christmas comes early!

I am blogging at the highly unusual time of 12:28pm because I just had a Christmas-like experience (well, not quite, because my parents rarely give me used items for Christmas, but still). As some of you may recall, there was a bomb scare the day that I was supposed to leave Dublin last summer, and consequently I had to leave a day later than anticipated. Because that one was the second or third scare in a week, I decided that it would be better if I only had two suitcases with me, rather than taking a third and paying the excess baggage fee as I had planned. So, I had packed one of my suitcases with things that, at the time, I decided I would be okay to lose forever if it came down to that, and left it in the hall closet of my apartment. I was supposed to go back to Dublin later in the summer, and so this had seemed like an ideal solution at the time.

However, my later trip fell through due to the incompetence of some of the people in my HR department, and so I was left wondering what I had abandoned in my moment of folly. Luckily, the incompetence of my HR department is matched by the generosity of some of the people who make reimbursement decisions, and so I was able to get my suitcase shipped to me at some unknown expense. It arrived yesterday as I was getting out of the shower, but luckily I realized that the doorbell was ringing over the noise of the music that I was playing while getting ready, and so I was able to accept delivery. I was too busy yesterday to open it, but I opened it this morning. Lo and behold, I had left behind a lot of really good stuff! It was like being reunited with a bunch of long-lost friends. This was all particularly welcome because it was mostly sweaters and sweatshirts, which I am very appreciative of given that it's January (and not July, as it was when I left everything). There were also several purses that I had forgotten about but am now reminded again how much I liked them; all of my European travel guides, which is key in case I ever go back; the winter mittens and scarf that I hadn't been able to find; my senior-year prom dress that has gotten quite a bit of use and that I had taken to Ireland in case of any formal parties (which didn't happen, because it's hard to go to formal parties if you're working 16 hours per day); and, of course, the suitcase itself, which is the only bad thing because it's an uncollapsible behemoth and I have no place to put it.

However, the funny thing is that I have been railing against my consumerist lifestyle and recognizing how ridiculous it is that I have so much stuff, and yet I got all giddy at the appearance of yet more stuff that I had been quite happily living without. As Vidya would say, 'what a jhoke'. Now, though, I should take a shower and do some work--I really must get done with everything today so that I can spend tomorrow and Monday relaxing.