Colors

So it has been a long time since I last got rid of something in my amazingly small collection of goods in my house, but here goes. Today I will be getting rid of 5 things, only because it has been 5 days since I last blogged. But I won't bore you with the humdrum of explaining each item, only a few of them. Today it seems like it's my yellow and red day, two of my strangest colors. I love red, it does good things when I wear it, when done right it can make a room brighter subtly, and it is an easily matched color (I think it almost goes with as many things as black), but it can be dangerous, it also brings up thoughts of blood, anger, hunger, a lot of violent feelings, so it has to be practiced in moderation, like most things. Yellow, I always thought I looked horrible in, even though it is one of the happy colors. I have come to realize I just have to pick brighter yellows, dull ones make me washed out, but bright ones require courage, which sometimes is hard to come by in my fashion, even though I have a strange fashion sense. Calling too much attention to yourself is always a little scary. Yellow reminds me of easter though, and sunshine, and just general happiness, yet it isn't one of the colors I choose to keep around me often. Anyway, today I am anxious about an interview I have to give tomorrow, and excited because Rick will be visiting me soon, so I will be able to play the tourist role in my new city. So far classes have started and I am ready for a new beginning to be a great one. I am really happy ending up here, I can't imagine I would have been happier in any other city where I applied to grad school, so I guess it is a good thing I didn't get in to any of those schools. The public transit here is amazing, but I don't use it often because I live close enough to campus to walk (but far enough to get a LOT of steps each day, to the point where 12000 is almost an easy goal, while the weather is nice). The city itself is beautiful and has activities going on around every corner. Luckily I live in a family-oriented neighborhood, but one that is teeming with culture.

Pilsen, my neighborhood, is the Americanized Mexican neighborhood, at least relatively. The area still feels very Mexican, most of the signs are in Spanish first and occasionally English second, about 90% of the people on the street at any given time are Mexican descent and speak Spanish predominantly, though some know at least enough English to say hi to me as I pass (they could know more, I just haven't had a full conversation with any of them yet). The area is also the hipster neighborhood for students. Many students that I see walking around are reminiscent of Austin hipsters. Tight jeans, crazy hair styles, and big fake glasses are the fashion of the region. In this way I have combined my comfort zones into an extreme combination zone of all I

knew in Austin. This of course means I feel comfortable, even though I stand out like a sore thumb on wedding day. (I'm not sure why I said that last part, but it's funny so I'll leave it in).

Today's items are all small little things I've kept around for the sake of keeping them, a marble from my mom, an antenna topper that is a fireman because it is cute, a Skittles container, a funny button from an art showing Rick and I went to a long time ago ("Take off your pants"), and a toy car from Easter this past year. But each one holds a little piece of me in it, in a totally corny way. I saved every one of these items because at one point they made me happy. I think that is the reason I hold onto most things in my life, but it just makes me realize that so many things make me happy. I might as well be happy all the time.

Today, I also worked one step closer to making a few friends. It is amazing how long it takes to make friends, and yet also how short of the time it takes. In one day I had a friend who I could chat with over ice cream, but not much else, and before I have realized it I am sure the new people I am meeting will be close friends that I gossip about professors and other students with over coffee and drinks after class. New lives are fun and exciting, while also scary. I hope I don't have too many more of them in my life, but I also hope that each one I have past this is just as memory building as this one has been already, maybe I just am in a good mood between two crazy busy days of my second week of school!

