I was talking with one of my instructors and he said his dad taught him that great experiences are much better than great possessions. As a result, he is well traveled (he lived and taught English in Japan for 2 years) and goes to a lot of sporting events. I agreed with him, but I enjoy a few of my possessions specifically because I feel like they are a part of me and represent something about me. That probably makes me sound really vain, but it's not like that so stop judging me. So here's my power ranking of my favorite things:
My Detroit Tigers hat - it has quickly overtaken my Red Sox hat as my favorite.
My new car - I used to not care about cars, but I'm proud of my car. It makes me feel grown up and successful.
My stadium picture frames - This is more of a memorabilia of some of my favorite experiences
My ties - I don't wear them because I already dress up more than anyone else in the office
My hockey gear - I really feel this represents a big change. When I was younger, I gave up on sports so quickly because I wasn't any good and grew frustrated quickly. I feel like picking up hockey now makes up for quitting in the past. Speaking of which, I am proud to say I FINALLY signed up for a hockey league. It starts in early May, so I better get back in shape.
So I don't sound too vain, here are a few of my favorite experiences in no order:
1. Surprise Eminem concert after 8-Mile
2. Spending a week doing "Castaways" in the dorms and planning it the next year
3. The first time I got drunk at my sister's place and almost blacked out (I'd be embarrassed if I knew how little alcohol that took)
4. The first vacation with Stacey in Mackinac Island (sidenote: I think it says a lot about you whether you end Mackinac with a "c" or a "w")
5. Hockey all-nighter at the Ice Cube during boy scouts... my love was born that night
6. Being at the U-M game in 01 when we won on the last second TD.
7. Singing my senior song during my last Varsity Blues show... probably the saddest moment of my life that didn't involve something tragic.
8 comments:
I'd be curious to see how you would list your top experiences in order from 1-7.
I love lists.
"I love lamp."
In some buddhist traditions, it is customary for new monks to decide which possesions they value most, and those possesions are then destroyed by the order to "free the mind from materialism and worldly goods."
I don't know about all that, but if some monk smashed my Wii to make a point, we are throwing down, I don't care how much Kung Fu he knows...
My list (in no particular order):
-my Wii
-soccer trophies and memorabilia
(#1 is the jersey I was wearing when we won the indoor nationals)
-my TV (the first purchase over $50 I ever made by myself)
-my media collection (I can't decide between books, movies, and music, so they all go into one category)
no computer kevin???
My computer has been pissing me off lately, so it's temporarily off the list. Although I will have a new computer soon, so hopefully the new one will make the list.
I wouldn't say these are the top experiences or even the most memorable, but if I had to rank these, it'd be
1. Singing my senior song during my last Varsity Blues show...
2. The first vacation with Stacey in Mackinac Island
3. Being at the U-M game in 01 when we won on the last second TD.
4. Surprise Eminem concert after 8-Mile
5. Spending a week doing "Castaways" in the dorms and planning it the next year
6. The first time I got drunk at my sister's place and almost blacked out
7. Hockey all-nighter at the Ice Cube during boy scouts
I guessed your top two right, although I didn't know in which order you'd go. I also thought your Hockey Night would be higher. Those experiences where you are involved as opposed to just being "there" always seem to rise above the rest.
But I must ask- how come the scavenger hunt Kevin and I sent you on didn't make the list??? I mean, come on, we stole a fucking car!!!
July 16, 2005: I posted this on my blog. I knew I did something similar!!!
"Have you ever tried to rank the top moments of your life? Like the five most special, unforgettable moments of your life that you will remember forever? Try to think of a list of both good and bad. I haven't been able to come up with a list, but I've been trying to think of the good and bad moments that I guess "define" my life. I'll give you my top 3 for each...:
The Good:
1) Kissing Sarah for the first time. Hands down the best moment/day of my life. Have you ever wanted someone so much it hurts? If you have, try to imagine that feeling right now. Now take that feeling, and imagine having it for two years- non-stop. That's how long I'd wanted Sarah before she eventually gave into my charm =). The night she kissed me was the most surreal night of my life. Sitting down by the river at midnight, she cuddled me under the moonlight, and leaned in and kissed me. I remember having to take a final the next day, but not giving a fuck. We cuddled and kissed all night long; something I'd dreamt about for what seemed like an eternity. I wanted to capture that moment forever and keep in bottle so I could relieve it over and over again. Number one.
2) Beating Pioneer. Their doubles team was ranked number one in the state. Andrew and I were not even in the top 3 in our region. It was a rainy April Saturday, and our dual meet got delayed all morning. We were finally able to play in the late afternoon, and it was well worth the wait. Pioneer easily disposed of 7 of our other flights (in straight sets nonetheless), leaving Andrew and I the only ones left at a chance for a win. We lost the first set 6-1, but we never got down. After the first set I remember looking into Andrew's eyes and just seeing the focused determination. I knew it was going to be a match; we were not going to roll over. We took the second set 7-5, and by that time all the fans and teams had gathered around our court for the third and deciding set. The third set was grueling. We fell down 5-3, and were two points from losing. You couldn't script a better underdog comeback story though. We fought our way back to 6-6 and a tiebreak. We took the third set tiebreak 7-5, knocking off the number one team in the state of Michigan. I remember the last point like it was yesterday. I remember us winning it, and then me jumping into Andrew's arms yelling over and over "Oh my god Andrew we did it! We did it!" I remember our team rushing the court to mob us. I remember my coach saying, "This was one of the best days as a coach I've ever been a part of, and you will remember this day for the rest of your life." Very true coach. Very true.
