Return of Memoryfest - Day 11/31

[bironic]

11. Middle School

Baskin Robbins ice cream stores give kids a free scoop on their birthdays. We had a Baskin Robbins in the mall by our house, right across the atrium from B. Dalton (a bookstore since acquired by Barnes & Noble). Once when we went for the annual clown cone (see icon)—I don't remember whether it was my birthday or my sister's—I had a library book in tow, a paperback about a raccoon in the Pacific Northwest that at one point drank something that made it seem rabid. 7-UP, maybe. Or it had been left in a hot car. Anyway, afterwards, following family tradition, we crossed over to B. Dalton to pick out books, and I realized I'd left the raccoon one at Baskin Robbins. It being a library book and not one of my own, my parents were especially worried that it had been lost, but I was positive it would be right where we left it. We went back, and sure enough I was able to pick it up off the table.

WTF

Comments

[roga.livejournal.com]

It's such a relief getting things you thought you'd lost back, isn't it?

To this day, I'm always sure these things will work out and that the "kindness of strangers" will prevail, which my cynical mom finds hopelessly naive. But last year, on a trip to Rome, I forgot my small backpack in the taxi from the airport to the hotel. It had nothing important really, just some tampons, my cellphone, my wallet, my ipod, my camera, and our video camera. (At least, I hoped that's where I'd forgotten it, otherwise I'd have no clue where it was.) Luckily we had taken the cab company's card, and the hotel's Italian-speaking concierge called them, and they said they'd try to track down the driver. My mom was sure there wasn't a chance someone hadn't taken it, especially in Rome where according to her everyone will try to rip you off. The next morning, the driver arrived at the hotel and returned the bag. And so I got my tampons back, whew.

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

hahahaha Once I was the lost item, and had a similar reaction.

It was Halloween the year I was in first grade. I only recall the specific year because I remember my younger cousin was dressed as Frankenstein's monster and in the pictures from that Halloween there's one of me standing next to him dressed as a cat and another of me walking beside my teacher during the school parade in the same outfit. Anyway! My cousins, all our parents, my sister and her two boys were all trick-or-treating together and we stopped to look at someone's lawn because there was a crowd around it, admiring the decorations. When I looked up, my entire group had disappeared. I was positive they would miss me and come looking for me before long, so I sat on the sidewalk by the edge of the lawn and started in on my candy while I waited. Sure enough, before very long my sister and my older cousin came running back in an absolute panic, which amused me because I was just fine. And anyway, my friend Candice lived right down the block, so I would've known where to go to get home. I was just utterly unworried.

[mer-duff.livejournal.com]

2006 was the year of lost and found for me, though not always in the most timely fashion. In April, I lost my cell phone and didn't get around to replacing it until June. The next day was Father's Day and S and I took Dad pitch and putting. Afterwards, we stopped at her place to switch into one car, but Dad stopped in the bus zone and the bus was coming, so we raced from my car to his. In the process, my wallet fell out of my pocket. Meanwhile S was freaking out, because she couldn't find her watch and rings in her bag, and then I realized my wallet was missing when I looked for change for parking, so we raced back up to S's place to check my car and the area around it. In the process of ransacking my car, S discovered my old cell phone under the driver's seat. No sign of the wallet, though.

The next day, S called to let me know she'd found her watch and rings in a pocket in her bag she didn't realize existed. I replaced my wallet and various cards, though it took me a month to get a new ATM card, because the machine was always down at my branch. In August, I got a call from my dentist's office, reminding me of an upcoming cleaning. "Did you lose your wallet recently?" the receptionist asked. It turned out my wallet had been turned into transit, they'd tried to mail it to me, but the package was returned, and the only phone number they had was the one on my dental appointment reminder card. I assumed that everything was gone from the wallet, but when I claimed it, everything was in it, even the cash.

[jadesfire.livejournal.com]

I live my live in a permanently forgetful state, and if I panicked every time I lost something, I'd also live in a permanently panicked state. The kindness of strangers has rarely let me down, and very few things have disappeared permanently.

The best one was when I lost my mobile phone. Sensibly, I rang it and, after several attempts, it was answered. It transpired that I'd left it at Euston train station, and that it was being held in th ticket office for me. It was easily identifiable as it had a Spiderman cover on it and was in an Eeyore carry-case, both of which had the advantage of rendering it theif proof. How do you resell a phone like that?

When I went to pick it up, with profusive thanks to the staff, the first thing they wanted to know was where the case came from because they all wanted one!

