Of books and the bottom of boxes...

Went upstairs to grab the outdoor Christmas lights that I put up on the corner tree every year. Three hours later, no lights, but I found myself sitting on the floor sorting through a box of books, which it seems I had been doing for almost three hours. I knew I had at least three boxes and that I had sorted them before, but ... but... good golly. Mostly books that I bought but never got around to reading, and books that I originally bought for the kids, but never ended up giving them... They are now both teenagers... geesh. A lot of books I probably bought on sale with the intention of giving to people as gifts, but most likely what happened is that I bought them too far in advance of the actual gift-giving occasion and ended up tucking them away and forgetting about them. Oh... and I also have a thing for boxes and chests and trunks, but that is another story. I actually have a couple boxes with just boxes inside them. All for future use of course.

I do have all the Christmas decorations and lights in boxes upstairs, but I could not find the outdoor lights with the green wire. I must not have returned them to their rightful place last year.  The indoor Christmas tree lights with the green wire are all in one box, wrapped neatly, even with the brown extension cord nestled in. The indoor lights with white wire are also neatly wrapped up in one box. Everything is in boxes except for those outdoor lights. I had intended on putting them up tonight, but it is nigh eleven o'clock, and no sign of those damn lights regardless.

Anyways, the last box of books that I was sorting through had some Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, several poetry books - Shelley, Keats, Yeats, Poems that Live Forever... some books on religion (doesn't look like they've been opened at all) ... AND... some books from when I was a kid. My favourite Cinderella book and book on horses, my sketch book from 1985ish, and some others. I was pulling some of the books out to put on the bookshelf downstairs or to read, when I felt something odd at the bottom of the box. It felt like a hard cover. Underneath the paperbacks, there was a journal from 1991, a couple Star Wars paperbacks, E.T., some Laugh Digests and this. I also found an unopened 90 minute Maxell cassette tape from when I used to record my own mixes the old fashioned way. There was a tiny gold book that was apparently to record birthdays in, but was apparently neglected, however inside it, there were three concert ticket stubs...  Alanis Morisette (1996) $40, Bette Midler (1996) $105.50 (GAH!) and Metallica (1997) $38. Ah... I remember what I actually liked about the Alanis Morisette concert was the special guests, Our Lady Peace. I had a feeling that C.O.C. had opened for Metallica at one of the concerts I had gone to, but don't remember them at all. Oh... and also in that same box, was a book called "Seuss-isms". Anyways... I sort of tidied up the mess I made, and brought a bunch of books and stuff downstairs. I figured I had better start writing this down down before I forgot, and before I pulled out the ole magnifying glass and started reading. All I can say is that I wish I had read all those books when my eyes were working properly. Not gonna happen now. However, I think that for some reason, those books, at least the sci-fi/fantasy ones, are no longer part of my realm. In truth, I might not even enjoy them as much as I used to. Not so much as my tastes have changed, but rather my reality.

Then, when I made myself a hot drink and sat down to read some of the journal, this was on the very first page...

Mar 5/91 1:15AM

In the grey stillness that is a clear moonlit night, I lie awake in bed and ponder the very essence of my existence. I have lived and slept in this house for all the years of my life and in each stage or that life, I've fallen into a dull monotonous routine, so unremarkable with its lack of meaning that I may merely fade to nothingness.

Sounds a little familiar eh? Twenty years... twenty freaking years and the only thing that has changed is the house and the job...(ah... and the eyesight... and some death, but the house and the job seem to be bigger deals.)

Oh.. and then underneath that first entry ... I mention a band and a song of which I have no recollection whatsoever...

Mar 8/91 12:14AM

Listening to "Testament" - "The Legacy"

This is our world, not one man's

nor one religion's nor one faith.

Interesting tidbit is that this band had recently been part of a conversation in which I mentioned that I had one of their CDs in my "getting rid of" collection. I might even have said that they didn't have much impact on me. Hmm... I must go find it.

Update:  2:15AM This was bugging me, so I just went agoogling... I have checked a song called "The Legacy" online, but that bit isn't part of the lyrics, so I went searching through a couple boxes of CDs... finally found it in the third box. The CD I had was "Souls of Black"... checked all the songs, but no match. There is also an album called "The Legacy", but I thought I only had one of their CDs. Checked the lyrics online and nothing. Great...  another mystery.