Unmatched

Yesterday I was told in class that I will have to interview a planner and then prepare a 15 minute presentation on how the planner I choose uses computer programs in their job. Seriously? I'm in graduate school....not eighth grade. Anyway, I set up an interview for next week and have to start writing up questions for it. I hate being unprepared when I go out to talk to people....maybe I have a little bit of social anxiety. I have never been the person to interrupt someone's day for something so ridiculous. But I am a little excited and nervous about the presenting part. Years ago I was a good presenter...let's see if that sticks. Grad school is starting to look like it will be interesting. Also, the fridge in my office is so dirty there is a puddle on the bottom of it. I hate to be the person who comes into the office and judges everyone but it's pretty gross....I may ask what the cleaning process entails or if I'm even allowed to do it. Besides that, the program is paying my tuition...I can at least contribute in some way.
Now for my items I'm getting rid of, which is where he title comes in. I no longer have the item this plug belongs to....I'm not sure what happened to it though and while I feel a little bad about getting rid of a plug to a lost item when it might turn up...I probably don't need that either since I can't find it. The shirt is a hard one. I already don't really have enough clothes, but I feel strange wearing this shirt, even when I wore it in Texas I felt weird so these feelings are not new, it just is not quite my style as much as I want it to be. So there goes two more items..I may have to go clothes shopping this weekend though, I barely have enough clothes for a week...eek!

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UhOh

I missed two days this time, and almost missed today.... I got distracted baking bread and working, but mostly baking. Today was my first day of class in Chicago. A little crazy, but I'm beginning to feel a little more prepared for grad school. I think one of the girls I recently made friends with isn't so hot on being my friend, and I'm ok with that. I actually think the person I like the most of all the people I've met so far is my roommate. I am really excited about that, she seems like a neat person and nice and everything, so hopefully we will be friends, if not at least we are friendly roommates! Class seems like it will be similar to an undergrad class, so I can handle that, but maybe this time I will try to do the reading... try.

I also have plans to start going to the gym tomorrow, but I am a little worried because I don't have a lock for a locker, so I will probably go buy one of those at Target before, luckily I have six hours between class, so I'll eat lunch after my first class on my way over to Target to go get a lock, and there was something else I was thinking I needed.. but I can't remember what it was. I did type up my notes for today's class though, I hope to keep doing that for the whole semester, when I did that in undergrad I barely had to study for finals at all.

So today's items of removal from my life are keys, I am going to get rid of two key rings full of keys. I know, it's sorta a cop-out because it's only two key rings, but still. As I start my life in Chicago, I will get rid of the useless memories from Austin. I doubt I could even use these keys to break into an old place in Austin because most of the time locks are changed, so they are completely useless. The key chains on the other hand have some memories. The first one (the R) was from Diane when she went on one of her trips. It was fun to use for a while, but I only have one key I need to carry around while I'm in Chicago and I don't need a fancy key chain that takes up extra space. The other one is from when Linh (Rick's roommate) went to Hollywood. He always brings me presents when he goes on trips, and I love it. It is nice to know he was thinking about Rick, and me a little, while he's away. I also know it is his way of showing that Rick is important to him. I need more friends like that, but not really.

Anyway, enough with old memories, and onto new ones. I got my mattress today and I am extremely excited to try it out tonight!

Settling

Yesterday, as I was walking home from orientation, I began to feel like Chicago is starting to be my home. As I got nearer to my apartment I realized I will be able to live here just fine... until it snows.. then we'll see how I feel. Moving made me go through all of my things and start picking out what I will be getting rid of. This blog has forced me to look at things in a way I wouldn't usually look at them. I am now a useability shopper. I know, that's not a word, but what I am trying to say is that when I look at something in the store, or online, I think first what I would use it for. If it seems even the slightest bit useless, I don't want to get it any more (because then I will have to get rid of it). I still have a small pile of things I want to get rid of in the next few weeks, but as that dwindles down I am beginning to wonder what item that I care about will be the first to go? It is nice getting rid of things, forcing myself to not want things I do not need, but I have been eyeing all of my possessions with a new look. As I missed yesterday (this seems to be more of a trend, maybe I'll start blogging every other day and just get rid of two things at a time) I will get rid of two things today. The bedroom I have in Chicago is smaller than any other bedroom I've ever had, but it is just the right size. My bed fits perfectly between the two walls, I could even fit a small next to it, and the closet holds my (tiny) supply of clothes perfectly. It makes me not want to get any more, it makes me want to get rid of things even. Perhaps I would have started this blog when I got here anyway.

