What's your collection worth?

I can't say the word enough!

I'm a collection addict.

There, I said it. I know it might be hard for you to swallow, but if you love me, you've got to love ALL of me!

Well, okay so it's not really that serious, but for all intents and purposes I, the Dark Lich, am a collection addict.

What's a collection addict, you ask?

Hmm...I could not have made myself any clearer back there but if you really need an explanation...it's a healthy (or unhealthy) love for collecting anything. A person who, as a hobby and unhealthy obsession, accumulates things that comes in sets or limited editions or one time-big time; anyone who loves the feeling of slowly building a collection of trinkets, toys, books, cars, what have you. I don't know exactly where this started, but I do know that I have tried my hand in collecting and accumulating almost anything that was worth collecting.

I probably started seriously in the collecting mood when my mom bought me a book about stamps and stamp collecting when I was a kid. The book was actually pretty good. It was very educational and, eventually, convincing, because from that point on I literally dove onto any post office stamped letter I can find. Every new letter delivered was given to me at the end of the day so I could remove with somewhat surgical precision the stamps that was stuck to them (all of that I learned from that stamp collecting book!).I never looked at a letter envelope the same way again!

Then I tried my hand at collecting coins. It was actually one of my more cherished hobbies (Maybe because I collected things that actually had monetary value), if not the hobby I focused on the most at that time. .Because of this, I only had a small but moderately impressive collection. "The more pristine, the more shiny, the better" was my mantra, so I went to collecting only coins that have not dulled much over time. I still remember my shiny 500 yen coin and my shiny limited edition BSP coin circa mid-90's that my mom got for me (seeing a pattern here? XD)

Then comic books came to my life when my tita from the States bought me a copy of Wolverine #89 (The Mask of Ogun!). I've read comic strips before (anybody remember Maskarado? Please remember! T__T) but never like this! Since then I would ask my tita to buy me more of this stuff. Of course, my tita could only come home once a year so you could imagine my zen-like patience at having to read your only comics just every December!

Not to mention my trading card collection, my Hardy Boys book collection, my newspaper clipping collection...yeah I got bit hard by the collecting bug. It's hard not to, being such a wildly imaginative and mainstream kid like me back then. But it would take a while before I could start a serious collection.


Some collection lovin' going on

I don't know why I love collecting so much. Maybe its the envy of knowing people who have pretty impressive collections like whole manga/anime runs, full sets of Marvel Legends figures, complete 1:100 to 1:145 to 1:50 scale MG Gundam collections and tons of other things that I didn't know can be collected. Being the Virgo that I am, I am really extremely jealous of these people, and can only hope to match their dedication to their hobbies.

Or maybe its the excitement of getting just one more issue or one more figure I need to complete a set. Masaya sana, but these days, hobbies are expensive. Expensive both in a monetary and practical sense. Ika nga ng tito ko upon seeing my Heroclix collection, "makakain mo ba yan?!" Gundam or DVD collections aren't 'impulse buys', it's stuff you actually plan ahead and even give a lot (sometimes a really whole lot) of thought into before buying. Except for the rich kids and those with disposable income *ehem Ramee and Tomiks ehem*, which in that case there's nothing to think about. :) Thankfully, I got a job with an above average pay, and, being the miser and penny pincher that I am, can now afford to sustain a hobby.

Most probably, it's the feeling of taking out my whole collection, laying it out in front of me, and being in awe (or dumbstruck) at the sheer amount of stuff I really have!

Just today, I decided to do an inventory on my stuff. I love to do inventories, because it feeds the OC in me and it gives me a perspective on my collection and whether I should stop before I seriously consider my future financial capabilities! :)

My book collection is easy. I collect mainly mystery/detective and fantasy books, and a smattering of manga here and there. I have the first 5 adventures of the original hardbound Hardy Boys mystery books and about a dozen more modern Hardy Boys Casefiles, which are probably the most well-read out of all my books. Other notables are my Magic: The Gathering books (which made me begin to appreciate fantasy books more) the complete DragonLance Chronicles and War of Souls trilogies that my sweetie bought for my birthdays, and Forgotten Realms books that I actually bought with *gasp* my own money! Not to mention my Love Hina manga, which I plan on completing soon. Better make sure my children will love to read!

My comic book collection is one I've invested the most of my personaly finances in. I have over 200 comic books (not counting the dozens lying around the house!) and about 5 trade paperbacks. Most of them are recent issues, having just recently started buying religiously, and some of them date back to the early 90's. And I just realized that, I have spent more of my money on these babies than is morally possible! *faints*

My final and probably my most exciting collection are these guys:



Heroclix, a tabletop miniatures strategy game using miniature statues of comic book superheroes. Kind of like chess with superpowers. I started collecting back in 2002 and now I have over 200 figures and one collosal figure. Not as big a collection as some of the people in my player group has but I'm proud of it nonetheless. The great thing about this hobby is not only can I collect them, I can play with them!

So yeah, barring the fact that what I have spent on my collections is enough to send a child through grade school for a year, I am pretty impressed and proud of them. They will provide me with endless entertainment and joy, not to mention my future kids will be sure to have something to read, play and collect someday.

So, what's your collection worth?