Memory

So I'm going to attempt to start something among my blogger-friends.
I want you all to post photos of objects that have great sentimental value for you.  Maybe throw in a few family/friends photos as well.

I'll start.

If you've been paying attention to recent posts, you'll recognize my desk.

Way down at the bottom of the picture is Kira, the first computer I ever built from scratch.  I actually bought the parts and put them together, with no prior knowledge of how to build a computer.  I never quite got her to run perfectly (the motherboard I got was really cheap), but she's my baby.  One day I'll rebuild her, better and faster.

To the immediate left of my desk is my bookshelf.  On it, you can see the three pillars of DC Comics: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.  Below, I've got shelves of book-geekery, including such titles as The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future, Jedi vs Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force, and four hardcover volumes of Ultimate Spider-Man.
You might also notice a pile of swords and lightsabers stashed in the space between my shelf and my desk.

Yet another step to the left, a Superman shield poster adorns the back of my bedroom door.  There's a gash in it from when a couple friends of mine accidentally slashed it with a plastic sword, but I don't really care.

This is my Master Replicas Force FX Luke Skywalker Lightsaber.  I named her Shelley.  =D

This is an assortment of random little objects that mean something to me.

Going in chronological order...

This was a wallet that I got as a "toy" in a kids' meal at Wendy's when I was seven.  It was actually a really good wallet that served me well for many years.

This is a bouncy/flashy ball that I got when I was ten.  I took it on my first-ever family road trip (to California), and I always get a really weird sense of warmth and comfort when I look at it.

This is perhaps the one that means the most to me.  It's a note that my friend Emily wrote to me after my dad died in 2004.

Basically, she wrote that she was praying for me, and that she was always there if I needed encouragement.  It was the first time that I think I understood that I had friends who really loved me.  (Even if she didn't explicitly say it)  Emily and I had a kind of silent caring friendship afterward that I really treasured.

This was the CPU to my first PC. (not Kira, but the one that my dad had given me before I'd built Kira.)  I guess there's nothing special about it; I just like the idea of still owning the "heart" of my first PC.

Yet another thing that Emily gave me; a souvenir from when she and her family went to Disneyland.  It's a personalized "passport" from the Star Tours ride.  It's pretty cool, since it's basically a physical link between me and the Star Wars universe. (yes, I am a geek. I know.)

This is a keychain from the driving school that I went to while on Summer vacation in Wisconsin.

This is a broken penny. It was fired through a machine down at NASA's visitor center in Houston.  That was a fun trip; it was basically a field trip / road trip for my homeschool co-op.

BWAHAHA! I have now posted pictures of my former peers on the internet! The stalkers will come for them soon. o_o

This is a page that was added to my co-op's comedic version of Macbeth.  What was funny about it was that it was completely false.  While the rest of the cast were going to follow this page, a buddy and I had conspired with our teacher to actually throw in a super-climactic lightsaber battle.  For no other reason than I wanted to have an awesome lightsaber battle. (if I could find the pictures of it, I'd upload them)

Lastly, this is a photo from my senior prom. (Yes, homeschoolers have proms.)
It wasn't exactly my favorite event, but I'm still really glad that I went.  It's hard to explain.

Well, that's it.  I've probably got more, but that's it for tonight.
Feel free to leave many personal and normally-intruding question-comments; I'm in the mood for nostalgia anyway.