So, the world's a bit of a different place than it was just a couple of weeks ago. It's weird to see both how quickly everything changed and also the degree to which society was affected. Those who are fortunate enough to have not lost their employment find themselves at home. Store shelves are far barer than anyone who doesn't live in the path of hurricanes has ever seen. Those of us with kids find them home, too, and having to now fill the role of both parent and teacher. I know that my professional life has intensified, too, with more demands as a business tries to alter its course to survive the current landscape. In short, it's a time of immense stress for pretty much everyone.
Personally, I try to manage my stress through my hobby. I'm successful in this at times. And, fail miserably in others. Looking around online, I'm seeing a few different themes emerge. Guys who are home now are spending some time with their collections. Collectors are digging through forgotten bins and breaking out old favorites for photos or playing with their kids. I'm also seeing, though, that my web traffic is way down. Yet, my engagement on some other media sites is way up. This is a sign that people are venturing into the unexplored corners of their walled gardens. But, not yet leaving them for a real adventure.
As for Joes, you're seeing people who have been laid off starting to sell their collections. Anyone who was around in 2008 through 2010 knows how quickly Joes turn worthless in a rough economic time. Savvy collectors are starting to sell down their high value duplicates before the market tanks. I've seen more Gold Head Steel Brigades for sale in the past week than I have the past year. But, the prices are still artificially high. We'll see how that plays out in two or three months. But, history isn't a rosy guide in this arena.
More importantly, though, how are all of you doing? Where are you finding respite in trying times? I never thought I'd see the day where getting a pack of toilet paper was a good day or that I'd get excited finding a standalone freezer at Home Depot. But, here we are. The collecting community has weathered tough storms before. It will shrink and there will be many, many sad stories of collectors who are forced out and will, likely, never return. I don't wish that upon anyone and hope that all of you who stop by are doing well.
As for me, I'm doing fine. Life is stressful and that will take a toll. I have several months of content mostly done and will keep going. I'm not finding much time for new items. I'm only taking one or two new photos per month. But, I also expect that will change in the summer since there's far less to do during that time of year. For now, I'll continue on as I have...if only for my own sanity. So, stay safe and stay well.
It's a really weird time to live in, that's for sure. You learn not to take things for granted, like exchanging greetings with a passerby while taking out the trash on a calm afternoon. I've always loved the rain, but now I wish it would just wash this damn virus well away from all of us. I enjoy blue and sunny skies most every day here in Southern California and I'm grateful for it. I'm happy to hear a mockingbird sing by my door as if nothing bad was going on around our planet. I was wondering how the new Twenties decade would treat us, but I wasn't expecting things to go south so soon, lemme tell ya! I thought the presidential election would be the hairiest thing we'd see this year. It's a very scary, unpredictable world we're living in all of a sudden. I'm equally stressed due to illnesses and family obligations, so I'm sticking by my collecting more than ever. It's always provided me with safe harbor, a bright beacon of hope amidst a sea of darkness, if you will. I had a rough patch in my teens and collecting Joes got me through it without losing my sanity. So now I'm doing things such as putting together a custom Sergeant Major Duncan using a modern sculpt Iron Grenadier body and a white haired Marauders head complete with red beret. The Club version is still going for $500 on eBay, so it's kinda fun to put together my own guy. I check this site every day looking for cool pics. It's become a ritual for me going back to the Usenet days of the early 2000s. Overall, I'm finding out that tracking down different items from my want list that I had placed on the backburner or forgotten about before the crisis is a good way to cope with all the doom and gloom we see and hear about. In fact, I'm setting a goal for myself: Getting a MIB Killer Whale Hovercraft like the one I got for Christmas of '84 before the pandemic is over since it's still a huge hole in my collection that needs to be taken care of. So I'm just taking it day by day and am still optimistic about the future. All the best to you and your loved ones, Mike. Stay safe and keep up the great work as you've been doing since I first discovered the online Joe fan community around twenty years ago. Take care. - Joe.
ReplyDeleteApril Fools! You had us going there. Why won't it let me comment without logging into google?
ReplyDeleteNot sure on the logging in thing. I have it set to allow guest comments. It leads to some spam. But, I think it's worth it. I'll double check the settings, though.
DeleteI've got alot of collectibles, and this whole situation has been a real wake up call.
ReplyDelete