Early Christmas

I love what I do. I felt like a child on Christmas morning when I got home last night and brought all my boxes of loot in to the kitchen for sorting and cleaning. I still had two unopened bags to root through, only able to guess what could be inside; they were like giant wrapped presents under the table.

After spending about an hour of sorting, unwrapping, washing, inventorying and arranging I was finally done. I had forgotten that the bulk of the work comes once you get your treasures home.

Once again, after displaying everything on the kitchen table for picture time, I was filled with a sense of immense satisfaction and triumpth mixed with a hint of nausea and guilt. I dont understand why this is happening, why I am able to do this every day. I went to theses same places two days ago and got everything of value. Last night I thought twice about finishing my loop because my car was almost full before I even got to the second and third spots.

I guess I can look at it as a lesson about the corporate machine; it never sleeps, never stops, never slows down. Tomorrow will bring another dump full of treasures.
I guess one positive thing is that with Christmas coming up, there will be plenty of wonderful gifts to bestow upon all of my family and friends; It's gonna be the best Christmas ever! I think back to years past and how around this time I am usually scrambling around, trying to pick up shifts so I can get a little more on that last paycheck before Christmas so I can give it all away to Wal-Mart, Target and the other places that embody the modern spirit of Christmas. Im saving my money this year, hopefully for my plans of going to school in Hawai'i next year.
 With Christmas coming up, abundance of everything in the cold weather, care packages and prepping for Hawai'i constantly on my mind, the gears in my brain have been turning again; How can I make the most out of my unique position, make things easier for myself, my family and my friends? I have only made about $4,000 working this year. Adding all financial aid and assistance from school and other sources brings my income this year to around $8,000, well below the poverty line. And I have lived like a king! Not once have I gone hungry, worried about paying rent, buying school supplies or any other nesscesity. In fact, I have had such an abundance of material wealth that I can afford share it with all of my poverty stricken friends, family and the occasional homeless person. I need somewhere to put all my excess until I can find places or people for it to go to..
So here's the list, divided by food and non-food items:

3 boxes Honey Nut Cheerio cereal & milk bars
9  bags assorted Dove chocolates
2 bags mini Snickers
1 bag assorted mini candy bars
6 bottles diet caffeine free Pepsi
1 bag organic red grapes
5 bartlett pears
bunch of red bananas
1lb box organic green beans
1 bag cut broccoli and baby carrots
3 pkgs portabella mushrooms
4 tomatoes
4 white onions
7 yellow, green and orange bell peppers
5 yellow squash
5 zucchini
1 cucumber
1 ear yellow corn
3 carrots
2 10lb bags white potatoes
10lb bag russet potatoes
4 bags baby carrots
5 boxes organic baby romaine and herb mix
7 assorted apples
1 bag Mott's Macintosh apples
2 16oz cartons strawberries
4lb bag Sunkist oranges
3lb bag clementines
carton fresh sage
1lb box Ritz crackers
6 bottles Similac baby formula
16 4pk boxes chocolate doughnuts
1 loaf roasted garlic artisan bread
4ct bag everything bagles
10ct box chicken wings
1 pan yeast rolls
1lb bag Maxwell House coffee
3.5oz pkg feta
8oz garlic herb cheese spread
Sergento ham salad finishers
2 32oz spaghetti dinners
2 12 oz. baked ziti dinners
7 boxes Totino's pepperoni pizza rolls
2lb bag tater tots

5 boxes Crest White Strips
2 toothbrushes
Neutrogena grapefruit face scrub
dry skin therapy lotion
ocean body spray
senior vitamins
2 bottles Pantene shampoo
colored xmas lights
4lb. bag Epsom salts
baby boots
box staples
can Alpo dog food
2 light bulbs
pair of jeans
2 boquets of flowers
3 herb plants; 2 basil and 1 cilantro
reusable tote bag

All this in one night. And again, everything is packaged, wrapped, in boxes and so on. Most stuff was tossed because it was getting close to the "expiration date." Some was tossed because the package was torn or punctured. Some people think that I am "disgusting" or that I am a "parasite." I understand that no one wants to buy it. I understand that the company can't use it any more because it has no potential to make them money. But I don't understand why all of this material wealth with minor defects, yet still usable and perfectly good, is thrown away when so many people around the world and here at home in America are struggling, toiling, suffering all day every day to acquire the perfect packages from inside the store. Not only are these items just casually thrown away, but most often they intentionally destroyed; cut open, poured out, ripped apart, crushed in to compacted blocks and guarded under lock and key behind huge walls and fences. I am fortunate to have several spots whose employees are either too careless to follow through with corporate policies of destroying merchandise bound for the trash or they leave it in hopes that someone will be able to get it. I like to think the latter; its less depressing and Ill take what little comfort I can find in the face of this seemingly hopeless problem. But I still have hope. I hope to change things. The gears are turning.