The Set List and Guitar Pick

On the top of the first memory box is a baby blue Ernie Ball guitar pick and a 12 song set list written in red ink on a piece of binder paper.

            My first real boyfriend’s name started with an E. We were best friends first, while he dated someone else, who I hated at first, then came to like. After all, eventually we had so much in common. E had a band with two of his friends. They used to practice at one friend’s house on the weekends, in the middle of his huge, housing complex style living room with big bay windows and brand new beige carpet. E played guitar, like every boyfriend does, and his friends played bass and drums. One of the guys’ girlfriend’s name was Crystal, and while I was in the on-again stage of my on-again, off-again relationship with E, she had her quinceanera. Of course she asked the guys to play, and of course they said yes. E was always a Blink 182 fan, so it came as no surprise to me when their set list was as follows:

1.      Feelin’ This

2.      Alien’s Exist

3.      Anthem pt. 2

4.      You’re So Last Summer

5.      Adam’s Song

6.      Letters to God (a Boxcar Racer song, an alternate name for Blink 182)

7.      All The Small Things

8.      I Miss You (acoustic)

9.      All The Small Things

10.  Elevator (Boxcar Racer)

11.  Going Away to College

12.  Dammit

I am pretty sure that Crystal’s ultra-conservative parents cut them off way before “Dammit”. The quinceanera is one of the last real happy moments I can remember from that relationship, and I am slowly realizing that most of my memories are from when we were just friends. The last thing I remember about this night is ripping the set list off the side of one of the amps in the back of E’s big van, still in the midst of youthful bliss.

The Boxes - An Introduction

I would like to introduce you to my dirty little secret.

Earlier today I decided that I should start to post little blurbs sometimes, to free myself from the restraints of Tuesday posting (I sounded like an artist just then didn't I?), so I thought I would go back to where this blog originally started: The Boxes.

The Memory Boxes are my dirty little secret, if only because they are so abundant. I found out (earlier this evening) that I have, not the two that I remember, but EIGHT boxes of memories. Horrified at my apparent hoarding, I decided to begin my endeavor this evening. After all, there seems to be a lot to get through.

Box #1: A box of photos from a summer trip I took with my grandparents. I estimate a total of 504 prints on 21 rolls. The printing alone cost me about $80. As a hoarder, I saved not only the printing receipt and sleeves, but also the film containers with locations and numbers written on the top.

Box #2 A box of every non-necessary item that I found, received, or purchased on a trip to Washington, D.C. with my school band. We stayed for a week and played a competition at the Kennedy Center. My most memorable moment there was walking the National Mall in the rain during the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Box #3 This box appears to be full of miscellaneous photos found around my room and prints from when I took a photography class in high school, which I like to think I excelled at. The first photo I saw on the stack was one of my older cousin, B at my (now passed) great-grandmother's apartment with christmas bows tied in his hair. we were so happy.

Box #4 The first Memory Box. It is an un-themed mishmash of items that go from about elementary school to middle school. I am still amazed it stays closed despite being packed to the brim with stuff. It is so full, in fact, that there are even things taped to the inside lid: A guitar pick and the original set list from Crystal C.'s quinceanera.

Box #5 One day when I was cleaning my room, I discovered that I had a bunch of stuff that I didn't want to throw away, and not one empty shoe box to fit it all in. I also seem to remember there being a large item that I was glad would fit in this box a pair of rain boots came in. I'm afraid to look inside, but I know that the box weighs about a ton.

Box #6 The second Memory Box. When the first box got too crammed, I started stuffing things in this box. I believe this one takes me up until high school, and probably beyond. Its just too easy to stuff things that have even an ounce of sentimental value into a shoe box.

Box #7 A box of photos taken while I was studying in San Francisco. I took a photo class that required at least two rolls a week of prints. We would take one day out of the week to go on a photo mission, and the second day to critique each others prints. I turned some of my best shots into a watercolor series.

Box #8 I'm pretty sure its a sign that this box says "Predictions" on the side, though I'm not sure what kind of sign that could be. It has every little trinket from the aforementioned summer trip across the country with my grandparents. The most valuable item: A collection of smashed pennies from almost every place we stopped at.

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Originally I had intended these to be vignettes, so this has just been in introduction. Vignettes will be starting soon, so keep an eye out!