GF, Wives, "Society" and collecting Transformers

[RedOktobre]

A topic concerning gf's, embarrassment and collecting Transformers was becoming extremely "off-topic" on the "hauls" thread.

I didn't want to annoy our moderator so, I created this new thread for it if anyone is interested in "throwing their 2 cents in..."

[RedOktobre]

Originally Posted by Scrapper6

I wouldn't let people mocking you for your collecting habits bother you too much; some people just can't get over the fact that there are people out there who find satisfaction in things that don't involve sex, booze or "ADULT" lifestyle societal norms. (If that makes any sense.)

Good point!

Originally Posted by Scrapper6

I haven't had the good fortune to make any GFs' yet in my life; not really sure where to look or anything like that so I just do what pleases me, if she won't support my hobby or at least be open minded then that's her problem, when/if I ever manage to woo a member of the fairer sex.

I was lucky - I guess. I met my gf prior to my TF addiction. I loved TF during the G1 era, but left it after the decline. I recently got interested again when the Cybertron series came out. I have been hooked since...

In the end, my gf doesn't have a problem with my hobby. She just wants me to exercise some restraint. I'm trying to save money for a nice engagement ring. That's why I started to return some unncesssary TFs.

As for your love life, I find that meeting girls is a lot like looking for a job. You gotta "put in" the effort to find girls (jobs). Then, you have to go thru many "interviews" with potential girls. Finally, one cutie says, "I'll give you a shot, you're hired!" Then, you have to turn on the charm and impress her in order to "keep your job".

Originally Posted by Scrapper6

we all have our dark little pleasures after all and for some that means buying, opening and still playing with toys.

Yes, everyone has their one "vices". In the end, I'd rather have people laugh at me for collecting TFs instead of looking down upon me for being a drug addict, gambling holic, etc.

Originally Posted by Scrapper6

Being a completist was driving me a little crazy in the past; I wasn't getting as much fun out of the hobby as I did before, which is why I didn't get too many Energon Voyager/Mega and Up figures and how I missed out on a few I find myself wanting now simply because I have this strange obsession with having an equal number of Autobots and Decepticons ratiowise for the Unicron Trilogy... I have no idea why, but at least I've made up Wants Lists and rejected several or more figures simply because I don't need every repaint and I just want to even out the sides as it were. (Does that sound like making an excuse?)

No, not really. I find "re-paints" hit & miss. I either like it or find it unnecessary.

I try my best to focus figures that I truly like to avoid the "complete-ist" trap. I have a tendency to like figures with projectile weapons as well. Funny that you mentioned the need for balance - autobots and decepticons. I paid some attention to it, but it never affected my buying habits. I noticed I had more Autobots or Decepticons for certain lines.

Originally Posted by Scrapper6

Yeah; this is turning into a non-haul type of thing, so... POST YOUR HAULS FOLKS; I'll add some more up in a weeks time most likely, after seeing TFTM '07 A second maybe even third time.

This happens a lot - going off topic

[-KG-]

My gf actually collects as well. She has about 25 figures from Cybertron, Classics and G1. She came with me to TransformersCon and spent about $200. It's nice to have someone who not only understands but also enjoys the hobby. Maybe not quite as much as I do but she's in on it none the less.

She hated the movie designs but after seeing it she wants a bunch of Bumblebee stuff. Both Deluxes, Ultimate Bumblebee and the keychain. She also wants some Prime stuff too. Hell even my sister wants some bumblebee stuff after seeing the movie.

Any girl who looks down on you for collecting TF isn't worth being with anyway. There are a lot of females on this planet that will support you and your hobby.

As for anyone else, screw them do what makes you happy. You have to live your life for yourself and no one else...

[RedOktobre]

Originally Posted by dark_rage

Haha, I guess it's not just me, since I'm still a student, but I find that a lot of the members here just gobble up anything Hasbro sells us.

I'm a a bit more critical of what I buy (due to my financial situation), but I now research what I would consider to buy thoroughly (reading online reviews and galleries). I've learned my lesson from buying from some horribly poor toy lines (Namely Beast Machines and some of the Movie line).

I'm also quite certain toy collecting is a chick repellent, so when I meet a girl, I'd keep it as a hidden fact. The notion of grown men buying toys is still embarassing to some extent. That's just what I'd do of course, I still have no experience in "the game".

Hey Dark Rage, your situation reminds of me of my "younger" days...

Yes, I agree with your observation. I noticed that they is always a fellow collector who will gobble up something from Hasbro. I find some figures to be "crap" while others find it to be "gold".

I think that you are "on the button" with the comment about collecting TFs being a chick repellant! I was lucky since my hobby started after I met my chick! My gf thinks that I'm letting my childish side of me taking over!

Don't worry. I was shy in my younger days too. I didn't get involved in the "game" until the late age of 22. I met my first gf (sort of first gf; until I discovered that she was seeing 2 people at once). Also, I busy with school and studies. I didn't socialize and made friends very much.

I actually like the Movie line quite a bit. I'm not into the Beast Wars line like yourself. However, I also like the Titanium line too!

[Robimus]

I wouldn't worry too much about GF's that are going to leave because you collect toys. Anyone that shallow isn't worth your time anyway. Would she leave if her BF liked Football a lot, I think not.
Also I loved the point brought up about the vices people have and what is considered socially accecptable. Some one who spends $50-$100 a week on booze and cigarettes is considered normal????
I have and had friends like this for a long time and I'd always argue with them that they were the ones with their priorities out of place. Not only does my collecting give me enjoyment but it also has become something of an asset which can be passed along to my daughter in the future and might be worth a buck or two or two thousand, someday. I would never sell my own collection but I still recognize the potential value it may have.
What does drinking and smoking leave people with???? Not much.

