More Mystery for the Mystery Tin!

As I was putting the items back in the tin, I discovered this-

The name "Melissa G" written in white-out on the back of the calculator. Of course it wasn't sentimental! It wasn't even mine! This belongs to Melissa G. Ok, now this is extra mysterious because I am wracking my brain and cannot think of a Melissa G I know. There's Melissa Cassut, but that's the only Melissa I can think of. I think there was another Melissa in high school and we actually dated for like on week, but I am almost positive her last name did not start with a G. Maybe it is though? Did she give me her calculator as a sign of affection? Did I borrow it once? We only had Social Studies together...so that wouldn't make sense. Maybe I swiped it after she dumped me. I don't think I'd do that though.

The Mystery of the Tin

One day I saw a white tin that had been sitting in our closet for a long time. There is nothing that could have prepared me for what I saw that day. The items you are about to see are assembled in such a random, logic-free way that it baffles the mind. I cannot find any connecting thread between them and half of the items I have no idea why I would even keep. Many of them possess no utility in the future, no sentimental value nor monetary value.

When I opened the tin, this is what I saw-


Here's an inventory of the tin:
-1 packet of paper made from banana fiber
-1 marble memo pocket notebook
-1 Memorex cd case
-1 Unit (in the style of OP Ivy) patch
-1 TI-30x solar powered calculator
-1 piece of petrified wood
-1 charger looking device
-1 empty cassette case
-1 YAC officer lanyard
-1 plug thing
-1 punk flyer for Life Rocks!
-35 Directionality Cards (for teaching)
-1 holographic pog slammer
-1 Crabapple Academy pen
-2 protractors (one semicircle and one triangle)
-1 weird wood thing I have no idea of its purpose
-1 swiss army pocketknife
-1 book of matches
-1 index card
-1 set of post-it note
-1 set of wires



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At first glance, it seemed as if it was a container of keepsakes, tucked away to invoke feelings of nostalgia. But quickly it becomes obvious that it's not that simple. For starters, there are plenty of non-sentimental things that were in this tin-

I don't even know what this is for. Definitely not something to preserve memories.

This calculator holds no significance to me whatsoever. It definitely wasn't the calculator I had in high school or college, so it doesn't hold emotional weight in even the most abstract sense.


Here's some more random antiquated electronic stuff. Some wire that I don't think I'll ever use.


There are a few things that I found that might be keepsakes, like some petrified wood which I can't remember getting. I'm thinking it's from the Petrified Forest , but then again I remember it being such a big deal to take things from there and my parents being pretty serious about us not snagging any for ourselves. There's also this little notebook, but I only wrote in 4 pages of it, mostly mundane things like grocery lists.

The one thing that could definitely be considered sentimental is a mixed tape from my good friend Amir. It's funny looking at the playlist-
Footsteps- Pearl Jam
One of my Lies- Green Day
Dominated Love Slave- Green Day
True Colors- Phil Collins
Crash Into Me- Dave Matthews Band
Lover Lay Down- Dave Matthews Band
Tripping Billies- Dave Matthews Band
Jimi Thing- Dave Matthews Band
Acoustic Medley- Bob Marley
Wishlist- Pearl Jam
Generator- Bad Religion
I Want to Conquer the World- Bad Religion
Saw Red- Sublime
Foolish Fool- Sublime
Mary/Big Salty Hans- Sublime

That must have been when we first became friends because of the lack of good bands on there. I HATE Dave Matthews. We can see that he is just beginning to dabble in punk, which was our staple growing up (well and I listened to a lot of ska....)


It's totally bizarre. There's also the small grouping of office supply related items. The calculator, as mentioned, the protactors, the single index card, a pen... But for one, none of them are really things I'd ever use. I already have several calculators. A single index card, really? Why would I keep that?!?! and the almost used up post-it notes? And two protractors. I never use a protractor ever. I never ever need to measure angles for anything in my life except when I am teaching Math at school.

Going off themes though, I could organize them into some categories.

-things to write on: 4
-things to help calculate stuff: 3
-punk related: 2 1/2 (the mixed tape kind of counts)
-weird electronic paraphernalia- 4
-misc. items whose function is unknown- 3


Another impressive fact that adds to the odd nature of this find is where these things came from. The banana paper came from Costa Rica and I took the directionality cards to Mexico for my assignment teaching English. Add that to the United States and we have three countries represented. And neither the banana paper or cards I particularly care about!!

