Assuming I get to keep some clothes, my Shortwave radio, iPhone packed with all my music, Leatherman Wave, watch, credit/debit cards, passport, camera.
Interestingly last time I was on a really dodgy ferry in a storm, that’s pretty much what I packed in my waterproof divebag and strapped round my body, minus the Wave and the watch (which is waterproof).
ETA: and cigarettes and lighter.
The contents of my purse with my ID and bank card, nose spray and advil. I’ll pretend it magically replenishes every night. Same with my GoPhone.
I think I’d actually be in better shape with just all that.
iPhone, flash drive with my dissertation research, passport, birth certificate, small pile of gold coins, my grandmother’s watch, a handful of pictures that predate the iPhone, a few of my favorite turtle figurines for the sake of sentimentality and continuity, and then I’d fill any empty space with whatever looks like it might be valuable in my jewelry box.
Heh. It looks like the contents of my box will allow me to relieve (most of) the rest of you of your boxes.
I would have to have my portable hard drive as that has all my music on it, and more importantly all my family history research. I’d also want a couple of DVD backups that I’ve made of the same information. Then I’d want to take at least some of my photos, of which I have a couple of albums that I’d tear down and put in. Then some of my letters that I’ve gotten over the years, the letters to my kids that I’ve written over the years, and should there be room which I would think there would be, family items, mostly letters and such. And then I guess my passport and cell phone. I could probably shove a few grand in there too in 100s.
Everything else I could probably do without, though I wonder if I could get my Kindle in there as well.
I see lots of people hanging on to their ones and zeroes of whatever data. Kind of misses the aliens’ (or OP’s) point, I think.
Me, let’s see - asterisk is a must-have for my own sanity, others are only nice-to-have:
My Victorinox knife *
My binoculars
My guide to useful plants of South Africa
My leatherworking tool set OR my metalworking toolset, incl. torch.
My acrylics, goaches, ink sticks*, inkstone* and brushes*
That’ll all fit in a shoebox, and I’ll be able to squeeze in some leather/metal and paper in there too if I have to.
You jerk!
My purse and my birth control pills. And some sunglasses.
My most valuable physical possessions are 20+ years of old handwritten journals, and a substantial number of photos from the pre-digital era. Will the aliens give me time to get all that stuff scanned?
My iPhone and my external backup drive.
Most of my entire life is either on my phone or on my laptop. All my family photos, important documents (scanned and backed up), insurance papers, mortgage documents, my art (writing, digital photography, the cookbook I’m working on).
There’s an entire library of books and music on my phone, my email, my voice mail, my texts. All contact with all loved ones and all ties to my earthly life are made through that damn phone.
Which is worrisome in and of itself. Nevermind that I can fit everything that’s important to me in a frigging shoebox. Sort of begs the question, Why don’t I bite the bullet and get rid of all this superfluous crap that I do not own, but which owns* me*?
If I wasn’t home sick with an ear infection today, I’d be cleaning out a closet for the bonfire or something.
What about possessions that are “mine” only in the sense that they’re family items that are in my house at the moment. For example, I have a photo or two that are from my mom’s collection of family photos, but I have them up at home. Who owns them? Technically it’s hers, but I’m “borrowing” it for my own use. Since I have access to those photos of hers, do they count as mine? Does the photo I have at home count as hers?
Assuming that I “own” the photos in my place of residence, I’d save the very few pictures I have in my possession from my childhood, and the (small) painting my girlfriend did for me of a map of The Shire. Everything else can go.
Well, then I’ll put both of them in there and pad it out with dirty socks.
Fuck, how am I going to get my computer into a shoebox? What’s the internet situation like?
Lacie or Iomega external backup drive.
Or a smart phone.
Well, first, we establish with the aliens that we are allowed to keep whatever winter clothing we want, otherwise one of their species will be locked in a cage with no protective gear in Antarctica and left to freeze to death. No arguments.
Then, I would pack my kindle, phone, flash drives from my computer, my ID + credit cards, plus a piece of my old security blanket. We’re also going to establish that we’re allowed to keep the clothes on our back plus shoes.
And you know what? Fuck the aliens. Before they come for the rest of my stuff I’m putting it all in a great big pile and burning it. If I can’t have any of it, then neither can they.
My purse (which has all the amenities of daily life in it) and my SD card with my pictures on it. Most of my possessions are clothes, shoes, and books. I don’t have any little objects with sentimental value.
Maybe we should drop the aliens scenario, as that’s clearly causing some people problems.
The question here is: Given that you are resigned to the inescapable conclusion that you can only save a shoebox-full of your treasure, what, if anything, will that treasure be? (and what, if anything, will upset you most to be leaving behind?)
Obviously clothes are a bit of a problem, because for some people. they represent value - I don’t see any way to resolve this, except to ask for the application of a bit of common sense. You’re not going to be stripped naked, but you can’t keep an excess of clothes, unless you can cram them in your shoebox.
Not really. We’re not talking about alien abduction or TEOTWAWKI or the Zombie Apocalypse. You’re still going to have to live and go to work at your current employment the next day.
Do you need your music collection/photos to work or live?
I don’t actually have a music collection on my PCs, but my photos help me remember precious moments.