Well Friends, the 28 Day Challenge has now concluded, and I am proud to say that I purchased no toys during the month of February. This was a disciplined show of restraint on my part, not easy in doing I'll mind you, and I'm unsure how ChunkyB got us to do it... many of us seem to follow along with his ideas... he just has a special way of suggestion that defies explanation. I'm glad his Jedi mind trick worked- he probably saved me a couple hundred bucks LOL! I had a lot on order from January, and even a backorder of DCUCs from November that cushioned the blow, but I DID stick with it... this set me to thinking...
And another thing set me to thinking: Dr. Nightmare's announcement on Articulated Disscussion that he's giving up collecting. These beg the questions: "Why do I do this, and when will it all end?" "Will there come a time when it will just become ridiculous?" "How long will all of you keep doing it?"
I realize I'm still "the baby" of us all here in Toyland, but The Super-DuperToyBox has become quite full in rather short order. Every time I get some action figures or comics, I find out about more toys & comics I want. And this blog has shot up in attendance sharply- I'm getting 200 to 250 hits a day. It's become a big part of my life. While I earnestly believe it's a fun & harmless hobby, and healthier than the sport-drinking I was indulging in before, I'm left wondering about the obsessive-compulsive nature that has seem to taken over. Now, I'm a well-rounded individual- I have two bands, I work full-time, get out to see friends, make & sell my own artwork, but have spent a lot of time & money in pursuit of the fantastic plastic. Am I okay? Do you ever ask yourself that? I am often over-analytical and racked with self-doubt, as is my nature, but seeing the end of Dr. Nightmare's run made me stop for a second... I'll be 39 in May... will that be too old to play?
I hope you will share your thoughts- you have all been great to me, and it's been fun riding along... I wonder what you think about these things. These little plastic men kinda saved my life in a real way, ya know... what's that worth?
Right now Mike's Comics 'n Stuff has a (laughs) cart loaded at his website for me, ready to end my splendid misery here at midnight! Gotta go!
I'll be 46 come October and I can tell you that you don't look close to 39 (Daisy & I thought you were just in your late 20s, 28 max!) so that means you have a good many years to go. Anyway, age is just a number, right? You are what you think & I think you look GREAT, and I've just got to know you recently! All those wonderful things you have been doing in your life lately must have had a positive impact on you and if that includes toys and the FUN it brings into your life, so be it!
ReplyDeleteWhen it's time to stop, you'll know it. If ever you wake up one day and come to the realization that you don't desire toys anymore and you don't want to check out your blog or other toy blogs, then you have just hit the wall. Let the decision be your own, don't let Dr. Nightmare's announcement affect you; when toys are not FUN anymore, STOP! But as long as they bring a smile to your face and you cannot wait for the package to arrive so that you can open the toy, then you just keep on collecting and enjoying and having FUN with your life!
If you think it's getting too much too fast, slow down a little and take time to enjoy each toy more but that shouldn't mean that you have to stop completely.
I've been collecting since 1994 and I haven't stopped yet. Will I stop? Eventually I think I will but not now; I'm still loving it.
CHEERS buddy
Congratss on making through the Challenge Super-D and i can't wait to see what goodies you got coming from Mike. : )
ReplyDeleteThanks Alex- you are a wise man, and I value your input highly. I'm as excited about it and have just as much fun as when I started- and I enjoy trolling the other toy blogs on a daily basis. My life has changed so much it would make your head spin, and it was just something that came to mind- when you pull a 180 in life, all kinds of things run through your mind. What you said made a lot of sense, so I'm not gonna worry about it now- I'm just gonna have fun with it :)
ReplyDeleteJboy- it's a nice box of goodies that i'm really lookin' forward to :D
First congratulations on making it for the full 28 days, it really is an accomplishment and I am glad you came along for the ride.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of what Alex has said makes sense, you have to find your limit, toys are just a part of what makes this hobby fun, talking with fellow collectors is a majority of it for me and just having fun with it, after all they are toys. To answer your question how old is too old, I passed that 39 year old mark a while back and I think I love toys even more now, LOL.
Ha! I'm only 38!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, congrats on making it the 28 days. You're a bigger man than me. :)
Wow, 39? I agree with Alex, you don't look 39. And I agree with most of what he says as well. Also, there is nothing wrong with an adult buying toys for themselves as long as they aren't going into debt feeding your addiction for toys or ignoring the other responsibilities that they have in life. I don't think you are doing either so keep on doing what you enjoy :) And congrats on getting that many hits a day. I barely reach 100 hits a day on mine.
