So I recently made a momentous change in my life! I got ENGAGED!
Does this mean the end of collecting?
NO!
Not for me anyway! My Finacee is both understanding and supportive and with a bit of compromise the toy hobby is still safe. In fact the only real compromise is in my displays. I have fewer toys overall on display but my displays are now much nicer (think less clutter, more art gallery!)
But getting engaged has changed things. Most notably how I get my toys. With a great woman in my life, a home to put together, and wedding plans to make I no longer have the time to make "Toy Runs," hitting multiple stores in search of particular items… Initially I thought I’d do most my shopping via the internet, trading lower retail prices for the convenience and ease of online ordering.
I figured my lady wouldn’t want to endlessly haunt TRUs, Targets and Wal Marts, LOL!
But I discovered I was mistaken. In putting a life and a home together we are out and about often doing shopping for actual necessities. This means I can still squeeze in a trip to TRU or a run down a Target or Wal-Mart toy aisle fairly often!
And I’ve been reasonably successful on these "normal" shopping trips finding DCUC Wave 2, Star Wars Unleashed, Cars, GI Joe and a few other items here and there. So while I do do more online shopping, the retail shopping still works. It’s especially good for items I’m on the fence about. Imports or things I really want I’ll order online, but stuff I’m on the fence on or can ultimatly live without I leave to the luck of retail (Star Wars lives in this category for me now).
This change in my life has also changed my perspective on how much to pay for a toy. Sure, hunting down stuff at retail saves you on the price paid per toy, but gas and more importantly time are the real costs there. I find I don’t mind paying a bit more going online, even on ebay, as it’s worth the time I save. Honestly, I’d much rather pay a bit more for a toy and be able to spend more time with my lady than go on often fruitless toy hunts…
So finding a woman doesn’t mean you have to quit toys, not for this geek anyway. And it’s really nice to know you can enjoy your hobby as part of your life, rather than making it the sole focus of your life, something I was afraid could have eventually happened to me if I wasn’t careful and stayed single too long… ^O^
Spy
Now the next trick is to convince her to go to a couple of toy shows..
She Ra, Care Bear Cousins and Barbie did wonders in convincing her to come along..
I mean girls have their 80′s toy love as well.
Congrats. Wives who understand the hobby are beyond cool. Wishing you and your fiance a long and happy marriage.
Congrats to you both!
I commend you on thinking ahead on toy displays. I had a tough time with that issue.
Am very happy to hear you guys have worked out toy shopping. My wife and I go out on Saturdays and we go to someplace she wants to go then to Target or TRU and continue that way until we are done. A good compromise for both of us. It sounds as though you guys are ahead of the game already!
Have you asked her to allow you to have an action figure on the wedding cake instead of the traditional groom figure?
Congrats, Spy! My wife has her own toys and displays (and her own in-house customizer), so things can work out very well.
C.
Wow, congrats, Jeremy! Any chance we’ll get to meet her this summer at Con? Best of luck with it all.
On our first date in 1996, my wife told me she had Darth Vader and R2-D2 from the “new” Star Wars line. She wanted C-3PO who, you might remember, was initially a tough find.
Guess what my first gift to her was…;-)
-JJJ
Let it go dude. Driving around looking for the latest hunks of molded plastic when gas costs nearly 4 bucks a gallon doesn’t seem like the wisest decision for an impending ‘man of the house’. You might wanna rethink buying back your childhood and think, instead, about your new life. However, if you really want to stick with collecting this nonsense, let me know: I have 13 years of die hard action figure collecting that I can’t wait to sell off.
Okay,
But don’t for a minute think that having a little woman excuses you from any of the random toy crusades to far off lands.
Lancaster/Palmdale beckons my friend. I know the Monkey will be down. I may even convince Mr Sheldon to break the chain long enough to join us. June is looking like a kickass month for releases.