Today, I will get rid of a pair of workout shorts that my mom recently gave me (shh) because they are the item of clothes I am least likely to use any time soon, and a purse that Linh (Rick's ex roommate) gave to me after a trip to Vietnam. I love gifts, but these two are things I will not use as

often as I could, and therefore are taking up more space than they are worth in my tiny room. Living in such a small apartment is reinforcing my idea that small living spaces are actually better for you. They allow you to expand only to a reasonable level, and not collect furniture and items that you need to store that do not get used as often as would be ideal. Apartment Therapy (a blog I read obsessively) even has a competition about small living spaces and how people deal with it. I do think I would want a giant kitchen, and the rest of the house can be tiny.

My roommate and I are, however, looking for a couch. And I wonder, how does a person, without any contacts, and without a vehicle, transport a couch by themselves to a second floor apartment? I guess I will have to enlist the help of at least my roommate if I find a good one. On a side note about the apartment, I still have not gotten my mattress yet, but according to the website it is en route! I guess only a few more nights on the floor.. or maybe UPS loves me and will bring it tomorrow? I'll keep you all posted!

Chicago!

Sunday I flew into Chicago, unloaded all of my things, ate dinner and crashed into my "bed" which is currently the floor, with a few blankets on it. Not too bad, I was way too tired to notice that the floor is a lot harder than a mattress. Yesterday I walked all over town, visited campus, and did some survival groceries before 5pm. At about 5 Janne called and took me to Target where I was able to get shelves and drawers, so I am now set up... but still no mattress. I did get the bed frame which is now set up, but not comfortable to sleep on at all, so again I slept on the floor. And again I was tired enough to sleep through whatever pain may have been forced on me. I am starting to wish I had a mattress though, and I haven't heard from Overstock if it is even shipped yet, which probably means I won't get it until next week. Ack.

So today, officially, Chicago feels like it is home, just without friends yet. Luckily I am meeting with Jamey for dinner (also this will be the first time I will take the bus, scary!) in a part of town I have not explored. It's amazing how gigantic Chicago is and yet I walked forever yesterday. I guess sometimes things are just not in walking distance. Again I went to the grocery store, it seems I always forget some essentials when I do survival shopping, but at least now I have yogurt and frozen vegetables, so I should be able to survive for a while on that. I am a little worried that the walk will kill me sometimes, for now it isn't bad, I can even walk it every day, but when it starts snowing... I don't know if I will be able to get myself to leave. I see signs on the side of the road that say "no parking when snow is more than 2 inches" More than 2 INCHES!!! in a city!!? Well, that says what goes through my mind every time I see that sign. And imagine, I see it every 20 feet on almost every road I walk down on the way to school. I'm definitely ordering that coat today, and I guess I should start looking for boots too. I talked to my advisor today, she seems worried that her students are all going to freeze to death, she just doesn't know that I am about 1000% more worried about the cold than anyone I know should be. Also, she recommended I sign up for a statistics class instead of the economics class I'm registered for, the only problem is that I already ordered my books on Amazon, oh, and I can't seem to find that class in the class listings at the registrars... Oh well.

Now onto things I will be getting rid of today. Mardi Gras this last year, Jose,

Sydney and I went out, on the Tuesday, to Rain, and a few other places, just to say goodbye to sugar, happiness, and alcohol. Jose had his last drink, I had my last candy, and Sydney... theoretically had her last candy as well, at least for 40 days. While there, Rain gave away beads, without flashing. So these beads (there are actually three of the, but I don't remember where the other two came from) are from Rain. If there is anything in Austin I am going to miss it will be my friends and all of the fun times I had with them. The best stories of these friends however, come from Rain. So goodbye Austin, goodbye Rain, and Hello freezing cold, huge Chicago, my new home.

