Item Number 24: Metal Piggy-Bank

Time in possession: In excess of 20 years

Description: Bronze metal piggy bank, comes apart into two pieces, formerly held together by a notch and a hole with a small screw (screw now missing). Now held together with physics and faith. Current contents a undetermined amount of American change.

Cost: Another gift. I honestly couldn't tell you how much this bank was worth, as I'm pretty sure it was a baby gift. I'm gonna say 15 bucks because it's a pretty solid bank that has served me well. Plus it's a cute little pig.

Story: A little bit about how I currently do entries for the site: First of all I take a bunch of pictures on a digital camera, after which I import them to my computer and crop/resize them. Finally I upload each of the pictures into a separate draft on blogger. Doing all this takes a couple of hours, but allows me to get a decent amount of entries set up for the next step, being the part when, when I find myself with the time, I can log onto blogger and begin writing about whatever item is next in the cue. This is actually pretty fun because I'm often surprised by the items that pop up and at the very least I'm never sure as to what I'm going to be writing about when I open one of my un-named drafts. It's a good writing exercise and to me at least keeps the project a little bit more exciting then it would be otherwise.

So, when this little guy came up, I was shocked to realize that while he's been in my life a good long while, I really have no stories about him except to say that as a childhood item I would never think of getting rid of him. I actually have a collection of banks (4 banks, which used to be 5 until I gave my ceramic Elephant bank away to a girlfriend) all of which have been in my possession as long as I can remember. The nice thing about this guy is that since he's pretty tough, when I was younger he could often be used when playing with my action figures. I believe his most frequent use was as a prison (Try to escape from this one, GI Joe!) but occasionally he would be split in two and used as two boats. What can I say, I never had an appropriate boat accessory.

The funniest thing about an item like this is that even looking at the picture is intensely comforting. Seeing it reminds me of home, and my room, and comfort. It's a little detail, something of scant significance, but it's longevity in my life has given it new worth in my eyes. I would never call it a prized possession and for that matter I might not notice for a long time if it should disappear, but I couldn't bear the thought of deliberately parting with it. I guess I'm just a really materialistic guy.

Item Number 23: Belt Watch

Time in possession: About a year

Description: A battery powered classic-style pocket watch with a chain attached to a leather carrying case. The case has a loop which can be used to attach it to a belt.

Cost: A present from my folks, so free, but I can't imagine that it was more than $10. In fact, I would bet money that it was one of those $10 watches from a mall kiosk. $10 even. Okay, I've now officially used "$10" too much.

Story: I suck at owning watches. Actually, I suck at owning many things: Perhaps that is part of the reason the idea for this project appealed to me: I lose things so easily, so at least this way I can have a record of them, before they slip away into the ether.

But watches: I am particularly bad at holding onto watches. Ever since I bought my first watch when I was 12, I've been unable to hold on to one for more then a year. Well, that's not exactly true: I do still have some of my older watches, but only because they broke early on and have since been thrown into tupperware containers of broken things, each of them tossed in with the faint hope of one day repairing them, that hope becoming more and more ridiculous as additional broken items are added, until the box is essentially a garbage that has never been emptied.

Which is why this watch is kind of funny: I've had belt watches before, although usually the ones that clip into a belt loop. They tend to get smashed between my hip and a wall (sadly, I only have one occasion where I can blame this on being drunk, the rest simply my clumsiness) but got used frequently because of how easy it was to just clip them on my pants and go. This one, I never really used because it was a little more of a production to wear. Then, along comes my trip to Texas a couple of months ago: While I'm packing for the trip, I see my watch hanging next to my various wristbands, bracers and pendants. "Hey! I'll need a watch in Texas!" and so I toss it in my bag and think nothing more of it until we arrive and I'm changing.

The watch doesn't work.

I don't even know if it EVER worked (I assume it did, I probably checked it out when I got it although I have no memory confirming that) but it certainly doesn't work now.

So, off it goes, into my tupperware box, until the day that I (ha!) fix it, or decide that I don't need a tupperware box filled with broken shit.