ReplyDeleteI always use my Dad as an example - he'll be 62 in April and collects toy cars of all kinds - I only got him interested in Hotwheels and other 'low end' toy cars a couple years back and now he's big into them too. I know that whenever he quits collecting I still have about 25 more years before I break his record lol!
ReplyDeleteI will say that the longer you do this you will have ups and downs, highs and lows, collecting fever and weeks or months of collecting nothing. You'll buy, you'll sell, you'll trade, you'll give away. That's all the nature of the beast. But as long as you are happy and having fun (and not running yourself into the poor house or worse yet, into a guest spot on that show "Hoarders") you are perfectly normal.
Or as normal as any of us can be. ;)
Congrats on making it!!!
ReplyDeleteI just wrote this really long response about collecting and how it can consume you but ended up accidentally hitting the "back" button on my mouse and lost it!!!
AAAgghh!!! Suffice it to say that collecting can definitely grow out of control. It's fun and managable, at first, but can become overwhelming and out-of-control over time. I'm definitely going through a period where I know I need to get rid of a lot of stuff if I have any thoughts of continuing to collect. I'm out of space... and my wife's patience. Plus, collecting can lose it's fun, at times. I think part of it is getting older and realizing that all those MOC Playmates Star Trek figures, MOC Superheroes, MOC Star Wars, etc. are all pretty much worthless 20 years later. It makes you really take stock in what you buy and gives you a bit more discernment in what things you really want to buy to enjoy vs. buying things just to "grow" the collection.
Ah, heck, I'll go ahead and tell this story again... toy collecting reminds me of a true story I heard once.... There was this girl who had a baby boa constrictor and treated it like it was a kitten. She even let it sleep with her on her pillow for quite awhile. When the snake became too large for her pillow, she let it sleep curled up at her feet under the covers. This went on for years until the girl started waking up to the snake no longer curled up at her feet. Instead, it was stretching itself out along the length of her body from her feet all the way up to her armpit. This kept happening and the girl was curious about it. So, she asked her vet if he knew why her snake was acting this way. The vet, upon hearing the situation, told the girl that she needed to kill the snake immediately. This horrified the girl as she viewed the snake as a beloved pet that loved her back. It turns out, the snake was beginning to size her up to see how big it would need to grow before it could eat her. Nice, huh?
This is a bit like toy collecting. At first, it's fun and manageable. However, before long, it can grow large enough to eat you. LOL.
BTW, Super-Duper C, I wouldn't worry about all of this too much. Everyone reaches a point in collecting when they have to ask, "Why am I DOING this?!!" Usually, this just results in a more sensible, and ultimately more enjoyable form of collecting. In that, with less stuff, it's easier to enjoy the stuff that you truly love and do still have in the collection. Many of us started back when action figures made a come-back in the early 90s and jumped on the "Speculation Bandwagon" hoping buy a second home or put our kids through college (okay, exaggerating a bit) with our doubles 20 years later. It's 20 years later and most of my stuff is worth much less than what I paid at retail. I've learned to only buy what I like and what I'm willing to open and put on a shelf. That doesn't work out 100% of the time but I'm getting there. You seem to really enjoy your stuff... that's cool.
ReplyDeleteNice job....
ReplyDeleteha! am 42...and only STARTED collecting toys in recent years...i was clearly way too serious as a kid and am making up for it now ;-)
ReplyDeleteHoly crap did Brian A's snake story scare anyone else, I mean sometimes I wake up in the morning to find our large basset hound stretched out next to me, I mean how did it even get there and is it sizing me up??? I don't want to be a basset's breakfast, now I have to worry about my collecting and my basset hound!
ReplyDeleteYES- it DID scare me... and you might wanna watch Gert... :D
ReplyDelete...ALSO- thanks everyone for the input. i saw some retro-action Mattel at Toys 'r Us yesterday that i had been eyeballing, and i walked away 'cause i had already bought some stuff from Mike's & Amazon.
ReplyDeleteOk i will be 40 this year and i just really started getting back into toys not too long ago and i have been enjoying it but like with everything i can go over board with it which is why am looking at changing my buying habits and adjusting my collection to the things i truly want.
ReplyDeleteAre there no kids who collect toys nowadays? Going by the comments posted and the revealing of ages, it would seem that only the adults are buying toys these days LOLz haha
ReplyDelete...so it would seem, Alex :D
ReplyDeleteMy kids don't collect so much as they buy to play with. My 13 year old daughter says she prefers the 6" line and buys exclusively the girls. My 7 year old son says he likes the 3.75" and 6" equally. He will buy either but prefers the boys.
ReplyDelete