I haven't posted much this year, but I'm sure most of the old-timers will remember me as Hitori.

Two things happened recently that have caused me to give some serious thought to selling off the vast majority of my media collection (CDs, DVDs, and games). First, I met a very extraordinary girl. She's gone now because of circumstances beyond our control, but there are some things she said that stuck with me. The first is that the things I collect burden me without adding much value to my life. She has a point. I've lived alone in, and paid rent on, a two-bedroom apartment for several years now because it's just too much of a pain to move all my stuff. And I haven't touched much of it for years.

The other thing she said is that it's bad to invest too much in the future at the expense of enjoying life in the present. In practice, I think maybe she took this too far herself, but I suspect that I'm as far from the golden mean as she is. So I'm giving serious thought to pursuing my long-time dream of finding a job in Hong Kong and moving there. Naturally, this contraindicates having a huge pile of stuff to lug across the sea with me.

The other thing that happened is that my landlord raised my rent by 26%, and I've decided to move. Packing is a huge pain, and my new home is going to be a bit cramped if I don't downsize.

I realize that the spell my girlfriend cast over me still persists even in her absence, so I'm not going to do anything drastic until it's had time to wear off. But I figured I'd at least start to investigate my options. So I'd like to know from those of you who have unloaded most or all of your collections: How's that working out for you? Do you ever wish you'd held on to some of those things, or are you wondering why you ever bothered buying them in the first place?

And if anyone knows whether and how an experienced (6 years) software engineer with rudimentary Mandarin skills and no knowledge of Cantonese might go about finding a job in Hong Kong, that'd be great to know, too.

Well first of all I'd say this extraordinary girl of yours has some valuable perspectives on life, and I agree wholeheartedly with both of her pieces of advice.  Although as you mention with the second point, taking it to the extreme one way is not much better than the other.

Best of luck with this!  Obviously I don't know the various circumstances intertwined with your life but I say go for it!  It was a long-time wish of mine to try living in Japan and I have no regrets about making the move.

I sold a lot of my GM CDs - some of them quite rare - several years ago and although there are a couple I wish I'd held on to, overall I have no regrets.  Of course there are others that I held on to and am glad I did.

Do you not have a place you can stash your CDs while you're away?  With parents or the such?  If you have such a place I say sell the ones you don't think you'll miss, MP3ify the rest and stash 'em!  (To be realistic I'd say MP3ify the rare ones you're gonna sell as well, although I wouldn't condone this as a general practice.)

Is it possible to start out teaching English?  I'm sure with their English being pretty far along it's not as easy to get such a job as it is in Japan, but maybe there's still a possibility?  If you're experienced at software engineering I would think there are opportunities for expats.  Search those international job listings like mad!

Yeah, we remember ya, Hitori. 

I admire that you've decided to try and take an objective look at things, as
it's not all that easy trying to evaluate our own motivations sometimes.

It's true that humans are very capable of burying themselves inside their activities and hobbies as a comfortable routine to avoid other things...

I've contemplated this topic a number of times as well, whether all the time and money and energy spent on collecting is really all that benefitial or not, so you're not alone in this area.

Ultimately, it's the Never-Ending nature of VGM/Games/Movies that makes Collecting a doomed effort:  There's ALWAYS more NEW stuff coming out, and there's ALWAYS more OLD stuff to find too, no matter how much you already have.

It's a game where you can never really win, and the happiness of collecting gets diminished over time since there's no clearly defined End-Point where you can say "I've finally reached the finish line".

When you notice that you've been doing the same things for years, and that your life hasn't really improved much during that same time, that's a pretty good sign that change would be a good thing.

Understanding those things can help you feel better about getting out, that you really can unburden yourself and get the freedom to move in a new direction.   
It's easier to maneuver a Toyota than a Titanic through life's changing landscape.

Think about what you've gained during that time, not just those physical goods, but the skills you've been putting to use!

You've been able to put in extraordinary time and effort into researching and obtaining old and hard to find objects from foreign countries - that's an accomplishment to be proud of!!   

Those same skills and dedication can be applied to researching information about living in Hong Kong and obtaining a job there!

Even if you'd ditch all your stuff, you're not starting over from scratch with nothing, since you take with you the skills you've sharpened during the years of collecting experience to use to your advantage! 

