After reading Dev's post, my mind immediately jumped to several of my own belongings that I have intensely lame emotional ties to. I feel as if the pair of us may be two of the most most sentimental folks I've ever laid eyes on. I vividly remember poring through childhood photo albums of myself while still a child, and crying at the memories, afraid that I was growing up too fast. Sad and lame, but true. I feel as if I could probably tell you several stories associated with nearly everything I own, but I'll pare that down to just a few instead.
1. The Dolphin Dress
In my first year of university while on one of many trips to the local Value Village I spied this questionable gem in the racks. The tag, claimed that it was custom made by A.A Rai Pasti and my mind immediately tried to picture the type of person who would have this strange tunic covered in pink dolphins custom made for themself. I bought it, and laughed the entire way home and continue to do so each and every time I wear it. It seems every time I dare to wear it in public, at least one person tells me what a nice dress it is and look confused when I laugh in their face. See, somehow, no one notices that this dress is dolphin print and that makes it all the more hilarious for me, because realistically who in the world wears dresses covered in pink dolphins? Plus, this one time at the good ole Winnipeg Folk Festival, Dev and I met Harry Angus of the Cat Empire. That's right, Harry Angus has touched this infernal rayon creation by A.A Rai Pasti, and I think that makes it all the more wonderful.
2. Hand woven scarf from Morocco
In 2007, I spent spring break in Spain, and on one of the first days took a ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar to Tetouan, Morocco. The walled city that I wandered through was like stepping into another time. After wandering a labyrinth of passages filled with spices, donkeys and people, I found myself in a Berber rug factory I spied this hand woven scarf. They asked 30 Euros for it and I immediately obliged only to have the salesperson walk away in disgust. Apparently I was supposed to barter for it, something my North American fixed-price-self had never encountered. Luckily I approached another salesman, paid him and ran out with this scarf that I've been wearing ever since. I feel as if I've worn this scarf for entire years on end, in the winter, at music festivals, while camping. It has this lovely smell that's a mix of sunscreen and perfume, that reminds me of long summer nights.
3. The Burberry Scarf
Shortly after my grandfather passed away when I was 13, I was snooping through his belongings and stumbled across this tartan scarf. I had never seen him wear it, but the smell of his cologne was still seeped in the fibres, so I stole it for myself. At the time I had no idea what Burberry was, but loved the scarf because it was a constant reminder of him. I love keeping this scarf around purely for that reason (plus it's really warm and soft for winter).
4. Cram Your Spam
For someone who doesn't wear a lot of t-shirts, I've somehow managed to accumulate a lot of them (more than 50 at last count). I get strangely attached to t-shirts which is a pain because they rarely get worn and take up a ton of space. I found this one in a thrift store in Minnesota. The lurid colour combination and confusing message get me every time. I still haven't decided whether or not this is a reference to Monty Python's Spamalot, the canned food, an off beat way of telling people to shut up, or if it literally means to cram your spam (like internet spam). Every time I wear this confusing message on my torso, I get the strangest looks and questions which never fails to brighten my day.
5. Hey Rosetta Band Shirt
I first discovered Hey Rosetta! at the always amazing Winnipeg Folk Festival in summer 2009. After falling madly in love with them I wandered over to the merch tent to pick up a cd and t-shirt for myself. That fall I moved away for university and one day while wearing this shirt a cool looking stranger complimented my shirt . After that I started seeing him everywhere and eventually more than a year later ending up becoming friends with him and his friends after meeting at a party (where they remembered this shirt). A weird, tangled story that has made me attached to this t-shirt.
6. Gold Locket
I found this locket at a consignment shop this summer and started wearing it every day. When I was home last July and hanging out with an old friend we jokingly cut out a picture of her at the age of 12 and superglued it into the locket. Now every time I wear it, I'm reminded of her which I like because we're not the best at keeping in touch when I'm away at school. Plus, it's a pretty cool locket.
I could actually go on for hours talking about my lame attachment to my belongings but I'll spare you the boredom. I love how an object, smell, taste or song has the ability to bring back so many powerful memories (like right now A-Punk by Vampire Weekend came on my Itunes and I was reminded of how I used to listen to that song exclusively while wandering around campus dazed and confused back in first year). Oh nostalgia, you never fail to make me smile.
-Bets
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