feature image via queen b vintage studios
Good afternoon oysters, and welcome to this Friday’s Open Thread! A time for feelings, a time for gifs, a time for gifs about feelings.
Recently I moved from Montreal to (near) Toronto, and at some unidentified point in the future that might be “late summer” and might be “fall” and might be “hahaha how dare you try to immigrate bitch, DENIED” I’m (hopefully) going to move to Los Angeles.
I never owned a lot of things to begin with, thanks partly to minimalism and partly to brokeness, and the things I do own are fewer than ever. For a while they were spread across three cities — now that they’re lumped into two, it feels both like I have so many objects to deal with and also that all my shit is just shit. (For context, I have about six bankers’ boxes of books and every stitch of clothing I own can and has fit into a smallish duffle bag. I also have this one coffee mug I’m attached to but could leave behind, I guess.)
I love my books, because for me books are the thing, but I’m staring down a move that six months ago was going to be Carolyn and Shannon’s Epic Intercontinental Road Trip In A Car With A Spacious Trunk and now is going to be Carolyn Immigrates As Efficiently As Possible In A Single Flight because I just want to be there, which means I’m moving eight books in my carry on at a time or shipping them to Shannon, dashing heartthrob and the lady I am moving to, in boxes at an estimate of $150 a pop (I think I have the patience to send two of these). Sometimes I mail her random objects when I miss her — my two most favorite sentimental books, a jar, a compass wrapped in socks — but invariably these packages get lost in the mail and invariably this stresses her out way more than me. This means I’m looking at every single thing I own that’s not already in LA with a very critical eye. How much do I love this book? Do I own the ebook version too? Do I want it on my shelf? Do I want it to stay on my shelf while I’m in limbo because it makes me feel like myself and I will miss it, or do I want it on my actual bookshelves so they feel more mine? Going by weight and sentimentality and used bookstore prices, is it going to be more expensive to move or to replace? What do I actually care about?
I don’t believe in life-long favorites of books or of anything, but having to rank and prioritize every single thing I own is turning out to be really interesting. So I wanna know, if you could only take a few things with you, what would they be? In your purse/bag, on a trip, across the country, or across the world.
AS ALWAYS, I also want to know you. I wanna know your soul. Or at least the good news, bad news, gifs, selfies, snacks pet photos, recipes, stories, adventures, naps and Netflix binges that make up part of it.
How To Post A Photo In The Comments:
1. Find a photo! This is the easy part. Find a photo on the web, right click (on a Mac, control+click), hit “Copy Image URL” and then…
2. Code it in to your comment! Use the following code, and use a DIRECT LINK to the image. Your image link should end in .JPG or .GIF or .PNG or .CallMeWhateverYouWant even. I don’t care, but it should be an image suffix! KINDA LIKE THIS:
If you need to upload the photo you love from your computer, try using imgur. To learn more about posting photos, check out Ali’s step-by-step guide.
How To Post A Video In The Comments, Too:
1. Find a video on YouTube or Vimeo or WHATEVER and click “embed.” Copy that code, but first make sure it’s for 640px wide or less. If your player is too large, it will not display properly.
2. Copy the code and paste it directly into your comment.
3. Go forth and jam.
