[Brian's Stuff]
Time to tidy up memories and gadgets

I’m starting to think our generation might be cursed. When I first ventured into the professional world it was during the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis.

I remember sending out dozens of resumes, but it took me a year to get a job after my discharge from the military. College kids started to think, “Why not do the military service now when it’s hard to get a job anyway?” I am proud to say that I pulled a few strings to get ahead of the waiting line.

I got back from the States in December 1997. I was in boot camp by March.

Now we are witnessing the meltdown of the financial world as we know it. Who would have thought that names like Lehman Brothers would be erased? As each month goes by, we may talk to old friends, and we might not like what we hear. It’s depressing when you hear in the news that real wages are falling behind inflation and that salaries have been frozen.

As most of us are not part of the yacht-buying clientele who may be hiding from the financial crisis, there is little we commoners can do on the financial front except to cut costs where we can.

Over the New Year I did a huge clean up of my house. I rearranged my photo albums, embarrassing pictures that I forgot even existed got the boot. I recommend anyone who wants to impress a girlfriend or fiancee to do this.

My bookshelves now have so much free space that I find the Bible next to the Kama Sutra. This I have to fix; it seems wrong.

I also inspected my wardrobe and made the tough decision to say good bye to my beloved college T-shirt, or what’s left of it. I’ve been hoarding it for over a decade, but at least it was me who chucked it out and not my mother, who’s been scheming for years to get rid of it.

I went through my tools and electronic gear. A Sony Walkman circa 1985 finally hit retirement for good. I have been holding on to it for nothing but sentimental reasons. Once a year I would hold it in my hands, nostalgic for the first day I took the precious device into school for my friends to admire.

It’s time to move on.

Old cell phones kept for silly reasons also ended up in the trash can. I had this idea of collecting them and putting them in a time capsule for my descendants.

Even my stamp collection got a look. I have pieces from the Third Reich with Hitler’s face engraved. Those I am hanging on to. People from the future will pay a fortune for a lunatic on a stamp, and they don’t take up too much space.

I look around and my room looks much better organized and I must say it feels pretty good.

Above all, it didn’t cost me anything and that alone is reason to try it.

by Brian Lee Staff Reporter africanu@joongang.co.kr