I’ve had some moderate success selling my old stuff on eBay. In fact I went about my old routine of scouring the second hand stores for items to sell. About a week back I stumbled upon a nice find of older video games. I purchased about twenty dollars worth of items and turned it into over a hundred dollars. Of course shipping fees and eBay final value fees ate a little into my profits; Still it was quite satisfying. It’s nice to have a little pocket change, but what I’ve made so far is hardly enough to live on. It’s barely enough for food and gas.

It’s also a bit hard saying goodbye to some of my old possessions. For example: I sold my old Captain Harlock keychain which I had purchased when I first got my driver’s license. Until recently, that keychain had inhabited many of my right pants pockets over a good fifteen or so years. It sold for a little over two-dollars. I wasn’t expecting much. Yet when I was packing it, similarly to that two-dollars bill from a couple posts back, I had reflected a bit of what this keychian had been through in my possession. Haha! It’s notable that Captain Harlock and the two-dollar bill were neighbors for years.

Another item that I’ve recently let go of is my aquarium. I gave it to my best friend, Jeff in Salinas. The process of getting it there was quite the undertaking-Not only did  the aquarium need to arrive intact, but I had no intention of letting the inhabitants of this aquatic world that I created perish while in transit.

With the exception of one missing snail (they tend to disappear anyway and should turn up), everyone made it. The fish, crabs, and shrimp are all accounted for, successfully relocated to Jeff’s apartment, and with the exception of some minor cosmetic changes to the substrate and rock, the tank looks like it hadn’t moved at all. Perfect.

When he got his new apartment, Jeff was interested in starting a tank of his own. Perhaps it was fate that he took mine. I can’t thank him enough for taking on this task. He is new to fish tanks and aquascaping, and even tho these are fresh water species, there’s a lot of knowledge to be absorbed. I have absolute confidence in him tho, as I know he’s just as fanatical about order as I am; If not more.

That said, it was still hard for me to let it go. I saw that tank as proof that I could successfully build, maintain, adapt and evolve a living world that I created. OK, sure, it’s just a fish tank, but it was mine. From the look, to the hardware, to the plants and the types of fish I chose for its community-It was all heavily researched, and it was a reflection of my style. I will miss that tank, but again, I know it’s in good hands.

I am getting down to the nitty gritty of choosing what possessions to keep, and what to sell off, throw away, or give to the second hand-stores. When I first moved down here, it was easy to throw away unnecessary stuff. Now it’s more of a struggle because all that’s left is the stuff that matters.