Retail Distractions

Today, I visited two different shops on errands. These were a bit of a way from my house, but I managed to make the journey on secondary roads.  It was rather peaceful.

First I went to the Pacific Mall to find some stationery goods. Luckily I came upon the Japanese Dollar store (where everything that would be 100 yen in Japan was 2 dollars in Canada.  Not exactly a fair deal, but not horrible either.  It was in the sub basement of the mall and I wouldn’t have found it if not for the urging of one of the saleswomen on the main floor.  I had seen the store while I was looking for the washroom (restroom for my US readers WC for others) but didn’t realize that it had a basement.  I thought I was already in the basement.

So, below, illuminated by fluorescent lights, they had all those things you would find at a Japanese 100 yen store. I felt so cool that I could read some of the product descriptions.  I didn’t think I was back in Japan or anything–it was a little too disorganized for that–but it was a nice way to while away some time.

The second visit was to a hobby store. This one had rocket kits, model kits (cars, military, and gundam) RC planes, RC cars, and even RC boats.  The store was a bit cramped, but I vaguely remember being there years before when the store occupied two units.  I am pretty sure they had to work hard getting everything back into one unit.

I wandered the three or four aisles they had thinking about my hobbies and my hobby aspirations. If you’ve read my other blog, you’ll know that I am involved in a whole host of money devouring hobbies and pastimes.  It was fun to think how I could blow more money.

In the end, I did not spend a lot. I was happy for the distraction.

 

Lacking Passion

I should start this post explaining that I also write another blog. This blog deals with hobbies–and I have a lot of hobbies.  Lately, though, I haven’t really pursued many of my hobbies.  I also haven’t written that many posts for the site.  I wrote one today that seems to share some of the same aspects as this blog (introspection mostly) and I wanted to write a companion piece for it.  If you are interested in the original post, and I hope that you would be (because I have written some good posts on that site), please check out that post by clicking here, or off to the top right of this blog.

As for the companion to the piece….

I spent some time on Saturday afternoon looking through a packed… cramped… overload…there are just so many adjectives I could use…hobby shop. I enjoyed my time there, but nothing really stoked any interest.  Nothing lit a fire under me at all.  There were so many things I thought were cool, but I easily found a rationale for not buying them or to quickly walk away from them.

On one hand, this is pretty good. I didn’t blow money that I could spend on other things (Christmas, mortgage, food) and I didn’t bring more stuff into my already overloaded hobby room.

On the other hand, this is not how a hobbyist is supposed to behave. A hobbyist is supposed to enjoy the hunt.  A hobbyist is supposed to be looking for things to do and new itches to scratch.  Despite its costs and crowding issues, I do like that I am always pursuing something.  I like feeling passionate about something. anything.  I love reading about it, comparing things, getting excited about it, and chasing it down in stores.  I get rather bummed out when I don’t have something that catches my interest.  It also means that I have nothing to write in that other blog.

Could I be growing old?

 

A Quest for Stuff

I wish I were constantly questing for the better me, but sometimes I am just questing for stuff.  Despite knowing that the better me would be a person without so much stuff, there are a few things that I have been hunting for.  There are things that I think are quite rare and/or too expensive that I figure I will never be able to own.

Typically I do not quest so obsessively.  I do not spend hours trolling the internet for stuff.  I search a few places and then go about my business.  That is not to say that I don’t take advantage of opportunities.  I keep my eyes open at garage/yard sales, and poke my nose into shops that seem to have a diverse collection of stuff.

One of the things that I had been searching for is the Model Railroader’s Guide to Freight Cars.  If you’ve seen one of my other blogs, you will know I have a fondness for model trains (not quite Sheldon Cooper level mind you).  Unlike many of the customers of the model shop, I really don’t have an encyclopaedic knowledge of trains.  I like them, but I can’t tell you a lot about them.  As a result, I am trying to “educate” myself.  And yes, I could probably find all of the information I would ever need on the internet, but there is something about reading it all in book format.  It’s organized, and meant to educate–books usually follow a learning curve.

The book in question has been out of print since I started getting seriously into this hobby.  The copies that were available were being offered at over $300.  I just couldn’t bring myself to pay that much.  I doubt anyone would, but the price hasn’t budged in years.  I kept my eyes open, but never came across one at an acceptable price.

Luckily, someone decided to sell one at a more affordable price and I jumped on it.  In one of the few instances where I knew I had to act fast, I did.  I haven’t had time to read it yet, but I have no regrets.

There aren’t a lot of things I am keeping my eyes out for, but there are a few.  I hope I find them at a garage sale, or thrift shop, or flea market.  Moments like that are great.  Most of mine are childhood toys, books or some form of memorabilia.  If I don’t find what I am looking for, I don’t get angry.  If I am not having fun doing, then it is time to leave the shop or sale.

How about you?  Is there something that you are hoping to one day come across?  Is there some great find you are hoping to land?  Maybe it’s a first edition of Ulysses, or an original coke sign, or….who knows.  I would love to hear about stuff you are looking for.

