Barter. Trade...

bar·ter:
–verb (used without object) 1. to trade by exchange of commodities rather than by the use of money.
–verb (used with object) 2. to exchange in trade, as one commodity for another; trade.

Was clearing up after dinner when I caught some snippets of the Channel 8 variety show "Barter Trade 2".
In a nutshell, the show is about people bringing things to exchange for whatever the show is offering, ie: tv, camera, computer etc etc.
But there's a catch.
Apparently, you must first go onstage to say what item you hope to get, why you want to get that particular item, and what is the history of the item you're trading. At the end of everything, the judges will decide the lucky ones to spin the wheel to see what they can get.
It goes something like that. If I'm not wrong.

Sounds like a good idea for a show?
I thought so too.
Until I heard what some of them had to say.
"Oh this one was the first present my wife gave to me..."
"I got this from my boyfriend, when we first got together..."

WHAT THE F**K?

Forgive me for being silly and naive but shouldn't things like these be kept like: forever and ever amen?
The sheer audacity of the situation hit me full in the face when some of them related stories like: "oh this item was part of the company Xmas presents exchange thingy, we traded gifts and that's how I got to know her, we started dating later blah blah blah..."
&
"my boyfriend scrimped and saved to buy this PDA for me, so now i want to give him something back, but I can't seem to save so I hope I can win something in this program..."

Oh. My. Friggin. Gawd.

Have these people no heart at all?
Do they even understand the meaning of sentimental value?
Have they become so pragmatic and practical that these items loses their emotional values?
Are they that DESPERATE?!?!?

I was at a loss for words.
These things, these items, these gifts.
They all mean something don't they?
For my case, I know mine did.
I know.
Cos I kept them, the items that mean something to me.
The notebook that you gave me, the baby bib you bought for me, the doggy keychain I got from you, the straw star you made for me, the cards that I received, the scrapbook of pictures that you took time to made.
I kept them all.
Yes, I did threw some of them away, only because looking at them reminded me of you(s).
But I will NEVER, EVER use them to TRADE for something else.

"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange."
-- Alphonse Elric, "Fullmetal Alchemist"

Nothing can be of the equal value as those items.
They're something that's unique, each and every one of them.
They tell different stories, they invoke different feelings, and they are the locks, the locks that trap the times, the times that have long since past. Us.
By throwing them away, I'm throwing away parts of myself, and maybe li'l parts of you(s).
But by trading, I'm passing them to someone who has no rights or connections whatsoever.
And that, to me, is the greatest insult.

Maybe its just me.