters and greeting cards, I’ve spent the last few days archiving (almost) all my photos – more than 300 were scanned!
I’ve found my kindergarten graduation photo which my dad used to put in his wallet. There’s also this photo of me, my dad, and my brother during a family trip in Thailand. I was probably in Grade 1 or 2. I remember going on that trip and almost got drowned in the resort’s pool, but I don’t remember myself looking that adorable and my dad appearing so young in his golden age…
I thank God for my family.
After archiving my letters, I continued my stroll down the memory lane and re-read all the greeting cards received over the last 10+ years in Canada.
Christmases, New Years, Birthdays, Graduations, Thank Yous, Farewells… there’s always a card that fits the special occasion. Every card represents my presence in someone’s mind, they’re proves of “Life affecting Life”. I thank God for giving me so many friends in life, and I pray that I’ll always be of positive influence on their lives.
I’ve spent more than half my life here in Toronto, but never before had I been up one of the most famous local landmarks – the CN Tower.
Some of my friends thoughtfully arranged a lunch gathering up there at the 360 Restaurant today. The aerial view of the city is spectacular! The food is decent (not that I’m concerned), and of course the best part is the delightful conversations with friends I don’t see often – it’s becoming more of a rare occasion as we all grow older.
Now I have one less place to visit before I leave Canada…
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
© 2023 Tony Law's Website. All Rights Reserved.
