consummate

I just found(and shortly bought) the last hardbound box set of Harry Potter at the relatively new National Bookstore at Glorietta 5. Wow, finally, I did it, commissioned by me 8 years ago!

Back in 4th year high school, our Guidance class--a class in which we talked about our feelings and self-discovery voodoo without any social backlash since the teacher was so frightfully lovable and who's very smile encouraged nice-ness and other Carebear emotions--had a special final project for us seniors to tackle: a scrapbook.

Yep, the typical "look back on ye' trodden path and remember lest ye' stumble" kind of scrapbook that was meant to manifest in photos and paraphernalia what the last 4 years meant to us. And true enough, come submission day, our teacher was treated to the milieu of mixed media memories.

Some of the kids didn't really take it seriously. When a project that involved "using your imagination" gets pitched, they tend to interpret it as "wing it". This produced a lovely collection of crap-books: clear-books stuffed with random, haphazard doohickeys that looked like Exhibits A thru Z of some crazed pickpocketing spree at the local thrift store. Not even an explanation to be found as you browse page by page, junk by junk. They pretty much just bought the clear-book, stuffed each leaf with whatever was within arms reach, and slapped a name on the front cover. Done in less than 5 minutes--including buying the actual book.

There were also those who took it to heart. They went elaborate, eked out their history through amateur typography and brightly colored Elmer's glue--t'was the rage--and brought out the last of the stash of glitter to be enjoyed by any brave enough to peruse and be a little glittery too afterwards.

Mine was done in one sleepless night. I bought a scrapbook and some paper to stick stuff to and some tape to stick stuff with and was deciding where I stand between the two extremes: make it pretty but get it over with so I can play Final Fantasy Tactics on the Playstation already.

I, as you may have inferred, did not play Final Fantasy Tactics on the Playstation that night. It could have been the overly bright blue construction paper, or the exposure to too many dust-bunnies while hunting for the right snapshot, or the effluvium of the then seemingly witty humor(mostly puns). Whatever it was, I started having fun.

It surprised me how fulfilling it felt to piece together those 4 years and make a story out of it. And best of all, someone would actually care to read it. It was vanity that fueled me that night. And I discovered scrapbook making for the selfish hobby it really is, when so much effort is placed to preserve memories only you can truly appreciate.

I worked relentlessly on it, and when it was done, I knew I've made something I'd cherish for a long time. Out of my own hands, a wonderful gem of self-expression.

I added a final note to the scrapbook, a sort of anticipative footnote that was to remind of the things I held most dear then: Harry Potter(Sorcerer's Stone just came out) and my mp3's(meticulously siphoned from a younger internet, scourging Napster, Anipike, AudioGalaxy, Kazaa, and ultimately Limewire). Mp3's were meant to be kept while the Harry Potter series was meant to be bought once I've found the means, once I've found a job that afforded me the currency for my every wish, once I had that magical credit card to swipe with.

Today is the day I fulfilled that aging dream--and at 3 months 0% interest, t'was a bargain!