Gone In 60 Seconds...

No, I am not referring to the movie, so feel free to read on. I was watching Leap Year a few days ago and it asked a relatively relevant question. If there was a fire and you only had 60 seconds to grab things from your home, what would you take?

I'll have you know I'm about to reveal bits of the movie, so if you don't like spoilers...stop here. However, if you are intelligent enough to realize that this is a ROMANTIC movie and therefore there are no surprises, then read on.

The story goes: man and woman have been dating for 4 years. Man takes woman to "special" dinner and woman is expecting marriage proposal. Man surprises her by not proposing and announces he is going off to Ireland for medical conference. A few days later woman is upset and decides to follow man to conference because she learns of an old Irish "tradition" that allows women to propose on leap day. Terrible weather strands woman at airport in Wales and forces her to find alternative route to Ireland--which is how woman meets Irish man. Irish man offers to drive her, and along the way they begin to fall for each other. During journey Irish man asks her the 60 second question.

Anyway, this question made me think about my personal belongings and what I might take in such a situation. I realized that there was truly nothing I could live without. I think, this may be because I still live with my parents and it is THEIR house. I'm sure if I asked my parents this question they would have a better answer.

Of course, their home is my home, but their house is their house. I live there, and of course I have personal belongings there: clothing, laptop, Wii, etc but these are all replaceable items.

So my question is, what would you take? What do you currently own that is completely irreplaceable and uniquely yours? I have come to the conclusion that at this very moment my answer would be: "nothing". You may or may not think this is "sad", I just think it is a sign I haven't started living MY life yet.

Another interesting thing from the movie; Claddagh rings: A friend of mine actually has one of these--it was given to her by her boyfriend--and I think the idea behind it is cute! I wish someone would buy one for me (message me for my ring size). Men or women can wear these, so don't think it has to be a guy giving it to a girl.

Some background on the ring: The elements of this symbol are often said to correspond to the qualities of love (the heart), friendship (the hands), and loyalty (the crown). The ring worn on the right hand with the heart pointing towards the fingertip shows the wearer is not romantically linked but is looking for love; pointing towards the wrist shows that the wearer is in a relationship. The ring worn on the left hand with the heart pointing towards the fingertip shows the wearer is engaged; pointing toward the wrist indicates the wearer is married. 
 Some of these rings are actually pretty inexpensive ($15 on Amazon) and this could make a great Valentine's day gift. Of course, give this only if you are serious about the relationship, we don't want the recipient to get confused. I might actually just get one of these for myself.

Speaking of Valentine's Day, how many people are giving or receiving gifts? I ask because I am sure many people will use the recession as a reason not to do anything, but why? You don't have to spend ridiculous amounts of money to give a present (see claddagh ring above).

I will add here that I did not spend any of my hard earned money to go see this movie, and if you are smart you won't either. I like romantic movies but most of them are not worth the $12 movie ticket--at least not to people like me who can watch them for free because of our "connections".

So, ideas for Valentine's Day? Anyone?