Precious Junk

I believe that we can all agree on the idea that we live in a materialistic world. I remember going once to my Mom's ancestral home in Pallakaad, Kerala. We had tea in this dining room which had a cupboard with neatly arranged, dusty and delicate china. A grand uncle of mine spent some time in the Far East & he had brought this and many other quality stuff. Quite a bit of his stuff were rumoured to be languishing in the attic of the house (or was it another house?). I'd never been to the attic as I was being constantly bombarded by questions like 'Do you remember me?' by various relatives. And when they got over the fact that the infant me was in-fact a gangly 13 year old, the next relative would pop in for the next iteration of questions. The stuff I saw in the cupboard will never be junk in my opinion for two reasons:

1. They don't make them like they used to. Those china cups were exquisite. The minimalist crock of today would just pale in comparison.
2. I like old stuff.

Confession: I am a pack rat. So what have I accumulated over the past few years? Whatever it is it will never have the charm of antique stuff. I tend to debate over purchases for so long that when I do buy the item, I no longer need it! Now this can be very irritating when you do stock taking of one's room like I am now. What a waste of money & space! One such object is my light box which has not been totally useless as I've made it to be.

The story of the light box- I found myself in a 2D animation course about four years ago. The need for a light box was unquestionable. Looked about town for one with a peg bar. No cigar. Ok I'll build one, drew up a design for the carpenter. He came in one morning, I explained the plan to him in grand detail. He knocked up one for me in two days. It looked like a deluxe rat trap! Problem being the angle at which the drawing surface inclined. It proved to be very uncomfortable when one slaved away for hours on it. The minor angle issue aside it was functional, portable and very spartan. I used it less often after I got it home. Consolation-wise I still use it nowadays for art and at night as reading light.

How much of the stuff we have accumulated are actually worth keeping? How much of it is going to last for the next five years? Who knows. Much of the bulk I own is media- books, tapes and CDs. The Choice is clear, either invest in miniature devices that become obsolete in about a years time or invest in something thats like a Soviet juggernaut i.e, hideous in execution but will last over half a life time as long as its not nuked twice to oblivion.