Long ago, in October of the Year Six, I posed a question in an entry--

Moving to rented rooms in Vienna or Siena or to a 1-K apartment in Osaka or Niigata, moving even to rooms at college at Cambridge or New Haven-- what would you take? What are the essentials not just for travel, but for staying in an expat writer's rented rooms or rooms at King's or Trinity Hall? What would furnish a room for you? Those are things I want to ask lovely girls... And, again: details matter. Exactly what books, what accessories, what clothing would one travel with? What things count as essentials in the Year Six for moving to that Japanese 1-K apartment? How minimalist a life could you lead?

The key response I got was from Miss Lissy--- not yet at emigree; she was still _iwenthome then. On 22. October of the Year Six, she offered up this response:

Minimalist living? Sell off all the CDs, vinyl, and language tapes - buy an 80GB iPod and speakers (both black, and laser engraving on the back just in case: 'if lost please send to m.s., gamla varmdov 12, 13197 nacka, sverige'). A juiced-up HP dv6000t and a subscription to Skype to save on calls home and to the aunt in London and the uncle in Sydney and Sophie in Berlin and Vienna. Two mobile phones - one American, one British with good rates for calling Europe. Two coats: one angora-blend Calvin Klein peacoat for winter, one canvas cropped trenchcoat for spring. Two swimsuits. Four or five pairs of new Levi's stovepipe jeans, because denim anywhere outside America is expensive. Two pairs of wool trousers. Four tee-shirts. Two buttondown shirts. Two cableknit cashmere sweaters, one cardigan. One black Chloe shift-style mini cocktail dress, one gold YSL cocktail dress. One Diane von Furstenburg wrap dress. Three skirts - one a-line, one pencil, one mini. Black platform heels, a pair of YSL ankle boots, five pairs of Dolce Vita Twist Toe ballet flats (one of every color). No underwear. Two sets of bedsheets, one pistol and four boxes of bullets. Two bottles of perfume (Burberry Brit and Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb), blank graph-paper Moleskine, address book, photo album, digital camera, book list, a copy of Nietszche's complete writings, and sleeping pills would be carried on the plane in a Chloe Paddington bag.

No hauling of furniture. The apartment would only be rented if there was shelf space built-in. No desk, just a tray that could stretch across and attach to the sides of the bed. Television shows would be watched on the laptop, if at all. No food in the apartment, except for the occasional dark chocolate to go with the cognac. Water, assorted juices, vodka, rose wine, Indian beer. Art-themed calendars. Audrey Hepburn prints and vintage concert flyers framed on the wall. No overhead lighting.

I like the list. I really do. Though--- "a pistol and four boxes of bullets"? I have no objection, mind you. I have that with me now. But...in Stockholm? In rooms at university? I can see a problem there. Still...in an expat quarter of Krakow or Tallinn, it might work. I assume she'd replace the "juiced-up HP dv6000t" with a 15-inch MacBook Pro--- her laptop of choice these days, and an 80gb iPod would now be 160gb. Three years does make a difference.

I have to make my own version of the list. Miss Lissy likes Cobra beer with curry; I prefer Tiger. So it's a slightly different list. And of course--- a male wardrobe. What passes for a minimalist male wardrobe...? We will have to see. I'll work on a list tomorrow at the coffeeshop.

But--- let's encourage lovely friends-and-correspondents to try the Minimalist Living list. I'd love to hear Miss Ginny at ginny_mccoo's list. And Liz V. at nightmareteeth. But, darlings--- do try the list...