From Wollongong to Sydney
Hello! I am in Sydney. In fact I've been here for a week, but I've been too busy to mention it.

Hi Sydney people, let's hang out!

The majority of my worldly possessions are now in boxes in my brother's attic. For the past couple of years, there were more of them, and they were in boxes in my brother's shed. There was a flood at one point, wetting a bottom corner of one of the book boxes, damaging some volumes and attracting slater bugs.

A couple of my gorgeous Wodehouse volumes had to be thrown out:



And one of Eddie Campbell's Alec books:



There was bug poop everywhere:



When I was in year one, I remember, once, a teacher's report saying, "Patrick has a tendency to 'eat' books." My mother explained that it meant I read books very fast and the teacher was running out of books to give me, which was a relief, because I was worried that I had an unconscious habit of chewing on books as I read them (somehow), that no-one had told me about. It was so confusing.

Anyway -- eating books:



The second volume of Maus sustained some damage too, but not so much that I had to chuck it. It's a pity, though, because I think Maus is only published in the single-volume edition these days, which I dislike because it's printed on shiny paper.

It's all quite sad for a book fiend like me, but at the same time, I got over it almost immediately. I can re-buy this stuff; nothing rare or expensive was damaged. And lately, I am less and less attached to material possessions with each passing day. My whole year so far has been just getting rid of shit -- as much shit as possible. My advice to young, single people who don't have a house: DON'T BUY THINGS. You will want to travel, if you have any sense, and to travel, you will need fewer possessions and more money.

Naturally, all the cheap, flimsy paperbacks were unscathed, because, of course, I packed them at the top of the box, supported by the big, sturdy hardbacks.

Here's something I found while sorting through all these boxes; this, and a can of white spray paint:



Good times.