The First Transport Is Away

I sent my first box of assorted crap back to Australia the other day, by way of Postes Canada. I'm definitely going to send another in the next few days, and possible one or two more at the end of the month. I was planning on sending one big crate of about thirty kilos, but since anything over ten kilos has to be sent via air freight, it would've been an expensive endeavour. I'm therefore dividing everything into ten kilo packages and sending it via sea, for about CA$90 a box. Insurance and packing materials are about another $15, leaving the whole deal at about $105 per ten kilo package. It's not great, but it's certainly better than the $600 I was quoted for air freighting one big thirty kilo box back to Australia.

Packing always makes me a little sad - it's like dismantling the circus before it rolls on to another town. Books, clothes, decorations all disappear, leaving patches of bare wall and outlines in dust. Some items don't make the cut and end up in the rubbish bin or goodwill bag, others are sold, and still others are given away. My apartment is losing its familiar rounded edges, becoming just a couple of blocky, dull rooms where I happen to be. I won't get too down about it though, as I know that when I'm back in Australia and those boxes arrive, it'll be almost exactly the reverse of what I'm feeling now. It'll be just like opening presents on Christmas morning, except instead of new toys, I'll have armfuls of old, faithful toys to play with once again.