16 de enero del 2001
I got my first piece of jewelry when I was a baby. I don't remember what they looked like I just know I was wearing tiny gold earrings before I was even a few months old (as witnessed in baby pictures). I don't know how much of a tradition it is in other cultures but as a mejicanita it is customary to pierce a baby girl's earlobes as soon as possible. The piercings are held open with red string (this I don't know why) until her first tiny gold ornaments are inserted. I guess I'm glad this was done so early in my life. As an adult I got a second piercing (on the upper cartilage of my ear) and even though it didn't hurt when they did it, it did hurt like a mofo a few days later. Ouch.
I also don't remember much of the other jewelry I received as a child and pre-teen but once I hit puberty I was all into the fake-ass stuff like there was no tomorrow. I even have an embarassing 8th grade orchestra picture where I'm delightfully smiling with my, get this, white metal violin earrings. Haaa! Is that funny or what? It was my 'earrings must match outfit/mood' stage of my life. I had so many funky earrings and wore so many different ones each day people were beginning to wonder if my parents owned a jewelry store. Ha. I was getting all my groovy, shiny and sparkly earrings at your local flea market. Usually for under a buck. I was in heaven. And if you think white metal violins as earrings are funky can you imagine me wearing:
tiny rubik's cubes
purple grapes
large green leaves
flowers of all shapes and sizes
faux super-bubble-gum size pearls
and of course your usual colored feathers.
Boy was I a hot little thing. Don't start drooling now just thinking about me in my precious ear gear.
So, you might ask yourself, if you were wearing such cool-to-the-max earrings you must have had even cooler kick-ass outfits to match, right? Why yes! I clearly remember my 'new wave' era. I was the queen of wanna be different. Going to a thrift shop was heaven to me and my friends (well, I still like sifting through old things now and then). We'd find vintage outfits and transform them a la Molly Ringwald in Pretty Pink (who by the way was our idol) to the most stylish, slammin' outfits you'd ever seen. I remember my favorite. A baby blue wool vintage jacket with black lace trim which I transformed into a one-of-a kind vest. It was beautiful! Yes, it was! (Stop covering your eyes already!) I also had the only pair of multi-colored Converse hi-tops in school. Sure, everyone else had a pair but they weren't four different colors. I was so cool. (In my mind of course). I also made my own earrings! I'm creative like that. Oh and I even made my own watch. Yup. I was all cool like that.
Anyway, back to jewelry. The reason I thought about this today was because I forgot to wear my silver ring and that led me to reminisce about all the jewelry I've received as gifts over the years, which led me to turn tomato red in embarassment as I have almost always lost every one of those gifts. Ouch.
1. When I worked retail, back in the day, my sweet co-workers took me out to dinner in celebration of my high school graduation (they also let me drink...yahooo!) and gave me a beautiful 24k gold bracelet. It was so shiny and purdy. Oh, I was in heaven with that thing! I was also so touched that they'd bought me such a gift, it was just so, well, touching. Anyway, I honestly don't know what happened to it. It either unclasped and fell somewhere or I just misplaced it as I tend to do even now. I was crushed but never mentioned it to them.
2. My boss at the accounting firm gave me a 24k gold, really heavy, really beautiful bracelet. It was so shiny and purdy. This time I swore I wouldn't lose it. I lost it.
3. My boss at the bus company gave me a 24k gold, really beautiful, chain-link (know what I'm talking about?) bracelet. (Hey, what's up with all these people giving me bracelets now that I think about it?? Do my wrists look nude or something?) I was immediately in love with this thing and again swore I wouldn't lose it. I lost it. BUT, guess what? I didn't really lose it. My sister 'borrowed' it without telling me until a few years ago. The punk. Anyway, it's back in my jewelry box. I think.
4. I received quite a few gold necklaces, earrings and charms for my graduation. I have only a few of those items left.
5. Eventually every new friend I make gives me jewelry as a gift. I can't say I've been able to keep much of it. I just lose it. I hate that!
So why do I lose them? Is it because I just toss them around like they're no big deal when I get home? Is it because I take them off each time I take a shower or go to the gym and then just leave them around for others to swap? Is it because I'm a dim-wit? Don't answer that. Anyway, with all the gold I've lost you'd think I'd have learned my lesson (and opened up my own jewelry store). Well I haven't. The only thing I haven't managed to lose are rings. Those I have. Those I wear. All of them. Not at the same time though.
Oh, ummm, I recently purchased a tiny gold ring for my niece..... I can't find it.
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Until then...
