Wednesday 1 August 2007

The Artefacts That are Part of Us

It occurred to me recently that each of us has a small number of items that never really leave us, are always within range and without which we would feel as if we had lost maybe not always a limb, but certainly a digit.



With me the deepest level, is certain items of jewellery. I never remove either my crucifix or my Claddagh ring, and I only take my watch off to avoid contact with water, so the naked Crushed, is never as naked as nature intended.

Beyond that, if I'm even half dressed, my keys and wallet are almost certainly in my right hand trouser pocket. The only other place they'd ever be, would be on the bedside table. Or on the desk I'm sitting at now.
If I'm ever wondering round the flat looking for my keys, it's a sure sign we had a party at the weekend.
And they're in the sofa.
By and large I never lose track of them.

My mobile phone is another object that is unlikely to leave my sight, except when I'm in the bathroom.



I hate tiny little phones, they're useless when I'm trashed, so I have the largest still on the market, as you can see.

In the flat, it either sits beside the bed, on the left arm of the sofa, or to the left of the PC. Odd, because I'm right handed, but I tend to sit on the left of the sofa (it's more central to the room), and the housephone is to the right of the PC.

Few people ring on the housephone. It's strange how people always diall the mobile even when they know your home number.

Otherwise, my phone is generally in the right hand pocket of my jacket, though at work and the pub, it sits in front of me.
Where it has company.

These are two items which I always make sure I have immediate access to.
Twenty Embassy and a lighter.
At home, this isn't a problem, they are dispensable items, and if lost, can be bought from the shop nextdoor.
So I frequently lose packets and lighters, can't be bothered to look for them and just go and buy more.
And then the missing ones turn up.



But if I'm out, the cigarettes are generally in the left jacket pocket, the lighter in the right.
I think this is probably because I take the cigarette out of the packet with my right hand, holding the packet in my left, so I put the packet back in the left hand pocket. Since I light the cigarette with my right hand, I put the lighter in that pocket.

The last item I always have on me outside of the flat, apart from personal documentation, is my sunglasses. I'm quite sensitive to light and need them most of the year. It really annoys me when I hear people deriding people for wearing sunglasses in the Winter.
I point out that they protect you from too much sunLIGHT, not too much sunHEAT.
The time of year is irrelevant.

Anyway, I pretty much can't be outdoors in the daytime for much of the year without them. I'd get knocked down by traffic.

So my shades are always in my left inside pocket, with my passport, driving license and pretty much everything that is me, and yes, I'm always getting told off for it, and yes, my best mate always insists I empty my pockets before we go out on a Friday night.
He's right of course.

Maybe it's just me, but don't we all have objects we just can't do without?

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

You carry a lot of stuff. I forget to turn my cell phone on for days at a time, so that is not important! I have two rings that NEVER come off...the only time I took them off was while pregnant and swelling...didnt want them to be cut off me...and I felt terribley naked! I always have my purse, but i am not too attached to the shit in it...but keys and wallet are there! Wait, did you even ask what we carry? Sorry to go on!

Anonymous said...

I am not too attached to anything coporeal. They are only tools to facilitae my life and very dispensable. I do put value in being in the company of decent people with great minds. Although they too can be taken away, they offer a lot more to my life.

That being said, I would find it somewhat difficult to be without my laptop just because I have become used to having it on my lap all day. It's like a second brain.

Question? Unless you're planning to rob a bank and be on the lam, why do you carry your passport? Is it a form if identification?

Anonymous said...

Keys and a phone. Everything else is optional and some of it stops me getting arrested. I often wander around my house naked or just in my underpants.

It's better than a dog for keeping people away. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh and how come Jenny is always the first commenter. Do you phone her up and let her know you are posting? Tut Tut Ubermouth will be upset.

Anonymous said...

I am trying to think of some item that never leaves me ... and yes, that would be my cigarette papers and lighter. Not the tobacco; because I regularly smoke all that out!!

Anonymous said...

I had this phone a while ago but sold it in Thailand for another phone.
I still miss it!