Moving

Whew, moving is always harder than I expect it to be. It is not the actual moving part that's slowing me down with my blog this time, but the last few days. Last time I moved out of Austin I spent two weeks with friends, partying, eating, hanging out, visiting my favorite places.... This time, I have been busy for two days, with my aunt (my cousin just got engaged) my friends, my boyfriend. and myself. I definitely don't want to leave Austin in the same fashion I left last time. I was exhausted from two weeks of not enough sleep and stressed because I was leaving the town I now call my home. This time, while I haven't gotten enough sleep I hope to tonight (probably won't happen) most of my friends left Austin a few weeks ago so I haven't been as busy. I still feel like I don't have time to get anything done though. I donated all of my items (actually carried them into the store), got a hair cut, visited work one last time, bought a book so Sydney can decoupage her barstool after I'm gone, and packed most of my stuff... yet the days are quickly closing in on me and I'm still not fully packed, or mentally ready to leave behind everything I know and love in Austin.

For the past few busy days (including today), I have gotten rid of about 3 inches of hair, a dress that I could not get a good picture of, and a pile of socks and underwear that I will not need any more. I think I had almost 12 pairs of socks... and those take up a lot of room, so I'm down to 8 now, and only 9 underwear also. Which means I'm ready to live on necessity there. I plan to do my laundry once a week anyway, that way my towel and sheets can stay as clean as possible.

Each of these things are not the most sentimental, I have never been a hair person and the other two are simply clothes. I do love clothes, but I find that I enjoy clothes more when they fit correctly and look amazing, that dress was too big and I never felt quite right in it. On a side note though, I did get a new dress yesterday, a very cute polka-dot one. I think it is one of the best purchases I have made in a while, and could mean I will get rid of more clothes when I get to Chicago, but for now I'm not unpacking everything to do that.... there is a 50 lbs weight limit on bags when flying though, so if I can't keep it under weight I'll find something to get rid of.

I have only about a day left in Austin, therefore I don't want to waste my precious hours on the internet, I would rather get out and see the city one last time.. Oh, and pack.

Girl Scouts

Ah Girl Scout camp...some of the best summer memories....and surprisingly no terrible ones. There were definitely bad years, but as memories they still seem amazing. Recently an old friend from my early years of camp resurfaced on Facebook. It is weird to think that the little girl I remember sitting around the campfire on the Monday night of camp or asking questions about bugs on the nature hike is now a nurse....oh yeah, and I'm a college graduate. I'm not sure when I reached this point in my life but I sincerely do not need my parents to help me figure out which car insurance to have or agree to a neighborhood to live in based on crime statistics (those I always fudged if they didn't totally agree with what I wanted....safety is purely based on how safe you are....most of the time) . I now am moving to a new city, have enough money in savings to survive for over a year without starving, and I am not 100% freaked out about it. Geez, and I thought being a senior was old....
As a Brownie in Girl Scouts I picked out a camp name. All of the adults and (most excitingly) the seniors had camp names. Sydney and I chose Thunder and Lightning. I was Lightning because I came first. Our friends all chose derivations from that, one was cloud and another rain, but we were the only two girls from our cabin that made it through high school as girl scouts and had the opportunity to become seniors with those names. The name tag I am getting rid of today is one from one of the four years as a senior. In those years we participated in skits, helped the kitchen staff, and served as temporary assistant cabin leaders during the day. As much as those years were the hardest of camp, they seem to be the most memorable. It could just be that I am closest to those years. Either way I will never forget the pancake breakfast, the years spent forgetting shower sandals and packing weird costumes for the different themed days at camp. I will always be Rebecca, but to a few I will also be Lightning.

