As a blogger sometimes it’s only natural to question “am I reaching anyone” and wonder if the things you write or say have an impact on those reading.  I’ve been at this for almost three years now and I still find myself asking that question from time to time. While I’ve always written for myself, it’s nice to know that someone is out there listening.  Before I start to get too blubbery, I suppose I should back up a little bit and start at the beginning.

A few weeks ago I was asked if I might be available to help judge the Blog Azeroth Thanksgiving event. The truth is that I was flattered to be asked and readily agreed to help. I looked at every entry as it came in and then again a second time once all of the entries were in before handing out my scores. Everyone’s posts were so heartfelt and fantastic that it was really very hard to assign scores – and I went back and forth on scoring so many times that my poor spreadsheet is damn near worn out. If you haven’t checked out everyone’s entries, I would strongly encourage you to do so! There are things from wonderful story arcs to haikus to iambic poetry to hand crafted turkeys to fun you-tube parodies. I promise you that it is well worth the visit to everyone’s blogs – you won’t be disappointed.

However, in reviewing everyone’s entries I was truly touched by how many people thanked me from either my work here or my work with the Welcome Wagon (which I must shamefully admit that I do not have one prepared for this week). And by touched, I mean a blubbering mess of grateful. I even had to take a minute and honestly ask myself if I could be objective in my judging or if I needed to send a note recusing myself from my obligation. In the end I felt I could remain objective and went ahead with scoring everyone’s entries – and damn if I didn’t want to just give everyone a 100. I mean, honestly, can’t everyone who participated just get a prize?!

This week’s topic over at Blog Azeroth is near and dear to my heart. Mostly because I’m a total packrat, and I love these kinds of things, but what Feral Tree wants to know is what items or mementos have you kept (in your toon’s pack or bank) and why? Whether it be keepsakes, quest rewards, special items, random drops, whatever! – why did you decide to hang on to it? What’s its significance to you?

Now, I already did a post about what kind of junk I tote around with me in my bags, so this time I’m going to focus solely on some of the mementos that I hold near and dear in my bank. Every time I lament my lack of bank space and Brade tries to convince me to destroy things, there are certain things that I just cannot let go – no matter how full my bags may be.

Before we get started, and so that you fully understand the level of packrat-ness that I exude, perhaps I should give you a glimpse into Beru’s bank? Yes?

As I was looking through the treasure hold that is my bank last night in preparation for this post, I found it extremely hard to pick just a handful of my preciouses for this post. However, I have somehow managed to narrow it down to ten. It was a challenge let me tell you! But here are ten of my fondest memories that seem to survive every expansion and every bank purging.