[nicocoer.livejournal.com]

I Remember B. Dalton's!!!

When I was a junior in High School, I recieved my first flash drive and a nifty wallet. I kept my SCA membership card, a fiary coin, good luck items and some photos in the wallet, and I think I had some school work and maybe some fanfic on my flash drive. One day, I set them down on the steps in my dinning room. AS per usual, I forgot about them, occationally catching sight of them and thinking "ah, you know, I really ought to put those in my room or bookbag." But, of corse, I never did.

Unfortunately, one day I actually needed my SCA card and my flash drive. But when I went to where they had been for months, they were gone. My parents had no idea for a while why I would occationally obsessivly clean the dinning room and living room. Eventually, I broke down and told them, much to my chagrin.

A year later, One of my little sister's former friends got picked up on big time theft charges. It wasn't what she stole- a little costume jewlery here, a item of clothing there, a CD, a game- But simply that she had stolen around a couple thousand dollars worth of stuff. She was caught when she started to give the stolen goods away to friends and family. Fortunately, her foster mother had noticed that the jewlery she had recently given one of her sisters looked an aweful lot like my mother's costume jewlery. They ended up finding some clothes and jewlery of my mother's, along with other people's things, but considering the mundane nature of my stuff- a cheapo flash drive and a wallet with no money in it (and any personal identifing items prolly already removed)- I never got any of it back. I'm assuming that it's in some one's hands now, gifted hot off the streets, but getting put to good use. :)

~N~

[kabal42.livejournal.com]

I have too many memories to choose from here! *G* I like your a lot, it reminds me of me - and usually it works too. I hope I haven't jinxed it by writing that!

My memory (after some deliberation):
Everything really is bigger in America. Including the ice creams you buy at stands. Thus, this September I got the first-ever ice cream, which wasn't bought in a container at a store, that I could not eat in one go. And it wasn't even the largest possible one.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

LOL. Because everyone knows that in Rome not only will everyone try to rip you off, but also none of the stores sell sanitary products.

It's such a relief getting things you thought you'd lost back, isn't it?

The insistence on optimism tends to dull the relief at finding whatever was missing, but yes, it's always nice to have your things back in your possession.

To this day, I'm always sure these things will work out and that the "kindness of strangers" will prevail, which my cynical mom finds hopelessly naive.

Heh. I hear you. Searching for lost objects is actually one of the few areas of life in which I'm not cynical. The classic example of this situation in my family is similar to the story you've told: We had just gotten off an overnight flight to England and were all exhausted -- I was 13 at the time, and it was everyone's first transatlantic trip -- and in all the confusion of trying to locate the bus to the train station to continue to a relative's house further north, my parents left a briefcase full of itineraries and other documents in a trolley. By the time they realized it, we were halfway to another city. They were very upset and convinced that we'd never see the thing again, whereas I was sure that when they called the airport, someone would have found it and could mail it up to where we were staying. Which is exactly what happened. Panic unnecessary.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Aside from the fact that it's helpful to remain calm in situations like that, it's also quite fun to lord it over other people when they panic and you don't, isn't it?

(Or is that just me?)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

What an unexpected way to be reunited with your wallet! Fabulous. Although I thought the funniest part of the story was, "In the process of ransacking my car, S discovered my old cell phone under the driver's seat." Belongs in a comedy.

I lost my entire pocketbook once at a function I was attending as a PR intern. Everyone got big paper shopping bags with an assortment of gifts and samples, and I'd put my pocketbook in mine for safekeeping while I was away from the table. When I went back to my seat to fetch my keys to drive home, though, my pocketbook was gone. It being highly unlikely someone would have stolen it at an event like that (despite what my somewhat hysterical co-worker believed), I figured the man next to me had inadvertently taken my gift bag with him when he left. So I had one of my parents bring a spare car key, got the name of my table-neighbor and called him up, and got my bag back by FedEx the next day. And all was well.

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

XD It's not just you! ♥

[mer-duff.livejournal.com]

That's a great story - I'm never that calm when I lose things. Normally I freak out for at least a few minutes before settling down to deal with the situation, though I've gotten better with age (probably because I get a lot of practice).

The last time I lost my wallet (prior to the Father's Day fiasco), I replaced it with one that had a chain I could attach to my jacket zipper. My friend K told me I looked ridiculous and I explained that even if my wallet fell out of my pocket I wouldn't lose it. I went to demonstrate and the chain immediately broke.