I've been wondering how many people move from one location to another and pack up items only to never ever unpack them. When we moved from Brooklyn to Staten Island, I packed a lot of boxes and half of the stuff including a lot from college, was never reopened. Some boxes were immediately unpacked but most sat around in the new attic or garage until a need for one small artifact arouse and then the boxes would be combed over with more intensity than Guiliani's hair.

Why is it that we as Americans especially tend to hold on to things that we do not need. We fear that somewhere down the road five years later we will need that one cog that once fit into some mechanical device because it can now be used somewhere else.

My current living situation, has me in a great home with a wonderful girlfriend. The only problem is that I inherited not only her stuff but the other items which were accumulated by her parents during their 20 year occupation of this house. So there are decorative tins from all different retailers and companies which once held rice, chocolate, cookies and candy stacked neatly on shelves while items used everyday are kept in bins.

A huge task will be undertaken this weekend as I attempt to persuade Liz to sit down with me and go through all of these items so we can decide which are keepers and which can be sent to the dump.

So I am sick. It is actually very rare that I am legitimately sick and unable to attend work. Today I woke up with a sore throat and a deep bronchial cough that sounds like I am getting the beginnings of bronchitis. So it’s off to the doctor for me today. Something happens when I am sad or sick and I usually try to combat that feeling by spending money or time in a café sipping coffee and relaxing but today I spent more time in my car looking for a parking space near one of several cafés in Park Slope before finally traveling through “little Mexico” which is really Sunset Park to Bay Ridge; where I ended up with my coffee and relaxation. This time spent driving turns me into a ranting and raving Archie Bunker type who hates everyone and just wants to be left alone.

BTW, due to NYC’s tight regulations on probationary employees going sick and being out sick, I will not be staying home tonight. Rather I will be braving the cold to drive a truck all night and earn my pay. Because I cannot take a chance at being sick for a few days and having a much more serious illness creep up later in my 18 months probationary period.