There comes a time in everyone's life where we decide to go through things and reduce the clutter that we have accumulated over the years. Sometimes we call it spring cleaning. Sometimes it happens when we need more closet or garage space. Sometimes it just happens when we move. When we move we're forced drag things out of closets, cupboards and drawers and look at all the crap we have all at the same time. We realize then that we have saved things we don't really want and will never use again...so we choose.

We choose what is no longer of value and what still remains a part of who we are. Yeah, we like to say we are not defined by our stuff...and I like that idea, but truth of the matter is that one very intelligent woman in my life explained that our past really can be defined by what we save. What we look back upon and recall a memory of a time we spent with someone we may never see ever again.
I have all sorts of objects and reminders of my previous 28 years. I turkey caller from the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Novato, CA that my dad bought me. My tiny boy scout shirt from when my mom was den mother. A trinket box that my sister made for me. It is covered in .22 shells from a trip to the high desert with my college roommate Jeff. It was where I actually fired an M1 from WWII (wow, what a kick that thing has).
Noelle and I recently picked up and moved all our things to Seattle, forcing me to really reevaluate all the things that I have saved. Going through my stuff this time around, I took yet another look at all the video games and systems that I have kept over the years. I really have tried to keep them all...and I still can't part with any of them.
Colleco Vision, Atari 2600, NES, Sega Master System, Genesis, SNES, Dreamcast, Playstation, Playstation 2, Xbox 360 and the Wii. Let's, of course, not forget all the fun that was had in the heyday of the PC game...with companies like Sierra, Interplay and Bullfrog. I did miss a bit of the Nintendo Generations (the N64 and the Gamecube), but then again I have always considered myself a bit more of a fan of more mature games.
While I may not play all these systems very much, they bring back so many memories of how I became the person I am today...so they will remain with me as long as I have a place to store them. Since I don't have a place to display them physically, I have decided to start a little project. I am taking all those games that have meant something to me. All those crazy manuals from Sierra, all those catalogues for games and all those cool game covers...and scanning them to share with you. Some have stories and some are just nostalgic in their own right. At the top of this post is my first scan...of an original Mario Bros Atari 2600 Cart. While I can't say I have any particular memory tied to this game...but come on, its Mario Bros!
I'm in the middle of a crunch at work, but I'll try to get the next post up with some maps from the original Everquest packaging.
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