Packing

As I prepare to leave I am in the process of packing. Slowly and steadily making lists and prioritizing what I need the most, to be wrapped in smaller pouches and compartmentalized within 2 black bags, that will carry resources, evidences and memories of this place for the next 2 years. My smaller bag looks like a sushi tray, with everyday acts of bathing, shaving, studying and sleeping wrapped in smaller sea weed pouches neatly arranged and ready to serve me when need may arise. My on flight bag reminds me of Star Trek space travelers kit, with cutting edge technology origamied into sleek looking metal cuboids of various shapes & sizes that will talk, analyze & if I don’t achieve social acceptance, then give me company. Most of my baggage is new and smells of air-conditioned shops, sterilized of all touches and ready to be encoded with new sights, smells and sounds. But I also bear with me some old books, photos, clothes and bed covers that will keep me warm on cold rainy London nights.
Having undergone dental ‘rehabilitation’, my teeth hurt a little and don’t feel like they belong to me anymore, just like my luggage, some of them are brand new. As I organize myself to leave behind everything that was ‘me & my’, I stare at my ceiling tonight wondering what the ceiling of my small cozy room in London will be like, will it have wooden slats or will it be painted in cheap fire retarding paint. Tonight I truly understand Murakami’s description of Sputnik and its silent lonely journey, with the earth reflected on its metal body as it swims through dark ether to assemble awareness about itself and the world around…
As I am the last person to depart among all of us who have left for numerous countries and continents, in search of greater goals, better understanding and saucier sex life, I hope that we all get what we wished for and are soon around a party table, somewhere beautiful, talking about each others heroics across the globe. Cheers!

I will miss everyone here, a lot.
Bye Bye people,
Lau
Sau