Packing angst

[angelchicken]

Okay, so here's the thing:

I don't know if I should pack all of the printed out fic I have or if it is time to let it go. (Most of) these stories can be found on line and I don't have a ton of space in my future diggs, but I culled a *lot* when I moved to Chicago and I don't know if I can bare to cull more.

And it's not a lot, but still . . . There is, I'd say, a 1.5 foot stack of fic. And I kind of hate the give it up. Even though most of it I can still find.

And it's not like I've read it since I've moved (well, maybe a little).

What do I do, everyone? What do I DO!?!?!?

*wrings hands*

Comments

[kopernik.livejournal.com]

KEEP.

[angelchicken.livejournal.com]

I WANT TO BUT I DON'T HAVE THE ROOM!

AHHHHH!

I am awash in a sea of packing confusion. WHERE DO MY LOYALTIES LIE???

[canadia-bit.livejournal.com]

Toss it. Be ruthless. When I did my big clean out over Christmas break, I literally threw out 30 garbage bags full of crap. I did not need any of it nor do I miss any of it. Plus, now I can have people over on a regular basis because I have space for them. Really, toss it, be ruthless, it's amazingly cathartic.

[angelchicken.livejournal.com]

Ah, see, but I *was* ruthless when I left NYC. I probably threw out 10,000 sheets of printed out fic (which, in retrospect, HOLY CRAP! But I did read them all. Often).

These are the ones that I am worried I might *miss*.

[the-lbb.livejournal.com]

Dump. Take one step closer to a paperless society. You either have to keep it or dump it in its entirety. Don't cull. That takes too long and leads to tangential reminiscing, which takes even longer.

[angelchicken.livejournal.com]

Dude, you have no idea.

And in related tangential reminiscing, you are the best card sender ever. I was going through old papers and cards (what? I'm a pack rat. You know this!) I found so many cards from you and from you and your fella and it made me love you EVEN MORE!

Also, I want to go to New York but not the city (Shhh!) and visit with you and maybe drive up (with you?) and see your college roommate.

Maybe in the late fall. . .

[(Anonymous)]

Aww, thanks. There is a weird card buying gene in my family. I am on the hunt for a 16th birthday card. . .for a BOY! That doesn't reference driving. (Sore subject!) OMGsohard! Have you heard from my old roommate? I emailed about a month ago & haven't heard back.

[ghoulchick.livejournal.com]

If there is time (and there's probably not), I would suggest looking up each online and copying the fic onto Word documents and saving them that way. Then they don't take up room, but you can still be sure to have them if the link dies. (But back it up in case your computer dies as well.)

[shadowlass.livejournal.com]

Seconded. Burn them on CDs, or create a private website you don't publicize and save them there, so you effectively have you own private online archive. Seriously, I can't believe how much fic I've enjoyed that's no longer online.

And if there are some favorites among the printouts, keep them. I mean, ink's expensive! And you took the time to print them out!

[fenwic.livejournal.com]

YES. An archive or lj or whatever can disappear or be locked or deleted in the blink of an eye and FIC IS IMPORTANT!!

And yes, any printouts you've read in the last six months are definitely keepers :)

[sunbrae.livejournal.com]

Whatever you don't keep, can you recycle? Ten thousand pages thrown out?!?!

I save my fic in word documents. Weeeeell, I don't save a lot, really. But what I have, it's in Word doc format.