I’m coming up on 5 years in New York City (moved here in February 2005), and this upcoming milestone has got me thinking about items that I’ve owned for a long time that I’m shocked, shocked, that I haven’t lost by now. I’m not a particularly forgetful person, but I have lost significant things in the past multiple times (wallet, 2x; iPod/iPhone, 4x; headphones, more times than I can count) and I’m frankly amazed that I’ve managed to hold on to some near and dear items over the years. A partial list below:
- My first scarf, 10 years: I grew up in Alabama and never needed a scarf prior to freshmen year of college in New England. My mom got me one that winter, and it’s still with me. Made all the more amazing by the fact that I’m always draping it on chairs, stuffing it in coat pockets, and otherwise putting it down in places where it’s very likely to be left behind.
- My watch, 5.5 years: a graduation present (along with the first iPod). It’s on the heavier side, so I’m constantly taking it off and setting it down…everywhere. In the office. At restaurants. At friends’ houses. Anywhere a weight on the wrist is uncomfortable.
- My first generation MacBook Pro, 3.5 years: I have an unfortunate history of bad luck with computers. Average lifespan prior to my current machine was about 3 years, by which time the motherboard would be fried or it’d be hopelessly obsolete. This MacBook Pro was a first generation Intel Mac laptop, one of the first of its kind. At the time, its dual core processor made it a smokin’ beast. Although it’s gone through its fair share of repairs and upgrades (both RAM and hard drive), it still does pretty much everything I want it to do, and it does it fast. Even more intensive apps (Photoshop, Final Cut, Windows XP virtual machine, etc.) hum along just fine on this relative dinosaur.
- My yearly MetroCards, 2 years: Starting in September 2007, I got annual MetroCards from work, meaning I didn’t have to keep buying or refilling monthly subway passes. One card would do the trick for the whole year, assuming it didn’t get lost or stop working. Miraculously, neither happened, which is all the more impressive given the unreliability of the flimsy MetroCard and its magnetically encoded strip.
- My bike, 1 year: I don’t ride it often, but I park it outside every once in a while. And it hasn’t been stolen yet.
In a world where we’ve grown accustomed to disposability and ephemerality, I’m glad I have a few things that I consider permanent.
For now, that is.