I'd encourage you to continue looking into making your Hong Kong dream a reality, and what steps would be necessary to make it happen.

Granted, a lot of this is advice that I need to take into action for myself as well, so it's been helpful for me to write about this kind of thing too.  It's funny how big dreams can scare us from taking action, but hopefully people can use the experiences gained from collecting to help achieve that next goal 

I think you have given yourself the wisest advice with this sentence. The Dark Side (the effect of women on men) clouds everything.

Whichever path you choose, I would advise trying to find somewhere to store your goodies long term rather than completely offloading them. Imagine the joy that older Brandon will experience ten years from now opening a box full of that stuff, flicking through liner notes, smelling the paper. Store them and consider it a gift to your future self.

Here are some things I've learned from slightly similar experiences myself:

- Never sell anything on impulse. If you have to scour your collection and weigh out some things to find things to sell, you're probably not ready to let go of the CDs. I did that last year when I was looking for cash so I could move (in with a broad, coincidentally), and I regret at least half of my sales. If you don't care about the material stuff, just make backups and rips of your CDs first before you sell. I enjoy collecting, so I like having the actual CDs on my shelf to look through and check out from time to time.

- No matter what alley you've been going down, there's always going to be another cat down the road. Meow.

- Follow your dreams. Yeah, it's cheesy, but it's the best advice anyone could give. If there is a goal in your mind that you would like to reach someday, whether it be moving to Hong Kong or starting a cross country karaoke tour, then make it happen. Don't rush into things, but if you have something weighing on your mind that you want to accomplish, then do it. Take no prisoners and don't make compromises that will lessen your changes of acheiving your goal.

If you don't see me posting here much in the near future, it's because I've loaded up my Camry and started my karaoke tour.

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Wow dude, haven't seen you around in a long time. I didin't even know what name you were posting under. Welcome back ^_^

First of all, it's great that you met someone. As for what she said, I can relate a lot to it, not only in terms of myself, but also in terms of a certain friend of mine. I too collected a lot of things that, ultimately, just took up space. I do still collect things, but I've become much more discriminating, especially with things that have whole lines of merchandising behind them.

Collecting things is one way to keep memories, and is a way to expand on the things you love, but too much of it will overwhelm you, and it is a burden in many ways -- financially, physically, and perhaps eventually mentally. it's good to clean things out, take a few steps back and take stock of everything -- not just literally as in what you collect, but also in your life. (More on this to come as I respond to other points.)

The big thing is -- and this applies to ALL aspects of life, whether it be working, sleeping, eating, exercising, playing games, watching TV, WHATEVER -- is that MODERATION is key. Doing and giving just the right amount. Don't go overboard with investing for the future that you're left scrambling to pay bills now, but at the same time don't go overboard with luxuriating in the here and now and running up those bills that will take away from a healthy future. This is why y\it's important to start thinking about things, both pressent and future, and figuring out how much of yourself, your time, and your money you can devote to both.

I know what you mean, and while it's great that you're deciding not to do anything drastic, I also thing she had some very good points in what she said. I came to some of the same conclusions she did just by looking at myself, my life, my stuff. I'm not as much as the pack rat I used to be, and I've managed to just not buy stuff at the outset.

It's working out GREAT for me. I used to be concerned about having every little CD in terms of certain of my music ventures. But space and money constraints made me realize that I can't do that, and most of all, I SHOULDN'T be doing that. I took a long hard look at my CD collection and got rid of quite a bit of it, and don't regret any of it. I got rid of some of my video games (not that I ever had a very big collection) -- although, the two things I regret selling off are my mint copies of the entire NES Dragon Warrior run and my original Lufias (I eventually had a hankering to finish the Ancient Dungeon and re-bought the games, hehe, and I really wanted to play DW4).

There are many, MANY things I wondered about having bought in the first place. When I was on my serious FF6 and ChronoTrigger kick, I bought quite a bit of collectible stuff -- cards, doujinshi that I can't read, even an FF6 towel. But I finally realized that these things are meant to be used -- I mean, why buy a book if I can't read it, or if I'm not going to be able to enjoy the information within its covers? I'd love to be able to read all of the doujin that I bought, but I know I'm also most likely not going to be able to ever do so.