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Holidays

Freshman year of college I was terrified I would feel lonely during the holidays. Thanksgiving I went out of my way to find someone to spend the weekend with. A few of my friends offered to let me go with them, but luckily my cousin was willing to take me with her to her father's farm and even to her inlaws place and I jumped on the opportunity to spend the weekend with family. My aunt from Austin is often out of town for Thanksgiving weekend at a conference so I spent the time with the other side of the family. Every year since then I found a way to have at least one Thanksgiving dinner with my cousin (she usually has three as her parents are divorced and her inlaws want to see her as well) and I enjoy my time. Each year I have been reminded of my first year with her. The farm was fun..even though they all joked about me attending UT instead of A&M and the town was about as Texas as they come. Meeting my cousin in laws family also allowed me a break from the every day. Holidays always do and I think they are provided to us for just that reason. Every once in a while we have to be able to step out of our normal lives to understand how comfortable they are for us upon our return to them.
Anyway, my blog is not about family and holidays but about getting rid of unwanted or not necessary items. After Thanksgiving my first year in college I took home left overs (mostly mashed potatoes and turkey if I remember correctly) in this tupperware. Since then I have used this for food of my own, and always intended to return it to it's owner. My cousin definitely does not need any more storage containers in her house and this was an old one, but I still feel bad borrowing and not returning....however, with the scratches in one corner, the fact that I have had it for almost 5 years and she does not have room for this one in her cabinets I think it is safe to say I can throw this tupperware away without feeling bad about it.
But how am I going to spend Thanksgiving when I am in Chicago!?

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One Week

I leave Austin in a little less than one week for Chicago. While this does not warrant my lack of a post yesterday, it still serves the purpose of making my brain freak out silently about everything I have to get done before I go. Moving is always a hard thing to do, there is so much to get done, and often it is hard to even figure out what it is that needs to be done. For today's item I am getting rid of a couple things from one of the first places I went to when moving to Austin. At UT I worked in the convenience store in the dorms I lived in, and started about a week after I moved in, and worked there diligently for two years. While I had problems through those years, with my coworkers (mostly it was just that a few got on my nerves or that many did not like to work their hours during finals) I attribute a lot of my maturity to that job. In the beginning I was shy, scared to man a cash register because it meant I had to talk to all of the customers, and by the end that was my favorite part, even after I was promoted. That job brought me out of my shell, allowed me to realize that I was not going to be negatively judged by every person. In high school I was shy, but still had many friends and was liked by most people. Coming to UT, which was about 100 times the size of my high school, I felt dwarfed, only to slowly realize I am only as small as I allow myself to be. Most people see a city as what they experience in it every day, few people can draw a good, full map of their city, but rather know just the parts that they drive through, or work in, or live near. While Austin has almost 1 million people, Chicago has nearly 3 million, yet I know that once I get settled I will find my niche and not need to feel the pressure of those millions of people.

Here's to new beginnings, by getting rid of part of my beginning in Austin I will be able to see Chicago in a better light.

Sentimental Donations

In high school someone organized a blood drive every year. Usually it was for our exit project, but inevitably one student would gather up the organizations required and set up a blood drive in the gym. The strange part about doing a blood drive in a high school is that most of the students are not allowed to donate blood. My senior year I donated my first pint, and since then I have worked my way up to over a gallon.... unfortunately not at the same place, so I don't get a cool shirt for it, but I did get a pint of ice cream this time. This is my first pint past a gallon and it was also one of my hardest, I'm not sure if the needle just didn't go in quite right, or if my vein wasn't sticking out as much as usual, but either way, it hurt more than normal. It is always a little irritating to have a needle in your arm slowly sucking blood out, but I think it is worth it. Not only do I feel like I did something good by donating blood, I only had to root around my house to find ONE thing I would get rid of today. Yesterday, while I planned to blog after a museum excursion, I ended up attending a music performance with a friend... and was there til past 1am. By the time I got home I practically fell asleep in the doorway. Probably not the best to do on a night before donating blood, but I did still get 8 hours of sleep. Not only do I get a feeling of being able to help out when I donate blood, but I also know that I can continue to donate for my life, or until I get a false positive for some kind of disease.... That's the part that always scares me the most. I had a friend who was called once after donating blood and told she had Hepatitis C, luckily it was determined that the test was incorrect. The few days of calling the doctors and getting new tests run made the whole experience scarier than I would ever want to imagine. Hopefully for me I can eventually donate in all 50 states (that's a lot of blood) and never get a false positive for anything! So one pint of blood down, now a physical object to remove from my pile of stuff in this small apartment.