Anonymous said...

Jenny- I never leave the flat without the items described here. I think its interesting the relationship we have with objects.
Feel free to go on, it'interesting.

Alexys- I carry all my documents. It's amazing when you need them. I wouldn't say I was emotionally attached to all these objects, just they are objects I can't do without.

Bag- I always need my wallet, and I can't survive without tobacco either.
I try to at least wear trousers in the flat, because my flatmate is female.
Interesting theory about Jenny.

Gledwood- Everyone has some items, though I would have thought papers and a lighter was useless without tobacco!

Kizzie- It's a good model. Does pretty much all you need it to.

Anonymous said...

I feel naked without my purse. I know it is so girlie, but I feel so much better having all the things I could possibly need in one handy space. I think it's more symbolic than anything.

Anonymous said...

Interesting.... now we're seeing more of you...:-)

For me, it'd just be my handphone, I guess; since I use it as my watch and alarm clock...:-) And it helps whenever I get lost, or don't know when or where the next class is...:-) There was one time I was somehow stranded alone out of campus without my wallet OR phone, so proceeded to walk the 5 km back to the uni... shows you how important those 2 items are ;-)

Anonymous said...

The first time I lost my signet ring I had half an hour of sick panicky feeling before I found it in the shower plug-hole.

I refused to take it off while decorating the flat so now it is broken and needs to go to the jewellers to be fixed :-(

Anonymous said...

I’m quite sure we would be able to do without them, it’s simply a matter of not wanting to. I suppose it’s easier for girls cuz yo can put all your things in a purse, but somehow the bigger the bag, the more “essential” stuff you have with you – its always full!

I’m actually trying to cut the attachment I have to things. I’m so glad to say I’ve been watchless for over two years. I realized I was getting to fixated with checking time all the time (no pun intended).

Btw, there’s an award waiting for you at Crashed site.

Anonymous said...

You are wonderfully bejewelled Mr Ingsoc... what exactly is a Claddagh Ring? What is it for?

I can't wear rings I am afarid - but I do have a tiny silver crucifix which has not left me lovely body for about 20 years.... Not done me much obvious good though.

Anonymous said...

I have three rings that never leave my hand. Two for the past 7 years, and one I've worn on my pinky since I was 10. I also wear a watch face down on my right wrist. At different times in my life when I was younger I've had my nose, tongue, and belly button pierced, but have done away with adornment. No tattoos either.

Strangely I never carry a purse. I wouldn't mind starting again, but it's just such a commitment. I usually carry my day-planner, phone, and keys around.

Anonymous said...

Watch, wallet, wedding ring is about all.

At work I carry a mobile which is pretty essential and a maglite torch. The maglite may be needed in tunnels etc, and I would use it as a weapon in dodgy areas late at night.

Anonymous said...

What I don't like about crucifix is that they have become fashion. Religious symbols should be left as just that - religious symbols - and worn by believers of the faith, not of the latest Elle report... :)

Anonymous said...

Princess- My wallet is quite heavy, but it's mostly full of junk.
It usually takes me five miunutes to leave the flat, because of checking of got everything, getting to the door, rechecking, getting outside, then checking I really DO have my keys before shutting the door behind me.

Eve- It's true, these are essential items we need.
Me and a friend were reminiscing on a number of occasions in our youth where we had gone out and lost eachother in strange cities.
He pointed out 'Couldn't happen noe- mobiles!'

Ed- I had a St Christopher I always used to wear, but it broke off the chain and I lost it. I didn't replace it, because I only wore it in the first place because a past love got it for me.

Crashie- My watch has quite a bit of symbolic value to me, which means I will NEVER take it off.
There are reasons, which I'm not going into here, but it carries almost a similar value to me as Butch's did in Pulp Fiction.

I shall be over as soon as I've replied here!

Mutley- It's a ring commonly worn by Irish men.
The way round you were it signifies whether you are married or not, so it become your wedding ring.
But for me it's a symbol of a country worth dieing for.