I think because of that, and because I've had to share a room for the past 25 years of my life, I've had a struggle between a desire to keep things and the praticality of doing so. My "clean out stuff that we don't need" mindset has been exacerbated these past few years, while at the same time I'm still very much a collector. But I've managed to figure out what's truly important to me and cut down on what I buy.

I'm sorry I can't help you on the job end, but I hope otherwise all this rambling was helpful. It might be a difficult time for you, but it's also things like this that really get you thinking and moving and realizing stuff about yourself and your life. Let us know how it goes.

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Basic advice for Brandon:

-Just because you are in love with someone does not make them an expert on life, a great philosopher, or whatever.  Do what's right for you, not some idealistic mantra preached by someone else.

-You sound depressed.  When depressed, the best thing to do is just take a break from your routine and find simple pleasures.  Don't do anything drastic until you're psychologically and emotionally grounded again.

-Schala is fantastically right about moderation.  I can't argue strongly enough in favor of it.

I agree with much of what has already been said.  You have to find what makes you happy in life.  I personally think that making quick and often rash decisions is not wise, but on the other hand you'll learn from it, and it's not necessarily a mistake.  Just be aware that it can be very difficult to go back once you go down a road.  Also, you are right, we are a very material people.  However, you only live once, enjoy it.

cheers,

-avatar!

I'm not really the person to talk to as far as deciding what to let go of (resident packrat of my clan), but I would say to think twice on letting things go on another person's suggestion. If you had woken up one morning and without prompting, came to the decision you felt you should get rid of things, that's one thing. But when the idea comes from outside, even if it seems like a good idea at the time, there's a huge potential for regret in hindsight.

Awesome question man. This is extremely relevant to me. Hopefully this helps...

Over the course of the last 8 years, I've bought, sold, collected, and enjoyed listening to VGM. But, up until around June of last year, I've been on a steady decline in my collection due to all the mass selling I've been doing since then. My collection was around 200 CD's, and I now have around 40 albums left. Also, I’d like to point out that I spent around half a year contemplating, looking at the situation of selling my collection from several angles before actually following through with it.

Now with that background info out of the way, I'd like to say that I do not regret one bit of it. I think several people have realized that I've been out of the game music scene for quite some time now, and I've really grown very disinterested in it as each day elapses. And to be honest, I'm not exactly sure what reasons account for this sudden change. What I think I can conclude is that I'm currently in a higher state of maturation (evident in my behavior, speech, writing), moving to a new home for the first time in 16 years, transitioning from high school to college, and motivating myself to seek out new hobbies.

Perhaps, life changing events affect the mind psychologically, and the majority of the time they result in indirect changes in behavior/beliefs/thoughts on other aspects of one's life. And many instances, we can't recognize this because they’re so subtle. In other words, I think all these huge changes in my life are causing me to not listen to game music as often.

Because I've been selling my CD's, I think that's also a huge reason why I stopped listening to them. I still have the music on CD-R’s, so I have no excuse to say that the music is out of my reach anymore even after selling the originals. I mysteriously just find a lot of music to be bland that I once that was euphonious. Don't get me wrong, there are numerous game music soundtracks that I simply adore and love just as much as before. Though, I think the difference now is that I only buy game music albums that I truly and genuinely love. When I began buying game music in 1998, I bought just a few albums here and there for the listening enjoyment, and as the years progressed, it became a hobby and a collection. But, if I ever buy game music these days, it's for the listening aspect only.

Furthermore, after realizing how much was being invested into a brand new car, car insurance, a mobile home w/lot rent and electricity bills, cell phone bill, etc. just further fueled my desire and need to rid myself of all these game music CD’s. With a busy college life and tight family budget, I don’t even carry the thought of collecting game music anymore.

When we die, all our possessions are going to be lost and not taken with us. I think playing a sport is so much more gratifying and fulfilling in life, and collecting music not only wasted money and time, but it hindered me from doing other things like read, study for classes, and participate in more outside activities. Because I sold my game music, I've also noticed that I have been selling off all 80+ action figures/resin statues/busts/etc. that I've been collecting for nearly the same amount of time as game music. After selling most of my game music, I think the mindset I developed afterwards was that there was no point in collecting ANYTHING.

