The Ultimate Collection
HOW OUR INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES CREATE UNIQUE COLLECTIONS
Story and Illustration by Rob Lancaster Photography by Mark Giddens
Most of the things we collect are concrete, and they take their place in the physical world. They rest in our closets and lay under our beds. They pile up on the back seats of our cars and cover the walls in our living rooms. They reside in any number of drawers, boxes, hidden spaces, and random containers; some of the largest are in our computers and hand-held gadgets. Most of our collections are important to us; they can have sentimental value and can represent hard work and perseverance. They can be one of a kind and irreplaceable. But I submit to you that the largest, most important, most revealing, and undeniably unique collection resides in each of our heads. It is a collection that consists of something that is impossible to touch and impossible to deny—our experiences.
This article puts forward the idea that our experiences are collectible items and that as a group they not only make up a collection, but that this collection is the greatest of all, in terms of its scope, its influence, and how far we will go to enlarge it. This article puts forward the idea that this collection is the ultimate
To illustrate how our experiences can be seen as distinct and collectable items, the two following fictional characters will tell you about their experiences, each one being a piece of a larger whole—their collection. Although the characters are fictional, their experiences are real as some of the collaborators of this magazine were kind enough to contribute something from their own collection.
Kael
AND A FEW ITEMS FROM HIS COLLECTION
King Kong of a Date
I took a risk for this particular experience. I skipped out of a day of a work at a job that I hated to see King Kong with someone I liked. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Asleep with Excitement
I lived in Montreal when I was younger, and at the age of six, my Dad took me to my first hockey game. I was extremely excited and all day I wore a Montreal shirt and red pants. When we finally went to the game, it was amazing; I got to watch everything close-up and to actually see it all happening. Despite all the amazement, or maybe because of it, I fell asleep at the beginning of the third period.
Off key
In grade 9, I ended up at a new school, and the “in-thing” to do at this particular school was to be in the band. I didn’t know how to play an instrument, but I joined anyway. They gave me the bass clarinet, and during practice I made as if I were playing, although of course I wasn’t. This went all right for about a month, until the teacher tested us individually. It was a bad five minutes... for everyone.
The Beach
When I was on vacation once I found myself running down the beach. I started thinking about how my friends at home were doing their math homework, while I was feeling the orange and gold sand between my toes, and letting the fish in the pools along the beach, nibble gently at my feet.
Poor Table Manners
My friends and I go to Montana for the New Year’s celebrations every year. One year we rented out this perfect cabin with an enormous common room, which was excellent for an impromptu dance party. During one such party, I decided to show off my break-dancing skills, and in particular, my front hand spring. Well, it turns out that no matter how large a common room is, if there is a glass table in the vicinity during a dance party, than it is going to be broken. I was starting the epic hand spring and my feet hit the underside of the table and shattered it into a million pieces. Everything turned out all right in the end... that is except for my break-dancing, which will never be the same.
A Musical Weekend
I went to a music festival for five days with a bunch of my friends. It was great, but how could it not be with live music playing pretty much around the clock? Although it wasn’t perfect, as it was freezing cold and I managed to fall off a speaker four times during a concert. But that’s how it goes when you dance like a champion, and also, maybe when you drink a few before going out.
Mora
AND A FEW ITEMS FROM HER COLLECTION
Squeegee Madness
I was driving home in the pouring rain, just after my ex-boyfriend had broken up with me, and I was crying my eyes out. I came to a stop at a red light, and I watched in amazement as one of those squeegee guys walked out to my car and started to clean my window. I tried to wave him off, but he continued, and I ended up tipping him for cleaning my already clean windshield. To make matters worse, he looked at my makeup-streaked face, and gave me a look like I was the one that was insane.
Anything for a Purse
My cousin knew a certain guy who lived in Las Vegas and he happened to sell... a certain kind of purse. I like purses and these were nice ones, and cheap. So I went down with some friends and we met him at one of those sleazy, two-level motels I thought only existed in the movies. When we finally found the room he was in, it was a purse-lover’s heaven, with purses strewn all over the room. I restricted myself to only buying two, since otherwise I would have had to empty my suitcase of clothing and such.
Kitty Love
I will always remember the day that I picked out the cat that would become such an important part of my life. On that day I went out to a little farm, at which there was a litter of kittens, and I was taken in to see them. There were five of them under a desk, and each of them was extremely cute. They all came out to see me; that is, except one that stayed underneath the desk, and looked out shyly, with no intention of moving. I chose that one of course, and a week later I took her home.
The Accident
I was driving down the highway with my two best friends, when the back end of the truck slid and slammed into a snowbank. All of the things that had gotten me to that point didn’t seem as important as the ten seconds when the truck rolled three times, before flipping length-wise. When we finally came to a stop we were upside-down, suspended by our seat belts. The snow was up over the windows and one of my friends was crying hysterically, trying to get her seat belt off. Eventually we managed to crawl out the passenger side window. The memory of that day still haunts me; from the sky-high insurance rates to the constant fear of driving on the highway. One thing is for sure, the experience changed me, and part of me was left on that stretch of highway.
Collect Away
Our experiences do form a collection, and when thought of as such it gives a value to even the ones we wish we could forget, for truly the bad experiences only improve it as a whole. If someone were to covet this particular collection as so many covet their collections of items and gadgets and clothing, then that person would find their life that much more fulfilling. Each experience would become more important and the pursuit of new ones that much more exciting.
So collect away my fellow collectors, and the next time something extraordinary or important happens be sure to place it in a safe corner of your mind. Whether that experience was good or bad, remember that for having lived through it, your collection is that much better... and so are you.