[RedOktobre]

Originally Posted by Paradigm-Shift Prime

Don't worry too much about what other people think and say boys, there's that whole thing in society where doing anything that's different from everybody else is stigmatized and targeted. Thus if anybody likes anything other than the surface level of what's pop-trendy at the time (trucker hats, snap bracelets (from when I was a kid), being ditsy, or whatever) they get hassled.

Many people are more concerned with what to make sure not to like in order to be cool than with thinking about what they actually do like and going with it.

So I wouldn't hide anything from anybody. If a gf can't handle it and seriously pits herself against transformers, then she's got to go anyways. My gf thinks I'm over-the-top silly but sees how much I enjoy it so supports it, i.e. she's from the US so whenever she goes back she brings me back all the store-exclusives we can't get up here.

Hi Paradigm-Shift Prime, I wish that I had even 50% of your strength! I try to stand on my 2 feet most of the time, like yourself, and not let other people's opinions waver me. Unfortunately, I do let other people's opinions affect me sometimes. It's hard not to do so.

Like Dark Rage mentioned, sometimes it is not practical to "go against" the wind... it can be quite an "uphill battle" if you have specific goals like meeting a gf or something. In Dark Rage's situation, I think that it is better to "tone down" your hobby of collecting TFs.

Yes, it's very nice to have an understanding and supportive gf. After all, this is just a hobby! If we were all collecting "coins & stamps", people, strangers, and society wouldn't dare to make fun of us or laugh at us at all!!! So, why would collecting toys make difference???

Having a gf in the States helps a lot. It explains why you seem to be ahead of many collectors in Canada.

[darthrage]

I'm lucky because I run an online shop, even though I buy something for myself, I can tell her its for business and I need it for promotional purposes. But then my store doesn't carry Transformers Haha!

[Pascal]

1-My wife doesn't really dig that I collect Transformers but she "tolerates" it. She kinda regrets buying me some back then, she thinks that she's responsible for creating the monster that I've become.

2-My wife LOVED the movie (she saw it twice already) and is in love with Bumblebee.

3-At work, people always thought that my collecting habit was cool and were always waiting what I would bring to display on my desk every week.

4-My family is okay with it.

5-More importantly, I am okay with it myself.

So all is good!

[Shepp]

the whole idea of collecting things is foreign to my fiance. she's grown on the idea of me having my collection though, since its pretty much a part of who i am. she just doesnt see why i have to have so many of them, or why i need more. plus the whole spending thing to get them.

which is why i decided to take a break from that sort of stuff until next or august, so i can save up for our wedding.

at times i've thought she wanted me to get rid of everything, but i was misreading signs. she just doesnt want them overtaking the house and becoming a decorating motif. which i agree would look tacky. like those homes with hundreds of mini percelain crying clowns covering every surface. tacky and a bit creepy.

i'll have my display case and they'll stay isolated to that, except for a figure or two i might put on my computer desk or something.

i dont think she'll get into transformers since she's not that interested in sci-fi or high action shows and movies, but she has successfuly transformed a few without instructions or any help from me, like nike convoy. it made me so proud.

as for next july and august, i was originally planning to buy everything in a lump sum that i had wanted over the past year, but now i'm thinking it would be a good idea to ration that sort of stuff and conserve money from then on.

i'm growing up, but i still get to be a kid once in a while. so its all still good.

[Paradigm-Shift Prime]

Originally Posted by RedOktobre

Hi Paradigm-Shift Prime, I wish that I had even 50% of your strength! I try to stand on my 2 feet most of the time, like yourself, and not let other people's opinions waver me. Unfortunately, I do let other people's opinions affect me sometimes. It's hard not to do so.

Like Dark Rage mentioned, sometimes it is not practical to "go against" the wind... it can be quite an "uphill battle" if you have specific goals like meeting a gf or something. In Dark Rage's situation, I think that it is better to "tone down" your hobby of collecting TFs.

Yes, it's very nice to have an understanding and supportive gf. After all, this is just a hobby! If we were all collecting "coins & stamps", people, strangers, and society wouldn't dare to make fun of us or laugh at us at all!!! So, why would collecting toys make difference???

Having a gf in the States helps a lot. It explains why you seem to be ahead of many collectors in Canada.

Hey RedOktobre,

Glad you started a thread for this and got it out of the hauls thread.

Well I'd like to think I'm strongly self-guided or whatever but of course we all waiver sometimes, as long as we don't give up all-together on our ideals and stances and try to fight through society's judgment at least a little bit then we can avoid collapsing our own creative interests entirely. My situation makes it a bit easier for me at the moment (and yes I certainly love getting the US stuff brought to me), but we all face the pressures not to enjoy whatever unique things we do in some way or another (my brother's wife HATES TFs, has threatened to throw them out, etc.).

Oh, just again for others, here's what I originally said in hauls postings:

"Don't worry too much about what other people think and say boys, there's that whole thing in society where doing anything that's different from everybody else is stigmatized and targeted. Thus if anybody likes anything other than the surface level of what's pop-trendy at the time (trucker hats, snap bracelets (from when I was a kid), being ditsy, or whatever) they get hassled.

Many people are more concerned with what to make sure not to like in order to be cool than with thinking about what they actually do like and going with it.

So I wouldn't hide anything from anybody. If a gf can't handle it and seriously pits herself against transformers, then she's got to go anyways. My gf thinks I'm over-the-top silly but sees how much I enjoy it so supports it, i.e. she's from the US so whenever she goes back she brings me back all the store-exclusives we can't get up here."