During June last year, I was very busy selling my CD collection, which is a huge decision I made for myself considering it is a prized possession of mine. I thought selling my CD's would be best for me since I could get a lot of money for them and still retain backup copies of them (gotta love technology for some things). But, there was still one other main reason I decided to sell them, and that is to test myself to see if I truly could relinquish all that I owned. I wanted to break the depiction of me as a materialistic person that I have obviously shown over the years. I don't know about you, but I think my religious beliefs have also placed an impact on my decision. So I gave up something I took way too much pride in. Even on a secular perspective, it's not good to let game music control you in the sense of spending mass dollars, spending countless hours online to find CD's, etc. I was hesitant initially, but I feel great selling these CD's now after all. I felt a sigh of relief like as if a burden was lifted off my back. I have no regrets for relinquishing these "collectibles."

Discovering and noticing some things in the game music community also caused me to see the futility of collecting. I’m not intending to offend anyone, but while I was selling my game music, several buyers continuously asked if they were complete with obi, inserts, stickers, etc. I was so frustrated sometimes because I could not sell a CD that would have given me $20 profit just because I did not have an obi with it. Other buyers requested a fully detailed description of the condition of CD's. Although that's the buyers right to ask for that information in a transaction, it gave me the impression that people were so extremely concerned with pristine condition, making the simplistic plastic cases look like gold, making the booklets look like ancient texts, when all I cared about by this time was the condition of the CD, which was all that mattered to me since you are paying to listen to music. I love iTunes for this reason, disregarding the whole physical, tangible portion to purchasing game music, or any other music.

So after selling these CD's, I was thinking...if I was to ever sell a CD again, then I better make sure that the CD's I buy in the future are in sealed or extremely pristine, complete condition in order for me to make a guaranteed sale of the same item I bought. It was annoying indeed. Like Schala mentioned, there were things like potion bottles (my instance is the incense included in Iwadare's Ingmar) that I never touched and kept preserved so if I was to sell them, then I would have interested buyers. Not to mention, at the time, I still had momentum and desire to collect anyway.

Schala also mentioned an important aspect that I have already touched on somewhat, and that’s doing things in moderation. Internet was the prime example that I did NOT take in moderation for several years. It hurt my grades in high school, it negatively warped my study habits, it drained time away from other activities that could have trained me physically, mentally, and spiritually. Like with anything, don’t let game music affect you that badly.

Out of all the things that affected my view on game music, the most positively influencing experience was my trip to South Korea. Coincidentally, I just returned to the States from Korea three days ago, participating in an exchange study abroad program for the University of Ulsan for nearly the entire month of July. Aside from the fact that I learned so much about Korean culture, politics, economy, family lifestyle, tradition, language, and religion, I also learned how important, or at the least, how useful and more satisfying it was to explore and learn about a foreign land. I wish I never had to leave! The point is...I no longer want to spend money on collecting anything, but rather on increasing my wisdom and understanding of the world by experiencing different parts of the world firsthand.

I like the idea of globalization, and how the cultural boundaries around the world are changing and disappearing. In other words, instead of spending so much time buying game music and putting so much pride in collecting the man-made material, I'd rather spend time exploring the world. I assume that this idea can be said the same for most other people, and that money is always an issue that hinders us from ever traveling far distances. For me, I spent over $5000 on game music...there goes it least two solid fun-filled, knowledge-gaining experiences I could have partook in. The only reason why I was fortunate enough to go to Korea this summer was because of the cheap price made possible by my university's support for the program. You would think I did it because of all the money I obtained from selling masses amount of game music; however, that money went directly to paying college funds. I’m sure you can relate to this Korea excursion, as you are striving to move and live in Hong Kong.

Often, the appreciation of having spare money doesn't appear so vital in life until a family crisis, health problem, or life changing events occur. Before they occur, savor the moment of simply living. I know some people who regret they didn't save more money earlier in life. I care to not be in the same situation. All the time, effort, and money spent on game music can be more wisely invested, or better just to save for the future when our able bodies will inevitably deteriorate over time.

I know most people are older than me here, but I hope the words and vision of a youth sound rational and understanding in respect to everyone else’s views.

