Gallery of Dead Possessions

Being newly diagnosed (within the last two years) I find that reminders of my past life are everywhere. It's difficult to open a door, or a cabinet, or a closet in my house without seeing something that reminds me of my former healthy lifestyle.  These objects—these remiders—are everywhere.  I'd imagine that other newly diagnosed patients deal with the same issues.  What are we supposed to do with this stuff?  Will we ever use any of it again?

I decided to start liquidating some of it—selling it on Craig's List.  Not all of it.  Just some. I figure, not only will this help me move on in my life, but it should emancipate a nice chunk of cash that's currently locked up in useless possessions.  

So this post is a sort of tribute to some of my favorite old possessions. (Man, that sounds corny).  I'll miss you, but I have to move on.  

*Incidentally, these pictures served two purposes.  If they look like they're arranged to be appealing to a Craig's List buyer, you're right!

This is the world's greatest beer pong table. We had some good times together. 

In surfing, your board collection is called a "quiver."  This is a small-ish quiver -- serious surfers have 6-10 boards.  You want to have a board for every mood and every sea condition.  I'll probably keep the longboard in case I improve well enough to do some lazy surfing in the future.  If not, my daughter can use it as a starter board some day.  The others must go.

Ahh, the hot tub.  Sadly, they say that PWMEs should avoid chlorinated water because the chlorine absorbs through our skin and our defective detoxification mechanisms can't deal with it effectively.  We'll see.  I might still use it occasionally.

Here's a little wetsuit drying rack I built out of PVC pipe.  It will still get some use from my wife's wetsuits, but  not nearly as much.

Mrs. Calvin doesn't drink much hard alcohol, so this stuff just gathers dust. 

Dry foods.  It's mostly carbs (except the nuts).

My work bench, my baby.  I shouldn't say these tools are completely useless to me now -- I still use them sometimes, just not nearly as often.

Three wetsuits: one for Winter, one for Spring & Fall, and one for Summer.  I can't tell you how much I miss suiting up.  It's like wearing a full-body compression sock: you're heart doesn't have to work nearly as hard to circulate blood. It's pretty relaxing

Sports equipment.  I'll probably keep the golf clubs - golf sounds like a reasonable possibility in the future.  

Snowboard gear.  It kills me that I might not be able to teach my daughter how to ski or snowboard.  I had always looked forward to that. 

This is a roof rack that allows you to strap surfboards to your car. 

Nintendo Wii.  Believe it or not, most of these games will cause me to crash if I play them.  

Backpacking gear.  Drive-in camping is still doable, but backpacking and hiking is out of the question right now.

Power tools.  I feel good just looking at these things.

Never used 'em much anyway.  I won't shed any tears over this stuff.

Actually, I might use these weights again some day, but I'm sticking to Tai Chi for now

Yerba Mate' accouterments.  Yerba mate' is a type of loose leaf, high caffeine tea from the lower half of South America.   You're supposed to drink it out of these gourds, as the natural flavor of the gourds leeches into the tea.  The metal straws (called bombillas) filter the tea leaves.  Unfortunately, the high caffeine content doesn't agree with me now.  It also supposedly robs one of B vitamins, which is the last thing I need.

Yoga mat.  I can still do some light yoga, but not enough to attend classes (which is where I used this mat).

Running shoes. Look at them--they're begging me to take them out for a run.  Sorry guys.

Breathalyzer.  People love these things at parties, I'm not kidding.  Apparently, folks like to see who is the drunkest at the party.  After it left my hands at a party, it was often hard to get back. 

Oh Bev Mo.  You're like the Toy'R'Us for adults.  I miss you.

TideMaster watch. This sucker tells you what the tide is at any given moment at thousands of beaches across the world.  It's based on the beaches' latitude and the position of the moon.

And finally, here's a small sampling of the clothes that don't fit any longer due to weight loss.  Some I've had altered, others are going into storage in case I gain the weight back.  

OK, that felt good to unburden myself.  Thank you.  In the future, I hope to do a more positive post about all of the items that have become more useful to me with ME/CFS.  I seem to have shifted my focus to more creative pursuits, which comes with a whole different array of fun supplies.