Expat furniture

This dresser has travelled with me all over the world in the hope that one day I would sand it down, remove the beveled edges and with a wood stain make it the piece of furniture I saw when I bought it 8yrs ago.

Unfortunately being pine the natural oil clog up the sand paper so it would be an incredibly arduous job I have found. I'm reluctant to part with it though as it seems a shame to give up after all this time.