Thanks for bringing this issue up Hitori. Not only do I hope this ameliorates some peoples' skewed beliefs of possessions acting as number "one", but it also helped me see what I've learned in just the last year of my life. Be blessed to have a girlfriend with open thoughts.

Man, I haven’t typed this long in awhile, haha. =P

I think one question you have to ask yourself is - do your possessions bring you pleasure? It's easy to dismiss a collecting pastime as pointless (I have often thought so myself), but in the end I always come back to the sincere fact that sitting down and putting on a soundtrack vinyl or CD gives me a great feeling. I don't know how much of that is connected to the physicality of the items but it's certainly a factor. All the music I own is backed up to MP3 on the computer, yet I always prefer to fire up the record deck or CD player. In much the same way that I'll pick out an old favourite book and thumb through the pages, stopping to read a passage here and there.

Certainly there are things that I've acquired that I've almost immediately regretted because of their redundancy. Statues and action figures mainly. I've stopped buying those completely and the ones I did buy now reside in their boxes in a cupboard.

"So I'd like to know from those of you who have unloaded most or all of your collections: How's that working out for you? Do you ever wish you'd held on to some of those things, or are you wondering why you ever bothered buying them in the first place?"

  RELIEF. Although my case is highly atypical. You probably recall the prices I paid for some cd's I bought from you and others - I was seriously obsessed. Selling off my cd's was like rehab or therapy or something.

  Overall, it was a good experience. Now I understand the warning signs of obsession and don't let it happen again.

  My analysis of you is that you are too attached to material objects. It should not bother you in the least to sell even a very, very important CD that you absolutely love. If you need the money, then sell the whole damn thing. If you don't need money, then box the stuff up and throw it in a closet. End of problem.

I'm a CD packrat of the worst kind.  Even though I don't listen to them hardly at all (most of them never), I wouldn't want to sell them because like a packrat, knowing that I have them is a nice thought for me.  I still buy CDs, but a lot less now, and focused on my favorite artists.  Just do whatever you feel suits you and what you can get by with doing.

Eh, might as well chime in...

I consider myself something of an anti-collector. I think owning a legitimate copy does make the music sound...maybe not "better", but "more fulfilling" would probably be about right. Same goes for owning cartridges against ROM's (and I still have most of my old NES/SNES carts, not to mention both systems alive and running) All of the CD's I've bought over the years (same goes for anything), I never bought them with the mindset of selling them down the road...I bought them because I wanted them and was planning to use them. As great as it is finding the great unknowns amongst the great "knowns" I've had to face reality though. Bills, tuitions, other stuff...Kinda puts a dent in the growth process. I did sell a number of CD's back in college...Only ones I couldn't justify the cost through the quality of the music, but much of that went right back into other CD's, since I didn't have the income to buy the way I used to. No reason to phase my favorite albums out of existence or to basically put to waste all the time acquiring them. But just the same, it was getting harder and harder justifying $230 orders of just 5 CD's.

In the past, I never downloaded music. I do it now...It's a great way to find out the "unknowns" beforehand, without having to go through the potential ordeal of buying-then-selling something and to keep up in general with soundtracks I might be curious about, but probably would never buy (the two recent Final Fantasy ones are a good example) and also to avoid disappointments for ones I'm generally sure I'll buy. I also keep a list of the AAA albums I come across and I make sure to snag them when there's enough money to go towards them. That way, I know only the stuff I really want is costing anything.

I look at it this way...I buy it (or "acquire" it) because I want it, not for the sake of it being a collection. Yeah, it's cool to get a final number count or to wade through my CD shelf or even *gasp* use a CD player once in awhile, but if I didn't want it, I'd be getting rid of it without hesitation. There's a basic comfort factor in having stuff you legitimately want. I really don't care about any music on my harddrive and I probably wouldn't miss a beat if it got wiped (aside from a few where originals simply aren't available), but I know 95% of what's on my shelf isn't going anywhere. I did that with Magic cards...I never really "collected" them or kept them in great condition (I HATED playing decks with those stupid sleeves over each card), but I did enjoy the game. Once that got old (and Wizards of the Coast got greedier by the year) and I decided I'd rather have a Gamecube with Smash Brothers Melee instead, it was an easy decision to make to sell them.

