Relics of Remembrance

Life is...only... as good as the memories we make
* * *
So long, Astoria
I found a map to buried treasure
and even if we come home empty handed
we'll still have our stories of battle scars,
pirate ships and wounded hearts, broken bones,
and all the best of friendships...

- The Ataris, "So Long Astoria"

We are officially moved in to our new apartment! I'll post pictures of our new place soon. Moving across the street is more difficult than it seems, perhaps for no other reason than the existing preconceived mind-set of, "hmm, moving 250 feet will be a piece of cake." It's not. Moving is still moving. Marisa and Lane came over for an entire Saturday to help us; thus, we are indebted to them indefinitely.

Being the go-getter that he is, Tim had all of his boxes and such unpacked and situated within the first 24 hours we were in the new place. Being the easily distracted, lazy, pack-rat that I am, my process of unpacking is still in progress. Tonight my goal was to get through all of the UCLA "memorabilia boxes." I am desperately trying to adopt my mom's newfound mentality of "if you haven't seen or used it in a year, it belongs in the trash." This is a momentous mindset for me, and not surprisingly I am having difficulty accepting the idea of pitching the majority of my "junk." Yes, I realize holding on to 200 birthday and congratulatory cards from my late-teens/early-twenties is a bit, for lack of a better term, pathetic...

While time-consuming and tedious, this process has put me back in contact with various collectibles that undoubtedly helped shape who I am today. Okay, that's melodramatic--they were funny and/or meaningful enough to shove into a box and cart with me from residence to residence. Some of my favorites:

1) About a dozen plastic Disney movie "frozen scene" pieces, such as Lady and the Tramp's spaghetti meal, Ariel's infamous song-on-the-rock, and Cinderella's singing mice friends, etc. I'm not sure if these are classified as toys or as slightly abnormal collection pieces; (they have been bagged and are ready to be given to one of Tim's colleague's kids.)

2) 14,000 (give or take) picture collages amassed with magazine cut-outs, quotes, and incriminating photos.

3) A cheap plastic alarm clock with a "UCLA swimming" inscription. Why this did not make it into the trash can (or, more appropriately, a flaming inferno) the day I was done with swimming and waking up at 4:00AM is BEYOND ME.

4) Approximately 10 "daybooks" from my Kindergarten-2nd grade days. An example entry: "Black cats are big cats and little cats are small ones." Highly intuitive and, clearly, giving profound insight into my innate critical thinking skills at an early age.


5) My class pictures from kindergarten-6th grade. In nearly half of these photos I am wearing a dress, jumper, or similar get-up that my mom MADE. Impressive, to say the least.


6)My junior high school year books. Suffice it to say I wore a t-shirt with a multi-colored "half-vest" sewn on to the front for my 7th grade picture.

7) My high school yearbooks. No further comment necessary.

8) Pogs. WTF?

9) A hockey puck used in an LA Kings game.

10) My Brownie uniform. Some sample patches I earned include: "Indian Summer Pow Wow," "Christmas Caroling," "Thinking Day," "Calendar Day," and "Water Wonders." For the record, I know my mom spent HOURS sewing each of those badges onto that ugly brown sash. Don't worry Mom, I'm not throwing it away.

11) Approximately 500 CDs. Apparently, as a teenager (and, clearly, in pre-iTunes days) I thought it was a good idea to purchase full CDs because I liked ONE SONG. Therefore, I have about 150 CDs, each costing approximately $16, that boast one song I even KNOW, let alone like. Spacehog, Sir Mix-A-Lot, and Kool and the Gang to name a few...and I wondered why my parents vehemently denied my desire to join CD clubs?

I could go on, but I'm fairly certain the previous 11 items give a clear view into the rebellious, suave, and ever-popular nature that was my childhood and adolescence. God only knows what else I'll find in the remaining half a dozen boxes...