shallow consumerist meme

My camera lost its lens today. It just stopped working, and now I feel as if I’ve lost a limb. A very expensive limb, without which the rest of my body won’t function, and sewing it back on will cost me more than I can afford. Probably even more than a whole new limb (I can see my metaphor going weak here, but I stand by it. After all, what are prosthetic limbs for?).

So it got me thinking about material things that I’m attached to enough to let them define me as a person. The things that people identify me with and go ‘Oh, that girl who always carries that thing?’ in conversations. I’m pretty sure this meme exists already, but here goes anyway.

Things that I use (almost) every day

- my glasses
- Nikon D40
- sneakers
- coins
- Adidas shower gel (for the gym)
- Nokia 5200 (phone and music box combined)
- thrift store t-shirts
- lip balm
- Smints
- dorky messenger bags
- face wash
- herbal toothpaste
- different kinds of tea
- tiny elastic bands (for the braces)
- yellow legal pads
- black gel pens
- books
- Skype account (is that material?)
- student ID
- Visa card
- trolleybus pass

I think this is it, the rest is replaceable or interchangeable. How about you? What do you use every day? Which items define you for what you are? I’d be very curious to know.