It will end. That’s what I constantly tell myself anyway. I was in the garage intent on snapping photos of an antique coffee table - more subterfuge to post on craigslist today. Whilst clearing items in my path, I came across an eyesore. Pictorial evidence has been captured for your judging pleasure.
Where? The burning question. More so, why?? To dovetail the end of a two month trek across Southeast Asia, my Merrell sandals decided to disintegrate. I scrambled to search for a pair of suitable shoes to carry me through an 11 hour flight to Tokyo, not to mention weather the medical frenzy of SARS. After that ordeal, it was homeward bound to Vancouver.
The shoes served their purpose, but lord, how ugly are we? Very. Into the abyss of forgotten stuff they went. There they lived gathering dust balls along with memories of my trip.
When I spotted the shoes peeking through a broken zipper of a duffel bag, a rush of images caught me off balance. It occurred to me how vital memory placeholders are. Those tangible sensations we tend to, well, forget. Traveling Savage echos this sentiment:
“Memory effectively defines the trip after you return. I think many travelers take this period for granted and don’t actively do anything to remember their trip.”
So bloody true. My scorecard in this area is high. I subscribe to memory design, yet my conduit to stimulate them originates from things. Not overly productive if my end goal is to pitch stuff and begin anew. My earlier post alluded to throwing it all away. I’ve concluded it’s acceptable to keep a few precious items, which are going to friends for safekeeping.
The shoes can’t stay. Their aesthetic offensiveness disqualifies them automatically. What possessed me to buy them at all… ? Oh yes, the reason is crystal clear. Desperation.
My new initiative for Nomadic Chick Inc. is to transfer fresh memories into digital photos or music, items I can carry with me from Latin America to Europe.
The musical connections are flowing:
Thailand – Budda Bar, 24 hours a day.
Cambodia – The Scientist, Coldplay.
Laos – Killing in the Name, Rage Against the Machine.
Vietnam – Regret, New Order
Turkey – Looks Just Like the Sun, Broken Social Scene.
Brazil – I Feel it All, Feist
What are some of your musical travel moments?
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
@Nomadic Chick – Awesome! I definitely love finding a song whose lyrics echo my feelings or my situation.
My latest kick ass post is..WWOOFing in Italy
@Danalynn – It’s amazing how songs when we are away resonate so powerfully. I like your song selection. :) The latest for me was flying over Austria and Germany, while LCD Soundsystem’s song “Home” circulated on my iPod. I welled with emotion, cause Vancouver was on the way.
Ha, this is exactly what I do! I tend to replay songs, albums or artists over and over again until I am sick of them, and from then on hearing that particular music will immediately transport me back to that time and place, which I love! Death Cab for Cutie is college, right after I moved out of my parents place and into the big world by myself. Jack’s Mannequin is being lonely in France before I made friends there, riding the train by myself in my desire to see the world even if no one else wanted to join me. It’s fabulous!
My latest kick ass post is..Floating Raft Houses in Khao Sok National Park- Thailand
Ooh Alessandra, your little slip up is forgiven this time. :) Milan and trains… sounds romantic. :)
The Scientist is a train from Milan to Verona for me.
Digital Photo book of these lovely treasures is def the way to go IG…I mean NC!
Welcome back Suzi!
Exactly! A photograph can be visited over and over again, but won’t collect dust.
I think you’ve stumbled on something – I like to read about organizing and organizational tools (not that I’m very good at putting them into practice – LOL!) & one piece of advice I remember resonates with your topic here:
If you’re having trouble parting with something that brings back memories, but takes up too much of your precious space, take a photograph of it and keep that instead.
I think it works for scaling down in order to travel also! :-)
It’s incredible how a general theme or theme song bookends a trip. A 3 minute song can encapsulate a myriad of emotions. It amazes me every time. :)
The entire Boards of Canada album, The Campfire Headphase, reminds me of Scotland. My wife and I drove around the country for three weeks and this disc was often getting play time. Seems only appropriate seeing as how Boards of Canada are from Scotland :)