Artifacts.

               This post is going philosophical, for your entertainment. The personal hallmarks of the past provide insight into a person's character. For some, the artifacts are conducive to greatness; others are condemned by the guilt of their past. I count myself fortunate to have been subject to both. I have been lucky to taste success often enough to have a wellspring of memory from which to draw motivation. I have likewise been blessed with failure and disappointment from which an appreciation of my successes has been able to grow.

               My artifacts exist in a variety of forms. People and experiences have been the biggest and most memorable artifacts, if not always completely tangible ones. The abstract and tangible experiences that have been my artifacts make me who I am.

               Over the last few weeks, I've written about artifact worthy friends, like Juliana and Alice. I'm sure we'll find time to get to them later on. Speaking to experiences; I was born into and raised in the Catholic tradition. At least, the patron-saint and idol-filled pseudo-Catholocism practiced by Filipinos. I had the opportunity to sing in a choir or two, serve as an altar-boy, and spent my last few years as a Catholic teaching the Confraternity of Catholic Doctrine (CCD), otherwise known as Catechism. Despite more than 10 years after exchanging my Catholic membership for a new set of beliefs, I still stay up on Christmas Eve to watch the broadcast of Midnight Mass from the Vatican. Old habits die hard. Overall, Catholicism has been a positive artifact for me.

               Other positive experiential artifacts I have faced include my time at the University of California - San Diego (UCSD) and my stint in the military. While at UCSD, I was fortunate to make friends from around the world, join the Mormon church, and fall in love; while eventually earning my Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. The positive artifacts of UCSD are better appreciated against the backdrop of failures and disappointments during my time at school. One such disappointment came early in my academic career at UCSD. Falling in love was easy. Especially with the caliber of women I tend to associate myself with. I started dating and fell in love with a young woman I had gotten to know throughout high school, named Rochelle. Unfortunately, the loving experience came to a surprisingly abrupt end. I was not ready for that. To make a long story a tiny bit shorter, I ended up failing a couple of classes and nearly getting myself kicked out of school. I would spend a majority of my time at UCSD recovering from that Winter Quarter. Recover, I did. Not before, eventually telling Rochelle that I'd never like to hear from her again. Arguably my biggest, if not only, true regret in life.

               That short-lived romance that was my time with Rochelle pails in comparison to the time and scope of my time with Juliana. Two years of recovery from Rochelle was sufficient to put me in position to meet, court, and love Juliana. I had only been a Mormon for less than a year when Juliana and I started dating. Many memories over the course of the 2+ years together (haha, more on that later) still reside deep within my subconscious. Most of the experiences and associated memories are quite good, amazing even; some naughty; and others downright scary! Eek! A few years of growing and the experiences earned along the way, at least on my part, put me in a better place.

               So, why all of this talk about artifacts and such? I'm not really sure. Some artifacts are relegated to the past, never to be seen again (though I hope that is not true), such as Rochelle. Others evolve and resurface; think Juliana. The time draws nigh to break free from the things that hold me back. Some artifacts face relegation. Others shall continue to besot me ad infinitum, as I choose...