Our Lives in Little Boxes

A few days ago I posted a picture of me with some friends on top of Siyeh Pass. A few days (and a lot of sweat later), after another friend from way back when asked me about the photo, I dug through the boxes of photos and found the rest of the roll. I decided to do a whole post on that day so I scanned all the pictures into the computer, cropped them, cleaned them up (somewhat), and then uploaded them here. It was a non-trivial effort, and the formatting was worse than I had hoped, but it was still worth it. I feel like I have completed an entire scrapbook. Next, I'll tackle the wedding pictures, my vacation with Dave pictures, the old pictures of my grandparents, and Jessie's baby pictures... Yeah, right! The picture at right is from our recent trip to the aquarium Those were the actual colors--there is no special effect on it. Other pictures from the visit--some Jessie's some mine--are scattered through this post.

I have almost 30 years worth of photos in boxes squirreled away in various closets throughout the house. There are the pics from the three-month trip backpacking around Europe when I was 21. I took rolls and rolls of film and they never even made it into an album. They languish (neatly labeled) in a box. No, wait. I took slides of that trip! Then there is the three-month trip to the then Eastern Bloc and Soviet Union. That one (I think) I have on film. Belize, Austria, Guatemala, France, Mexico visited with various previous amours sit patiently ignored in dust-covered boxes--along with metro stubs, maps, restaurant menus and all the other tourist detritus I picked up while traveling and Had to Keep.

What am I going to do with all of it? Do I make album after album as one of my friends does? I admire her: she has two children and has a complete separate album for each of them for each year of their lives. And she doesn't just put in the photos--she journals for them too! Her wedding album and the years of her married life pre-kids are also all there, neatly arranged and beautifully presented for anyone who wishes to see them.

Do I scan it all in to join the pictures of the last seven years (all digital) and make on-line or cd albums for me and my loved ones? It wouldn't take much. Just put a box of photos in the office next to the scanner and put the computer in there too (instead of on the kitchen table where I usually work) and as I do anything on it, I scan in a picture or two or five. Just like I did when I needed to get some of my cd's on the iPod. Yes, and like the Chief in Battlestar I could design and build a stealth ship in my spare time.

The most seductively subversively attractive idea of all is to just leave them where they are for a time when I have more time and do them All At Once. (Or con my Mom into doing them while she is here visiting). Heh.

When we were first together, Dave hated it when I would take time to take pictures. His exasperated incantation "Live, don't commemorate!" echoed through vacations and social events. I think he is better adjusted now--or else he just hides his exasperation better. Marriage is a compromise--and parenthood is more so. When we went to the new Georgia Aquarium the other day I took the digital camera. I took a few pictures, but then lost the camera to Jessie who used up the battery completely. She was a mad woman. At one point I heard myself saying to her "Live, don't commemorate!" which earned me quite the droll look from Dave. Maybe I can teach her how to use the scanner...