Trash, rubbish and the pre-move practices of ridding

The moment is getting closer and closer for our move. In anticipation of this we are continuing to clean out and rid. At the same time, I am working on a research grant application that is about how food things become rubbish--or how food un-becomes food. In preparation for this I have been reading about rubbish, trash and the governance of the practices around ridding; about things and their ability to enchant or disgust (seems a bit strong); and about how we practice self making (and the making of others) in the ways that we accumulate and discard. This scavenging in the academic literature about such things is interesting, but made more so through the engagements and reflections I have had to undertake while getting ready for this move.

Particularly, as we spend the weekend going through the loft sorting piles into things we don't use but can't bear to discard (and so will pay a storage company to hold for us) and those things we can get rid, I find myself considering the importance of this move as a moment of disruption in my relationship with these things. I can no longer just ignore them in the loft. I must think about these things that I was once compelled to acquire and actively consider what value they have to me--are they worth paying the storage price for? Or what value they may have to someone else--should the item go straight into the bin or the back of the car to take to the tip or do I think someone else might want it and is it worth the effort to find buyer. I am forced in this sorting to think about how the items came to be in my house. I am resentful of some of the items, while I don't like them, I feel compelled to keep them because they were once cherished belongings of a relative now dead, or (and this has less hold on me) the item was a gift. Other things filled a purpose long since past (e.g., baby carriers and a roasting pan that is fine for a US oven but too large for anything I have had in the UK). So we spend the day sorting and ridding and piling and selling and then ridding some more.

At work the same process is going on. I have to decide what books and papers to move now and what to move later. I have money to move things now, but I might need the works in the autumn while I am in Sheffield still. I also have to decide what to keep and what to just get rid of. I feel guilt over the piles of paper to go into the recycling. I find it very difficult to get rid of books but I know I won't use text books that I had when I was a student all those years ago. I read paper titles of papers photocopied from journals and think, "Oh I liked that paper, I must keep that." But I also know I won't read it again, thinking has in some cases moved on--but I do have some papers that were written in the 1960's that are still fresh today. I am also forced in this process of ridding to think about what I want to do in the future. This is not just the past that I am disposing but also areas of future work. Should I keep the labour market materials or not? Do I want to teach or do research in this area again, or do I want to do the work I am currently doing? Have I moved on? Is there a chance the two will dovetail one day and I will regret this process of ridding? I am torn.

I am finding that moving makes one face oneself and consider not just geographically where one wants to be but where one wants to go and also what one wants to remember. Some of this involves imposing material value onto the things that we rid; It certainly involves a process of considering the emotional value of this wasted material--guilt, longing, sadness, reflection, fear, regret. While the process of ridding is not entirely a pleasant task, it is fairly cathartic if unsettleing.

Looking forward to the heat

It is a balmy 52 degrees today and looks like rain here in Ilkley. It is 82 degrees in Hong Kong and while it looks like it might be raining there as well, somehow 82 and rainy seems so much better. I am a bit tired of being cold.

Quite a bit has happened since my last post. Things are beginning to fall into place. For example, we have sold our house, thought I hesitate to say this as the contracts have not been exchanged yet so things could still go wrong. I think we may have gotten lucky with that as there seemed to be a bit of a flurry of activity in the housing market in April and then it slowed down again around the election. Unfortunately the buyers do not want the refrigerator, so I have to figure out how to get rid of that before we move. Small price to pay if it all goes through.

I also have been granted leave of absence from my job starting in the winter term next year. This is a huge relief as it holds my job for me for 18 months. Related to that it looks like I will be granted Adjunct status at Hong Kong University in Geography. This visiting status is quite an honour as the university has quite high status on the world stage. In addition to being ranked the top university in Asia, it is ranked 24 on the world stage (for reference Sheffield is 82, Leeds is 99, and Columbia is 11). I will also be able to do a bit of teaching and postgraduate supervision, as well as use it as a base for writing and doing research. I am very excited at the opportunity for doing some food research in Hong Kong. I am working on a book prospectus at the moment and writing time will be really useful--I have got to be careful not to pack in too much though as I do really want to spend some time enjoying the region, taking photographs, and learning Cantonese.

I have been trying to learn a bit more about the culture as well as get the kids excited. We have discovered that our new favorite breakfast food is Nan Wong Bao (a steamed dumpling with coconut filling). They are really good with strawberries and a bit of bacon on the side. The salt of the bacon and the tarness of the berries offset the sweet coconut inside the Bao. I have dreams about eating this. I have also purchased a number of films by Wan Kar Wai, who is a favorite of Quentin Tarantino. The films are not the usual Jacki Chan kind of film that one usually thinks of with regard to Hong Kong Cinema. We also have the film Infernal Affairs, which is what The Departed is an American copy. It is pretty good. We've also been listening to the music of Faye Wong. She does a cover of a Cranberries song that is absolutely lovely. I prefer it. Of course I have also been reading everything I can get my hands on about Hong Kong. There is a book by McDonogh and Wong (2005) called Global Hong Kong, that is informative, though not without its flaws. The first aim is seceding, the second not so much.

Finally, we got word the other day that our visa's have been approved and are on their way in the post. Lets hope things continue to progress as they have been!