Basically: Sell what you don't want.

Like so many others I too have become aware of the obsessive behaviour that comes up with collecting. Now I dont collect anything anymore in the sense of trying to acquire a nice collection, I just buy cd's/movies/books/comics frequently.

As for the whole matter of materialism, for me its quite simple: if the physical object is of no use, dump the peace of shit. A recent example; I sold off my FFX OST because the whole set was useless to me and was nothing but a burden. I ripped the good tracks, delooped most of them, burned a custom and voila: 1 disc, 45 minutes. Later, my four-disc filler-friend. Oh and just for the record, I totally love this 'OST', but not the physical form.

People look for things to hold on to, but it shouldn't be material things. Physical objects can in a way be a burden on one. If that's the case with your collections, dump it, or atleast a good part of it. Focus on developing yourself be it in work or some useful skills. Good luck man.

Hilarious, man. Awesome quote!

Hitori's real name is Brandon . . . ? That's so cool.

Anyways, if you're selling off your shiz, email me a list of everything you (still) have. I'll be glad to buy some of it.

Oh, and congrats on finding a great female. I seem to have no end to women troubles.

Perhaps, assuming the typo is intentional.

I love owning the originals. I rip 'em to mp3, but I love having old rare cd's in my collection that are precious to me. I think the only thing I'm wary about now after a few years collecting, is making sure I don't pay *too much* for what I buy. It's quite easy to overpay, on impulse. Keep in mind that they will most likely turn up cheaper somewhere or someday, and only buy if it's in the cheaper range, not the top range (that said, for older cd's, I will shell out big cash if the condition is unusually good or complete). Yes, material things hold you down, but... money is money, there to be spent. I love my little vgm museum The good thing is, I'm slowly nearing the complete waning of my wantlist, I don't even find stuff I want too often anymore. There's a few more very expensive purchases that I still have to hunt down though.

Someone's gotta actually "keep" their collection, right?

You know, I probably would count as a "collector" merely in terms of the fact that I have a lot of CDs.  I don't really view it so much as a "collection," though.  It's merely CDs that I've bought because I like to listen to them.  Rarity is completely irrelevant to me.  I've recently seen some albums that I own going for gratuitously high prices in Akihabara (stuff like Mario Story and the Azel REPRINT) and it didn't really affect me much at all - I like popping those CDs in my CD player and listening to them - I've no desire to stick them on a shelf and have people go "ooh" and "ah" over what I've managed to amass.  Same with games - having Dracula X and Panzer Dragoon Saga is worth it to me because I enjoy playing them, not because they're rare.

Admittedly, I do currently plan to thin out my collection when I return to the states next year.  There are certainly a lot of games and game music albums I've picked up and just don't like very much - those certainly aren't worth taking up space for me (things like the game Tsugunai and that Radiata Stories arranged album, I'm looking at you).  As for the rest, games and their music are my hobby, so I don't really see any reason to get rid of things that I actually use.  Also, I'll be damned if I'm gonna give up something I enjoy because someone in a relationship with me is trying to make me change.

Now that's a harsh assessment. We don't know all the nitty-gritty of Hitori's relationship with this woman, or even how the conversation came about, or the actual words and tone of voice that were used, or anything. You can't say for certain that she was forcing him to change, or that it was an ultimatum of "Your CDs or ME." Personally, it sounds more like they had some long talks and that this subject came up when talking about life.

Harsh assessment, maybe. But fair in my opinion and all I have to go on are Brandon's own words. He seemed to deliberately disassociate himself from the conclusions - it was all 'she said this' and 'she said that'. Very little of what Brandon was thinking. He then goes on to give himself an 'out' when he says he knows the effect a woman can have.

And he's right.

That's why I'd agree with his own thinking and let a little time pass by before making any hasty decisions.

If I have misinterpreted his words (and if Joe has done the same), I apologise.

Glad to have enternained you, but it's like Ryu said; It was not fully intentional, in fact Im still trying to figure...perhaps a cultural barrier here?

Sorry!  I totally was just talking in general about me and wasn't trying to point at Hitori/Brandon with it.  Please don't take offense!

