Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Mug shot

Like many of you (we wouldn't collect cardboard otherwise), I'm very attached to objects. They remind me of my teenage years and bring back a ton of great memories. Don't get me wrong, I don't make a habit of living in the past (I love my present too much), b ut they're a good reminder of where I come from and what my obsessions have been.

I've lived in France my entire life (save for a year in Mexico when I was 5 and a year in New York when I was 11), which didn't make being a fan of American sports very easy in the 90s. Team apparel was outrageously expensive when you could find it, for example, and I feel like I've given my ample share of engrossing huge companies enough as it is.

In 1993, during a trip to Cleveland, I brought back a ton of stuff. As much as a couple of hundred dollars allowance could buy me, that is, my priority being baseball cards (those Jordans could wait). There was a Cleveland Cavs clock that I still have, and a Blue Jays mug. I love that mug. I consider it my lucky mug, although it' s never brought a World Series championship to Toronto since. I'll drink most of my coffees in it, and ALL of them when the Blue Jays are playing (you never know) and I'm watching the game.

But after 23 years, the colors have completely faded and you can hardly make out the logo. A mug is a mug, it doesn't really matter, but time took its toll, and when looking on ebay, I couldn't find a mug that felt good enough to replace it with. You don't replace an old friend just like that.

This morning, my girlfriend surprised me with the exact same mug. Brand new. It's the exact same model (the bar-code is the same), and I'm so used to seeing it all faded and almost blank that I'd forgotten how bright that blue was. It's the best gift ever. One that revives memories and gives the illusion that time hasn't been a factor after all.

I'm definitely ready for the season to begin !


try guessing which is the new one and which is the old one ?

10 comments:

  1. That is awesome, I look for stuff I use to have online and most of the time I can't the same exact kind I had growing up. It's amazing she found the same model as you had brand new. Maybe it will bring the Blue Jays more success this year.

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    1. haha yeah...probably the last year they can really do something interesting. Coffee every day this season !

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  2. That was an extremely thoughtful gift. You are a very lucky fellow indeed.

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    1. sure am ! and yes, I'm always very moved by the thought that comes in a gift

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  3. Lucky You! That's a great story and a fine looking coffee mug.

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    1. I'm sure you have a fine and dandy one like that with the Twins logo on it

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  4. That mug is sweet! Not sure what's more amazing...

    A. Your original mug lasted 23 years.

    or

    B. Your girlfriend found the exact same mug.

    Either way... you're a very lucky man!

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    1. yeah, I'm also amazed that I never broke it, as I tend to make a lot of things fall. It's just a silly mug, but still the perfect gift !

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  5. It's not a silly mug at all! I've been using the same coffee mug since at least 1998 and more than once a day! If it were ever broken, I would shed some real tears. It fits my hand and personality...from Galveston TX, a place I have a true affinity for and at one time, where I thought I'd live. I get it! Such a thoughtful gift! I like her more all the time!!! :)

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