3) Winning the "Director's Award" in third grade. Every year my elementary school had a big banquet/award ceremony. At the ceremony, students were rewarded with pins for particular achievements in different fields. For instance, if a teacher thought a student excelled in math, they might win a pins for their exemplorary work in math. These pins were highly coveted, even in elementary school. To get the recognition in front of the whole school and all the parents was a big deal. Since there were so few pins, everyone was on edge for every award that was handed out, hoping their name would be called. I sat through the entire award ceremony and did not receive a pin from any teacher. I was depressed as all hell. Then came the Director's Award. It was given by the principal of the school to who excelled in everything. This was the most prestigious award because the recepient was chosen by the principal without the input of the teachers. So when this award was handed out, even the teachers were on the edge of their seats. I remember still be bummed that I hadn't won a pin when I heard my name called. I'm pretty sure I had a permanent look of shock my entire time up on stage. I remember standing in front of everyone shaking the principal's hand and getting a standing ovation. I looked at my pin and it was all gold with a green emerald in the middle. Pretty dang-gone beautiful. I'll just never forget holding that award and staring at a sea of people and getting a standing ovation. Still gives me chills.
And The Bad:
1) Moving from Maryland to Michigan. It's always tough moving. Even though it seems like I've moved 9374293748 billion times, I still don't like it. Imagine being thirteen and moving from the only home you ever knew. On top of that, imagine leaving your father behind as you do. I remember the day we moved. We got up around 4 a.m. to get an early start on the traffic and to get into Michigan at a reasonable time. We packed up the car, and my dad gave everyone a hug goodbye. I held myself together pretty well until my dad came to hug me goodbye. I've gotten hugs before from my dad, but none ever felt as tight as the one he gave me that day. As he held me, he started to cry on my shoulder. I just broke down. I was a thirteen year old boy holding my father saying goodbye to him and my home. It was honestly the day I can say I grew up and became a man. Holy shit I gotta stop typing about this. Got a little tear action going on as I type...
2) Breaking up with Melissa. Ouch. They say you'll never forget your first love. How true. It was the first time I was in love, and it was also my first heartbreak. Melissa was my first everything. She taught me so much. She was my high school sweetheart and I honestly thought we were going to spend the rest of our lives together. That was not to be though. I remember standing in the doorway of her house on a grey cloudy afternoon, and her sobbing in my arms. The few weeks prior her and I had been drifting apart. Our relationship was a serious one, and it was beginning to take a toll. She told me she wanted change, how she wanted to see other people, and how she lost the spark for our relationship. Talk about getting your heart stomped on. I didn't cry at her house though. I walked out her door, and into my car, and sobbed like there was going to be no tomorrow. My friend Andy was with me, and the only condonlence he offered me was weed. I went home and sat in the shower for two hours and sobbed uncontrollably. The next week I could hardly function. Losing a love is one of the worst feeling imaginable. I would rather be beaten senseless with a sledge hammer than go through that pain ever again. I don't think I'll ever forget my "Ace". She showed me how to love, and made me the romantic I am today, and for that I am forever grateful. I'll always remember the good times we had, but I certainly won't forget the pain I went through when it was all over.
3) Getting suspended "indefinetly". It was this moment, or getting arrested. This had a greater emotional effect on me though, so I chose this one. I was in a cadet teaching class in high school, and they place me in a fifth grade classroom. It was right after the time I broke up with Melissa, and my mind and emotions were a little off. I remember a few of the "bad kids" in the class said some shit to me about getting dumped, and I told them to fuck off. Yup, definetly my bad. Well one thing led to another, and I got in trouble. The thing was they created an elaborate little tall tale to try to get me in more trouble. They said that I threatened to come to their house and beat them up- which was totally untrue (gonna have to believe me on that one). And they told this to the police! So I was suspended indefinetly from school, failed my cadet teaching class, and had to deal with the embarrassment of telling my friends, teachers, and family. Well an investigation was done, and the kids were exposed as liars- small justice for me. Yes, I did swear at them, and I was totally in the wrong, and I'll be the first to admitt that. The rest of it though was bullshit, and I fought for awhile to clear my name. Still, my reputaion was ruined, especially as a future teacher. I remember my school guidance counselor going off on me, telling me what a shitty person I was. I'll never forget that. He told me that he "hoped I went down". All I can say to him is fuck you, you giant prick. Still, not a fun time for sure.
See this is what I do when I have all this time to think. I start retracing the steps of my life and trying to figure out how I ended up in the spot I'm at. It was kinda fun to make the list though. I urge you to try it, or at least think about it."
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