And that's what makes this so puzzling. So many items in here are things I care nothing about. Take for example, the punk flyer. I never went to this show. It was the Shorebirds with Life Rocks! It would have been fun and wanted to go, but I didn't care that much about missing it. I've had in my possessions hundreds of punk flyers and I don't think I have any of them anymore. Why on Earth did I keep this one?!?!?


There is one item that I was really excited to find- the metal slammer used in the game Pogs with the holographic skull on it. You would use the slammer to flip pogs over. The player was able to keep whichever pogs they successfully flipped over (and consequentially lost all the ones that didn't flip). That slammer was sweet! Alas, just as my slammer and I were discovering our amazing power together the game went out of style and I was left with this hunk of metal. At least the hunk of metal had a cool holographic skull!!


So the mystery lives on. I'm going to keep every item in there, just as I found it because it seems amazing that so many unrelated items could find themselves in the same place. I don't remember packing that tin at all. Did my mom just throw whatever was left in my bedroom into the tin? Was it put together hastily as I moved somewhere? I cannot say. If I find out, I will definitely make another post that people won't read. Ha!

New Discovery: Sitting Up

Cambria can finally sit up on her own!! Sitting up is a big milestone. She is so much happier now for it. Take for example, right now. She's sitting up hitting her Learning Drum and cooing. Before she could sit up she would lay on her back, roll on to her tummy and then get sad.

In the book Natural Childhood, they explain that "her limbs become further differentiated in their movements as she crawls, rises on to all fours and sits unsupported. This is usually attained by the eighth month. The setting position offers a new view of life. She can reach for, and grasp, objects and bring one moveable object into contact with another. She can beat the table with a spoon..."

New Discovery: Words

I am pretty sure that Cambria knows two words now. "Mama" and "to nurse." The mama word is verbal and she says over and over "Mamamamama," usually when she's hungry. The nurse word is actually a baby sign where she curls her hand over and over. Usually she'll do both "mamamamamama" and curl her little hand.

I thought "baba" was going to be first since it was the first noise she made, but looks like Mama won. She says Baba, but I don't think it's consistent enough to really know if she's talking about me or just babbling.

New Discovery: Pockets

Ember has discovered pockets. So, now when we go on walks he always keeps his hands in his pockets. It makes walks much more anxiety-inducing because if he falls he is going to eat it. The other day at church he insisted on inching down the stairs feet first because his hands had to stay in his pockets. Again, all I could think was- man I hope he doesn't eat it.

The pocket novelty reached another level when he discovered a front pocket to his overalls.

"What this Ba?" he asked, "A pocket?"

"Yeah!" I replied.

"Oh a POCKET! I put this in my pocket," he stated as he placed a small plastic dinosaur inside.

Now you have to watch out for him. It's not just pockets that can store things of course. There is, for example, his ride-upon airplane. You lift up the seat and there is a secret stowage unit. One day I caught him placing his half-eaten quesadilla inside of it.

"Hey! You can't do that!"

And then I saw that this is a routine he developed days ago. Inside was a brown banana, which had stuck along the walls of his secret compartment stash.

Oh, that reminds me of this crazy stash I found of my own. You can find it here.

Listen to Things and It Will Be Better

It sucks doing things you don't want to do. Luckily, I have found a way to turn crappy things into awesome things. Check this out- It's a list of things I don't really like doing, matched with musical genres to make it badass.

Grading Papers = Fantasy Metal (ie: DragonForce)
Cleaning the House = Pop (Preferably British and Female-Fronted, ie: Ace of Base, Lilly Allen)
Washing Dishes = Songs of the Ocean
Playing With the Kids = Fugazi

Just kidding on one of those...

It can also be an enhancer. Like, take something pretty cool and then kick it up a few notches.

Example: Cooking Breakfast + Rock Ballads = Epic (see Classic Rock Breakfast Showdown)

So actually, that's where the washing dishes example should go- under enhancement. Of course, I like washing dishes. What do you think I am, an a*hole? baddoom chiish.

The Banality of the State Capitol Tour

Want to understand the fundamental failures of "representative democracy"? Take the Denver Capitol Tour. While led by well-intentioned guides, the field trip is the best way to alienate youth, especially if they are working class or not white.