FauxPausQueen

Tightly Clung Earthly Treasures

    With fists clenched tight I cling to the valuables of this world that so easily fade.  Throughout my years, I have repeatedly heard this phrase, “You can’t take your belongings with you when you die.”  This is something I like to live by when I think of my Earthly possessions.  Mainly because it’s so easy to get caught up in the material things of this world and so easily miss the deeper meanings in every day life, so even though I seek out the less traveled and desired road in life, I am blessed to say that I do own quite a bit of highly “valuable” goods.  My car is what I consider to be my most valuable mortal belonging.  In it, I carry lots of little bits and pieces that define who I am. 

    As I drive down US 40 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado to the mountain, I look as the early morning clouds that so commonly envelope the terrain, are thick, making it impossible to see through to the other side.  In a closer view, I see a couple items that rock back and forth on my rearview mirror as I pass over the bumpy roads due to plow trucks.  My Colorado Mountain College upper lot parking pass and a Steamboat Springs Christmas ornament hang on my rearview mirror day in and day out.  They are there for the long haul.  One item is there by choice, the other is not.  The parking at CMC is a bit wacky if you ask me, in that there are not enough spots for the resident students to park in the upper lot!  Each semester, the staff of Hill Hall holds a lottery for upper lot parking passes.  If you don’t get one, you have to park in either the overflow lot or the lower parking lot.  Both of these parking lots are an extreme inconvenience to me, being that I’m a lazy person.  I wouldn’t claim laziness on all levels, but unnecessary walking would definitely raise a flag.  In this drawing, two students are chosen.  This semester, there were eight people in the pool and luckily, I was one chosen.  The Steamboat Springs Christmas ornament actually has a funny story behind it.  I originally purchased this item for my ex-boyfriend’s mother.  I was in Steamboat Springs with my mother and sister back in 2006 and bought it in hopes of mailing it to her and in doing so, making her like me.  That woman utterly despised me on levels that of which I did not understand.  In her eyes, I was taking her precious son away from her, even though she couldn’t see that she was actually smothering the poor chap to death.  Procrastinator as I am, I never got around to mailing her the chaps ornament, so after all these years, single I be, I hang a piece of the past on my rearview mirror.

    As I fly down the ski run “Heavenly Daze” at the upwards of 40 MPH, I feel free.  There is nothing like getting up early, being on the gondola by 8:30am, and being able to ride down a freshly groomed trail that awaits takers to transform this smooth, pure surface into something carved up and used.  The backseat of my car is down and protruding out onto the seat from the trunk is my snowboard.  This is an item that I regularly keep in that same spot from around November 15th to approximately May 15th, every year.  Snowboarding is a true passion of mine, which wasn’t discovered until I had already lived 16 years on this Earth.  I had just moved to Colorado from Kentucky in August of 2003 and had only been skiing twice before that.  Each experience on skis was a nightmare, so my step-dad suggested I try out snowboarding.  At first, the thought running through my mind seemed absurd, due to the fact that I was told that snowboarding and skateboarding were similar and I couldn’t ride a skateboard if my life depended on it.  Being the deal seeker that he is, my step-dad found us a killer deal to stay in a condo in Snowmass, Aspen over Thanksgiving break.  I took the risk, tried snowboarding, loved it, and will continue to do so until the day my body can’t withstand the harsh effects this sport tends to acquire.

    Boredom is something that I frequently fear.  My attention consistently needs to be filled with anything that will keep it busy.  Buried deep below receipts, papers, and empty wrappers in my middle console is my Sudoku book.  Math being one of my favorite subjects, I easily picked up the concept of solving a Sudoku puzzle.  It was explained to me by an ex-boyfriend that was also a fellow employee at Sports Authority in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  I was a cashier and the mornings were a bit slow, so being ruled by the fear of boredom I heeded to it and grasped the Steamboat Today paper, quickly flipped through the worthless pages, to the back where, so gracefully lied, my savior to this horrid emptiness that enjoyed flooding my mind when customers weren’t in need of assistance.  To this day, Sudoku consistently saves me from the weakness boredom has over my life. 
    Tucked safely away in the secret compartment of my car would be my 16 gigabyte, orange, iPod Nano.  Thrown on the floor in the back with foot prints and dirt adorning it, would be my CD case.  As you can tell, one of these items is valued more, in the sense that I take better care of it.  Music is something I love.  There are so many emotions displayed through instruments!  Lyrics can be expressive, relational, or even just an unrecognizable slur of words coming from the mouth of an angry rap artist.  Whatever the case may be, music is the soundtrack to my everyday life.  For only $199.99, Apple placed in my hands a tiny object, no bigger than a pack of gum and weighing less than a lighter, which has the ability to hold approximately four thousand songs.  Space is a common factor these days, being that most people would prefer a three ounce device over a forty pound book of CDs.  Any car ride calls for music no matter if it’s a two mile drive or a cross country road trip. 
    Most outdoor sports are seasonal.  For instance, soccer can only be played outside in warmer temperatures, while skiing and snowboarding is the most safe and fun during the colder months.  In August of 2008, I was introduced to a sport that doesn’t let the seasons or months of the year hold it back: Frisbee Golf.  Whether in deep snow or on fresh cut grass, this sport attracts people year round.  Boulder, Colorado has a lovely course right next to Fairview High School that is open and has soft, green grass.  Not all courses are as lush as this one.  Luckily, this was the first course I ever played on.  An array of people takes part in this activity year in and year out, no matter their differences in other areas of life.  College kids and others alike enjoy walking the course with a beer or two, maybe even a whole case, depending on the desired outcome of consumption.  This was my case the first time I ever played.  Trekking the large amounts of land with my six pack of Strongbow was definitely a challenge, but a challenge worth taking.  With these memories of my first experience, I carry two Frisbee golf discs in the back side of my driver seat, so whenever the desire to relive that first experience comes along, it’s mine for the taking.
    I walked in the Click in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and there it was: my future longboard.  For years, I had wanted to purchase one, but due to financial constrictions I was unable to do so.  Direct deposit planted the seed into my Wells Fargo checking account and with its permission; I joyously exchanged my cash for a Sector 9 speed stick with wheels.  Longboards are the Cadillacs of skateboards.  They ride smoother, go faster, and are created for that thrill seeker who likes to cruise smoothly but also pick up speed quicker than a skateboard.  I have never really been one for trying tricks on a skateboard, so a longboard was a perfect fit for me.  My longboard was purchased in the evening so my first chance to ride it was the morning time.  That specific morning was cool as I recall, but aren’t all mornings in Steamboat Springs?  Work was at 8am so I woke up extra early to get ready and left my house with a sense of excitement and adventure.  I loved my new longboard so much, that I decided to ride it from my house on 6th street in downtown to Sports Authority on the other end of town.  The ride there was amazing!  My board met all expectations.  It rode as smooth as I had thought, handled high speed as I was told, and was all around a blast!  A sweaty version of me arrived to my place of employment thirty five minutes later.  Lucky for me (and lucky for others), an extra stick of deodorant was somewhere in the abyss of my purse.  My longboard is kept securely in the trunk of my car, even in the dead of winter, because you never know when adventure will strike! 
    Even though my car is filled with all of these items that once had price tags, they bring me a greater joy that makes those prices irrelevant.  The adventure of my soul is worth any price.  By that, I don’t mean I will go out seeking items to fulfill this adventure that is tucked so deeply inside of me.  There are some things in this life that are priceless, most of them are intangible, yet some goods are just hard to live without.  Day after day I will continually seek the deeper meanings of this life with a little help from my earthly possessions.