Awarded

I was nominated for a Versatile Blogger award.  I was nominated by Nicole of the blog WALK IN THE SUNLIGHT.  It was very kind of her.  If you would like to check out her blog, please click on the link.

Just a quick question:  Do you pronounce it /ˈvɜː.sə.taɪl/ or /ˈvɝː.sə.t̬əl/?  I don’t mean which one is correct, but rather, how do you pronounce it?  I am an ESL teacher and sometimes that “teacher” invades my blogging life.

Like everything in this world, there are some rules to receiving this award.  I will attempt to follow some of them.

The rules are:

• Show the award on your blog
• Thank the person who nominated you
• Share 7 facts about yourself
• Nominate 15 blogs
• Link your nominees’ blogs, and let them know

7 facts about myself

I am not sure what, if anything, people want to know about me, but I have decided on these seven “facts.”

1. I speak intermediate Japanese.  This is largely due to having lived in Japan and even afterward kept up my interest in the country, culture, and food.
2. I am an ESL teacher.  This is probably because I was an awful student and karma didn’t want to wait for my next life before punishing me.
3. I write a blog on another platform and desperately want people to check it out.  This is because it sometimes contains a bit more humour (especially the very first post) and because it has a bit of advertising (no pop ups) and eventually (maybe in a few years–no, I am not kidding) I will have had enough views to get a little bit of money.  Am I being greedy?  A little, but marketers call it cross promotion.  It is called Jack of all Hobbies.   If you could take a look, I would appreciate it.
4. I am addicted to pizza.  I eat it far more often than I should, and on those occasions, I eat far too much of it.
5. I got back into cycling last year and now I am planning on going on a longish distance cycling trip–hopefully I will find some people to go with me.  I have bought a new bike, subscribed to magazines and cycling blogs, and I have spent a long time thinking about what I am going to wear.
6. I want to lose weight but hate the gym.  I did a good job of dropping about 20lbs last year, but have gained about 5 back over winter.  I am hoping the cycling will help me become much leaner.
7. I read quite a bit because I spend a lot of time commuting to work.  I also wonder about my fellow passengers.  If you read my blog, this really shouldn’t come as a surprise, as this affects my blog and my blog subjects.

If you want 7 other facts about me please check out this post from last year:

The Inspiring Blogger Award

Blogs I would like to nominate:

This is no easy task, and I am sure some of these blogs have already been nominated, but what can I do.  For those of you who I have left off….sorry.  I would like to nominate everyone I read, but even nominating fifteen seems like a lot.  I did my best to give you a cross section of me.  As you can tell, it is a mix of life affirming positives, bicycles, Japanofiles, relationship advice and humour.  Pretty much sounds like me.

My OBT A truly great blog that everyone needs to read.

Becky Says Things Never have such simple drawings made me laugh so loud–and you should buy her book.

My Purse is Closed An interesting idea given life.

Taggle Talk  Awesome pictures and words.

Ever the Wayfarer A beautiful take on the world.

Being 30 A positive and informative place for people dealing with their changing hopes and dreams in their 30’s (but I am in my 40’s and I still check this one out.)

Girlwadder The painfully straight goods on dating; both informative and humorous.

Johnna Slaby  Equal parts words and pictures.  It is a reminder of beauty in the world.

Travels on a Variety of Bikes I am into bikes and Japan; so this is a perfect place for me.

Bike Like Crazy Though not about Japan, it is about bikes (and right now, cycling in the snow).

Blissful Brit Coffee lover and hiker extraordinaire.  Her posts make me hungry for food and adventure.

Celia in Tokyo  Beautiful photos compliment the lovely words.

Keeping up with the Walkers A positive outlook on the world.

For those people who think about bicycling even in the loo I don’t think I can say anything more than the title says.

Simply Tiny Freedom Tiny houses containing big dreams.

Thanks again for the award.

The Sharp End of the Dart

Playing darts is like any other leisure activity.  It can be fun, it can be dull and it can be frustrating,  Without boring anyone of the particulars of darts or my (relatively recent) participation in a darts league I must explain that to end a gain you must score the exact amount of points left by hitting a double (the second smallest area of a particular number–and yes, the bull’s-eye is probably smaller but that’s another thing all together).  The key point is you must hit a double number to finish.

Despite how easy the professionals make this look, it is rarely easy.  If you don’t hit it quickly, you might have to repeatedly try for it (unless your opponent hits his or her double).  I have often had to take numerous throws at a double before the game ended.  And when I say numerous, I am down playing the shocking number of throws it took.  I wouldn’t be overstating it if I said you could cut the frustration with a knife.

Now, what’s my point?  The point is, tonight, I hit my doubles fairly quickly and won my last two matches.  It felt fantastic.  I felt like a winner.  This isn’t about gloating, because I don’t like that.  However, the feeling of doing something difficult, fairly easily is great.  And that’s today’s perfect moment.

If you want to read more about darts, or my other hobbies, there is a link in my profile to my hobby based blog.  Feel free to check it out.