I agree with this, and never understood the mentality for 'collecting' (though admittedly I did 'collect' baseball cards when I was young). I have a large number of CDs....because I want to listen to those CDs. It's that simple. I don't pay a huge amount for them either -- I think the most I've ever payed for a single CD was $40 plus shipping, and the store charged it.

I also think the collection mentality is why there are those who say "EVERYONE should have this or that or you're not a fan" blah blah....it's annoying.

-Joshua

I wasn't laughing at the use of "peace" instead of "piece"; I thought your mentality about material objects was so blunt and awesome. I wish I could think like that.

It's never a good idea to do anything rash right after a relationship breakup. 

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Brandon, some of us know you to be proficient in Japanese. Now, you have learned rudimentary Mandarin and desire to move to Hong Kong.  This is a significant change.  Are you giving up Japanese or adding another language?   If you are adding a language, maybe you should be a linguist? 

If your Japanese is still strong, you might want to try finding work doing Japanese localization of English software.   Your Chinese sounds a little too rudimentary for that type of work.  The Chinese writing system is effectively the same throughout China.  Only the spoken dialects vary from region to region.  Mandarin is the official dialect of China, so learning that first would be a good start.

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I've never been much of a collector.  I listen to all my music CDs with some regularity.  I don't find joy in just holding stuff.  If it doesn't get used, it gets sold.  Game music CDs may have been a good short-term investment in the dot-com era, but with additional P2P access to mp3s, game music CDs should not be treated as good investments.  Don't expect top dollar for most CDs.

If you need to move and can't find a cheap way to store the CDs, you should sell whatever you don't care for anymore.  If you need to sell them fast, price accordingly.  Some money gained back is better than none.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback and advice, and I apologize for taking so long to respond. Remember how I mentioned moving (across town, not to Hong Kong) in the orginal post? Well, it turned out that the person from whom I rented the room to which I was planning to move was not in any way affiliated with the owner of the house. So aside from dealing with police stuff and trying to track her down, I had to scramble to find a new place to stay. Once I had that taken care of, things got busy at work for a while. Then it just got to the point where I'd put off responding long enough that I developed a minor aversion to coming back to this.

Anyway, time hasn't changed much, so I've decided to move ahead with my plans to trim my media collection down to my favorite 10-20%. Keep an eye on the Marketplace forum if you're interested.

I've decided to postpone moving to Hong Kong. Contrary to what Stephen says above, I've been told by former residents that it is possible to get by in Hong Kong without knowing Mandarin (actually, Cantonese is the primary language there), since it's a former British colony. That said, the wages suck due to competition from mainlanders. So I'm aiming for Japan first, where the wages do whatever the opposite of sucking is. (Not "blow." The other opposite.)

If all goes according to plan, I'll get a job with a private language school (I'm interviewing Friday), spend a year working on my Japanese speaking and listening skills while enjoying life with a part-time job, and then try to find a software company willing to renew my visa. If not...well...I'll think of something. I'm a bit uneasy about walking away from a great job and taking a huge pay cut, but I've saved up enough money and have a good enough resume that I don't think I'm seriously endangering my future.

To clear up a misconception I may have created with my original post, my girlfriend didn't put these ideas into my head, and I didn't blindly accept anything just because she said it. In fact, she said a lot of things that I didn't think had any validity at all. I just repeated the things that resonated with ideas I'd already had bouncing around in the back of my mind. Why I didn't do anything about them before, I don't really know. Probably the pay cut.

In the best-case scenario, I'll be headed for Japan in about three months. You're all invited to give me a hard time if I'm still here six months hence.

All fantastic observations. All I would add or make note of is that other people should only provide their perspectives and influence towards your decisions but it's you who should make the final call. When it comes down to it, we all have to do what's right for ourselves.

Having read your stuff here for a few years (and more recently on Catallarchy), I was pretty sure you wouldn't be doing anything without thinking it all the way through.  I will definitely be watching that Marketplace section.

It's amazing what you can learn about yourself if you just try something new.  One of the reasons I work for my current employer is the fact that they have offices all over the world, which opens the possibility of a fabulous expatriate opportunity without jeopardizing pay or pension benefits.

Best of luck on your journey, and keep us updated on your goings-on.  And who knows, you might just love Japan enough to stay there.