Sentimental things always have a special place in my heart, as they do in many other homes. This pillowcase was given to my parents when my oldest sister was born, and has been in the family ever since. My mom tried to get rid of it when I was home last time, and I couldn't bring myself to allow her to do that. My cousins had outgrown the Peanuts cartoons and wanted to give my parents something fun for their new child. My sister is now 27 and very much outgrown of Peanuts. The old cotton is now almost see through and the pictures and sayings are as old as they can be, but I still shy away from getting rid of this, yet, out it goes. While I think I will throw it away because it is old, faded and thin, I know it was used well, for many years. I even used it for over a year in college, only to bring it home when I got a new pillow case, thinking someone else may want to have the joy of sleeping on a pillow case we used as babies. This item reminds me of Hoarders, a TV show on A&E, again, one of the reasons I am writing this blog. Many of the featured homes have items kept for sentimental reasons, and for memories. One man couldn't get rid of a few bricks he had taken from his old high school. The man was in his 60s, had grand children, and lived a normal life outside of his home. The bricks were taken when they refaced the school, yet he did not want to lose the memories of the school, and the bricks brought back those memories. In the end, he agreed to throw those out with countless other items in his house, realizing that the memories will still be there, even without the bricks. While I have not reached the point of hoarding everything, I do find myself keeping useless things purely for the memories they force me to recall.

Shoes

I love to accessorize. Shoes are my main accessory of choice, mostly because they are easy. Necklaces get in the way, earrings and bracelets end up distracting me more than providing an addition to the outfit. Shoes however, must be worn to get into most places and therefore are an excellent resource to add color to an outfit. These pink shoes provided a colorful pop to many a work outfit.
While I love shoes I am a bargain shopper. I also find that the best shoes are at thrift stores. These are also the cheapest. Over the years I have gone through periods where I wore a different pair of shoes every day of the week, at one point I had abou 30 pairs of shoes...but as I started moving every year I realized these shoes weigh me down and take up way too much space in my small car when I move. In my economizing I saved 4 pairs of shoes for fun and two work-out shoes...but occasionally grab an extra pair. I recently bought a pair of gray shoes (I know, no color in that) and will be moving out my neon pink heels to make room for those.

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Cleaning Day

Today I cleaned the house. I like to do a full cleaning once a week. This means picking up all the chairs so I can sweep and mop under them as well as dusting almost the entire place. I will be the first to point out that behind the TV is dusty but I don't feel like trying to get around the stairs and a bunch of cords to clean that out. I probably will next week, just before I leave. This week I mopped and cleaned the dishes while watching Law and Order: SVU ...one of my addictions. Afterward I was able to go through my drawer in the bathroom, I was supposed to share the drawer with my sister but she doesn't have very much stuff and mine takes up most of the drawer. In the process I found another contact case. This one actually glows in the dark and can be a bit scary to wake up to when I'm sleeping over at a friend's house and forget that I had it on the bedside table.
I'm pretty sure these were also a gift from my mom. In the process of getting rid of things I find myself discovering items I didn't even remeember I owned. Many of these items are gifts also. At what point is it ok to get rid of a present. I almost always treasure a gift from someone, even if it is not something I would usually buy for myself. Maybe especially when that is the case. This contact case I have used for over a year, yet I still feel a twinge of guilt and sadness because this case was a fun item that I received from someone I care about and who cares about me. Often I will opt out of purchasing an item I can get for free from somewhere else, in this example my optometrist. I do still enjoy having a fun case to use and, however I obviously collected many such cases when I only need one. Therefore away with another one. Hopefully I will learn to keep my drawers and shelves clear of clutter after this.

