Whew.
Since last posting of "Deadlines and Distractions" in May, it's been a whirlwind of a few months. Between a couple writing deadlines, some pretty intensive production projects, and a bit of a day-job shuffle, I find myself finally coming up for air. And it's interesting that in the process of feeling buried the last couple months, now that my eyes are a little more open (and I'm actually at home for an extended period of time), I'm noticing that I was also a little buried literally as well. Extra clothes, extra furniture, running out of space in the little amount that's affordable in Los Angeles.
Because of that, I've started a little spring cleaning. And a big part of that has been coming to grips with selling off several of those collectable items that I was holding onto that there just isn't the square footage to continue to house. Some of those that I've found have some monetary value are hitting eBay, some of those that I'm finding don't have much more value other than the memories that they've given me are going to Goodwill (which also means some lucky kid is going to hit a South Bay Goodwill and find a whole bunch of cool nerdy stuff for pennies on the dollar, hit your store now!).
At first it was a little difficult to part with some of the items. But after the initial sting of ripping off the bandage subsided, it actually felt pretty good. I mean, I love Kevin Smith's films. I love Mallrats. I frequently still find myself saying, "Tell 'em, Steve-Dave" even though not that many people get it anymore. But do I really need action figures of Steve-Dave and Fanboy signed by Walt Flanagan and Bryan Johnson? Probably not. There's probably someone else out there that would totally enjoy them more than I would, as I'm just letting them sit on a shelf in the closet indefinitely. Point in case of the process: I had a pretty killer rare Batman item and, while I'm a huge fan of the Bat, there really was no reason for me to have this item out and on display. I threw it onto eBay and it sold to a huge Batman fan who has an entire home theater filled with Batman goods. The perfect home for it.
Now that I'm a little into the process of the Great Giveaway of '15, I'm actually enjoying the process. Finding that I'm not missing any of the items that I've parted with and really wasn't sure what some of the attachment I had to them was in the first place. It feels like, especially in nerd culture, we're so consumed with stuff: posters, toys, this knick-knack and that. People bite and claw at the San Diego Comic-Con for free stuff. Doesn't matter what it is, it's just stuff and us geeks want it. And it adds up so quickly. Especially when you're in a small apartment. Plus it's buying me a little bit of breathing room in the combined office/guest room/nerd cave area which makes sitting and reading and getting writing projects finished a lot more comfortable. Not to mention that the sales from the auctions might finally inspire me to buy a decent chair and desk, which I'm sure my aspiring Quasimodo hunch will appreciate.