Helen- I never took the piercing route- I did consider a tatoo once (Birmingham City Football Club), but was dissuaded by my then partner.
I do like a navel piercing on a woman, or a reasonably tasteful tatoo, but nothing overboard.

I have had other rings, an engagement rings, but they have come and gone. at one point, I think I did wear about three or four at once.

E-K- Well, I suppose it's travelling light!
I tend to find the best thing to do in dodgy areas at night is keep your hands in your jacket pockets.
Don't let them know that your hands are empty.
Trust me, it does deter.

Heart- I'm actually a practising Catholic (irregularly, it is true).
Unless I'm wearing a tie, it's always visible.

Anonymous said...

I hate leaving the house without my watch, though I actually prefer not to wear it inside. Apart from that, there's nothing I can think of that I have great attachment to.

I wish I could say that's because I'm not a materialistic person, but the truth is that I'm just too absent-minded to form any real attachment to an object. Right now I only have the vaguest idea where my watch, phone and mobile are. I'm pretty sure they're in the house, but beyond that...

Getting ready takes me a while - there's always one item that I've dumped on a chair and managed to cover up or something.

Anonymous said...

Yes, we certainly do. This is a nice post, Crushed and I like your crucifix. I have to have my "Sicily" locket on most days and my lippy and mascara are always with me, shallow soul that I am! I think I'll post on this - great idea.

Anonymous said...

Uff. Late. Well, as long as having Old Holborn, cigarette papers, a lighter and the very penny (Cent) more than one needs in my pocket, I won't get nervous. :)
As for the Claddagh: It's not just being worn by men. The hands holding the heart. The crown aiming away from one's heart (to the finger tip) signals one's heart is NOT occupied; aiming to one's heart signals the person is in love, thus: HANDS OFF. :)
By the way, Crushed, would you please tell Mutley that I am still waiting for his detailled explanations? :-)))
Anyway, The Peace of the Night.

Anonymous said...

> But for me it's a symbol of a country worth dieing for.

About that symbol.... which country is it that you'd find it worth to die for?

Anonymous said...

Matt- I'm hopeless at getting ready to go out.
It's interesting, I sometimes sleep with my phone in my hand.
I am fairly absen minded myself, but do seem to easily form attachments to objects I rely on.

Welshcakes- Mine isn't quite like this, it's a bit more Catholic. The phone shown is the same model as mine, but mine is a bit more careworn and battered.

Sean- Mine has always stayed pointing away from the heart.
Even when I was engaged.

Eve- It is said by the English that in Ireland the voices of the martyred dead count more than the voices of the living.
An Irishman might reply that England's martyred dead wouldn't care to martyr themselves if they saw England today.
Or that England has no martyred dead, they mostly died for profit.

Anonymous said...

I always have my mobile, wallet and keys. Finding them before I leave is the issue. On work days I need a swipe card, which I find to be a major imposition on my natural rhythm in the morning. It is never where I expect it.

Anonymous said...

Great post and of course a great idea for a post for everyone. Welshcakes pinched it and I followed the link here.
Why are you always carrying your passport? I consider that a very valuable document since I lived for more than 40 years with a foreign one, extremely difficult to replace and proving that I had a right to live here in Canada as well. So it's in a very safe place unless I am travelling, although now I have a Canadian one too, but there is a 15 week wait for a replacement for those.
regards
jmb

Anonymous said...

can you say OCD?? LOL I have a certain amount of stuff I carry around in my purse too. But, no ciggys! Phone, oh yeh!

Anonymous said...

Colin- I only have to remember a number code. Much easier.

jmb- Because I don't like the picture on mu driving license and I lost my birth certificate. It's the only ID I have, should I need it.
That's life in New Labour's Britain.

Poody- Actually, I am a bit OCD, but in funny ways. When I put my cigarettes down, I align the lighter along the red stripe.
True. It's a bizarre fixation of mine.
I also got annoyed with things not being straight.
Hate things not being symetrical, drives me mad.
That's about it, but I have been known to position furniture using a tape measure.