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A few things

So, I missed yesterday, no real surprise, Mondays are our day to watch "Lie to Me" with Diane and we always stay later than we planned. She just got back from a trip to my home, so she had plenty of stories about my mom and grandma to fill the commercial times. I miss going home often, not that I even did that my freshman year of college, but it was nice to be able to go home on every school break, and stay for the entirety of winter break and just be lazy... not that I'm super productive here. My Facebook addiction has finally reached its full potential, luckily I have a smart phone now so I can check it no matter where I am! I realized that I move to Chicago in less than two weeks, and I haven't even really begun my mental preparation for it. I am always a nervous mover, especially when I am moving to a city where I don't know that many people. Luckily my housing situation is figured out (I hope) and I have emailed my new bosses and will hopefully be prepared to start classes...not that I even remember what those classes are now, it's been so long since I registered.

With regards to todays items that I will be getting rid of. I am not a big makeup wearer, and I

never have been. I tried, but it only lasted for about two days. I usually have time in the morning, but I feel like people who wear makeup have to always wear makeup. The one day they don't is the day we all decide they look sick. It makes me realize what a difference common practices make in your appearance. Without having seen most of the celebrities with makeup on, they might look just normal without. But pulling up pictures from an article I skimmed recently about "stars without makeup" they all look sickly next to their fancied pictures. I realize that these pictures have been doctored by the journalist as well, but it holds true for every day people as well. I have a friend who wears makeup every day, but I've seen her without her foundation and mascara on and she looks ill, sad, and tired. Not because she is, or has bad skin, or even boring eyes, but because I have come to expect her eyes to pop as much as her

mascara will allow, and her skin to seem flawless. Those extra minutes dedicated to putting makeup on every morning force the person into a cycle of wearing makeup and refining it to look the most natural, while still adding enough spice to their face to make them not look tired. I have never worn makeup and when I do put mascara on I get more compliments than a normal day. If this became commonplace for me, the shock of a little mascara would wear off and I would eventually end up with practically drag queen makeup to get some bit of extra beauty for a night out. So today I will be getting rid of a mirror from Sephora. It was given to me with a gift card for some foundation for Christmas. Not because I needed the makeup, but this was from when I decided to wear makeup....I still have that foundation, I've used it a few times. So I will be getting rid of this rarely used mirror as a symbol of my lack of beauty desires.

The second item, to make up for lost time, is a coffee table book. This

book, one of many display books I own, was given to me by an ex boyfriend (at the time we were dating). Called "Unuseless Japanese Inventions," this book has added humor to many conversations in my home. As a grad student I don't need coffee table books, I will have enough textbooks crowding my room and bookcase. This book will hopefully provide a few laughs and some color to someone else's home soon.

The best

Sometimes in life you find the best. Whether it is the best ice cream flavor, best route during rush hour, best friend, or best book. All of these things are subjective of course, but some can be shared. Usually the best, and I do mean absolute best, of anything shapes a peroson's life. For me, the best book was The Stand. In sixth grade I carried this book around like it was my one prized possesion. After a month of heavy reading I finished the book. Since then I have been a Stephen King addict. The Stand allowed me to discover myself...or who I thought I was as a twelve year old. After finishing the story and developing close bonds with each character I was left with a new part inside but also an emtiness because our lives (the characters and mine) were now separated. I read It later and again connected with the children, cried when someone died and rejoiced when the evil was finally taken down. I still have a secret spot in my heart and if Stu or Ben or any other character were to walk into my life I would take them in like family.
In college I left my copy of The Stand behind, but grabbed the opportunity to buy a hard bound copy when I saw a cheap version in a thrift store while browsing. Years later I still haven't reread this book, though I used parts of it in my college entrance essays and always plan to start back in at that slow day when the car ran into the pump at the gas station... Of course Stephen King is a highly produced author. His works span the nation and can be found for mere pennies in some stores. Finding a copy of any of his books only requires a few minutes and the will to look.
If this book was the exact copy that I called my Bible for almost a month...maybe even two...in sixth grade it might not be moving this early. I know if I need a copy of this I can find a copy of this...therefore I will let this one go. Bests move in and out of your life, and some only change. But most of the time they are remembered forever.

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