Maybe it's because I just had my birthday, but I've been reflecting a lot lately. Remember fond and not so fond times. It's fun when I can look back on little earthquakes gone by and have the perspective to appreciate the experience now.

D posted a quote from My So-Called Life. It got me thinking about an old roommate of mine. A passive aggressive, obsessive compulsive, narcissistic mess I call Whorey Lori?. We lived together for a year and that was about a year too long. We were both lost post graduates trying to find a place in the world in a place that was barren and sucked souls dry. We were as different as night and day and honestly a horrible match for housemates. Although we shared many friends, we rarely spent anytime alone together. The one thing we did agree on was My So-Called Life. It was the only time we spent together at home. We'd watch each episode and discuss afterwards. We loved that little show. We were sad when it was cancelled.

Looking at Jon's history project makes me want to organize my photos. Years ago in a clean sweep, I threw away a lot of mementos from my past. It was hard looking at them and they brought up so many bad memories. I wanted to expunge them from my life. My memory. If I had known I would eventually achieve clarity and perspective,
I'd have kept them, but at the time I thought it was something I had to do.

No the bad stuff doesn't seem so bad and it's easier to remember I had good times and a lot of fun. In the shoebox of my mind, I store memories that I leaf through once in a while. Driving out in the country with a bottle of cheap wine while listening to Prince and the Violent Femmes. Late nights on the swing set at the park. Plates of fries at the all night diner served by the Swedish waitress. Singing songs to the moon. Finding The Cat when he was a wee tiny kitten and bringing him home in the palm of my hand. My first kiss. My first kiss with a boy. The smell of the ocean. Doing donuts in empty parking lots during the first snow of winter.

None of these were documented with a camera, so I hope my recollection of them is always crystal clear.