JediDefender.com Forums
Community => Watto's Junk Yard => Topic started by: JediMAC on May 15, 2003, 05:10 PM
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I ran this question by another board a while back, but I figured I'd find out where all my fellow JD'ers stand on the subject... 8)
So how many of you haven't exactly "outted" yourselves as a die-hard Star Wars fan and/or collector to some or all of the people that you know (friends, family, co-workers, etc.)?
As for me, my family and in-laws are pretty well aware of my obsessive compulsive Star Wars disorder, but really only my wife is fully aware of how insanely large the collecting portion of that disorder truly runs. I'd hide it from her too if I could just figure out how, but those dang storage bills and ever-growing stacks of boxes in our house just give it away every time!
I've only let a couple of my very closest friends in on my "little secret", but still generally don't let them know the full extent of it. Most of my friends really have no idea though. That goes for most of my co-workers and various other acquaintances as well. A few of them know there's a mild level of interest, but not total "fanboy" status and psycho collector by any means. I've generally had the majority of my collection stored away due to lack of space to date, so no one's ever really seen it other than my wife. I even told the great majority of people that I was going out to Indianapolis last April for a wedding, and not the C2 25th Anniversary SW convention. :-[
I guess I've always been one of those sports/beer/women/cars/tools kind of guys (please no sexist flaming ;)), and rabid Star Wars fandom doesn't exactly fit in with my "persona" or crowd so much. I assume many of you will probably tell me that I should have more self-confidence and to just be myself - Star Wars and all, or that my friends (or I) must be too shallow if they can't accept me for "the complete package" of who I am. Perhaps you'd be right on both accounts to an extent.
What got me pondering this issue was that my wife and I are neck deep into our house hunting right now (as you've probably seen me ranting about), and in this future house I plan on finally unleashing the fury that is JediMAC's Star Wars collection (speaking in third person here, I know)! I've been designing my lavish Star Wars room(s) for quite a while in my head, and now that it is finally going to happen (I think), I started wondering what I'm going to do when people come over to visit us... Just lock up the Star Wars room, or completely "out" myself right then and there on the spot by giving them a peek into my alter-ego?
Hmm... I'm seriously leaning towards the "outting" of myself, solely because I don't think I could contain myself and not show off my collection after all of the time and hard work (and $) that I've put into attaining it, and the more hard work I'll be putting into setting it all up and displaying it (I'm thinking MUSEUM here). I'm sure some of my friends might be pretty surprised to see the collection, but I know that it wouldn't really affect anything as far as our friendships go, when all is said and done.
Though I LOVE my Star Wars hobby/addiction, I guess it really just boils down to me feeling a little self-conscious about being a 32 year old man who collects toys, and a whole lot of them at that...
So how about you, what's your story? "Out", or "still in the closet"?
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I'm openly a Star Wars fan... I don't where any shirts or anything but I do where the boxers ( 8)), I think my fans find it funny or even lame that I'm a fan, but I don't really care.
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I think my fans find it funny or even lame that I'm a fan, but I don't really care.
Uh... Your fans Brad? You famous or something? Do you have a Fan Club that I could sign up for too?!? Will you be offering any cool Silver Edition figures of yourself to your Fan Club members? ;D Boy, I had no idea all this time that a had a celebrity collecting buddy... :P Cool!
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There's not an official Fan Club just yet, but I figure it won't be long before there's one or two... 8)
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Oh Hell! The entire internet world knows me so it is hard for me not to be in the closet. Funny! This goes not only for my Star Wars and toy collecting but in my real life too! :D
Yes I do own some shirts but I do not wear them, just collect them.
But when I am asked by a stranger in public or whatnot like what are my hobbies, things I like to do, ect. I do not beat around the bush. I tell them the truth that yes, I do collect some action figures and toys and tell them about my life, what I do, ect. Most people are like WOW! COOL! but then there are a few who think that I am a geek. Well if it makes me a geek then I am proud to be a geek. :)
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I agree with you David. Star Wars collecting is my hobby and it makes me happy- that is all that is to it. I won't lie to anyone about it, there is no reason to. If you "don't like" me because I collect Star Wars or run this site (etc), that is your problem and makes me wonder about "you". :P
Everyone has their "thing"- whatever makes you happy. ;) :D
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Everyone knows all about my collection here. My children (and my hubby) have had to suffer through each movie because I would be featured in the paper, on the local TV station & on the radio since it seems like even the smallest towns try to get caught up in all the hype and I am the only one who proclaims my "addiction". I've had the Walmart greeters actually wait for me to come in so they could tell me that new stuff was stocked the previous night! I guess in a small town it's hard to keep secrets anyways and since my license plate does say "Ms Jedi" the cats pretty much out of the bag. ;)
Now if you ask my family...well, I know when a teacher makes any reference at all to star wars in any way, the entire class expects my kids to know the answer. And my husband has taken a lot of good natured ribbing on tagging along with me to conventions and he's always asked if he's sleeping with Chewie yet (as if he'd ever let me put star wars bedding on the bed...I know my limits!! :-*). Maybe they would have liked me to tone it down some but.... ;)
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My family knows, some of my extended family knows and everyone who has come over to the new house in the past few months and has stepped down into my plastic display shrine (http://www.jedidefender.com/news/images/3-03/wholeshebang1.jpg) always has the same reaction
"Oh my God Scott, I knew you were a fan but this is crazy"
And maybe it is a little crazy, well maybe a lot crazy but I really enjoy everything about this hobby and the people I have met and friends that I have made. That part people don't see and I wish they could cause that's the best part about collecting. For me at least
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Matt, you big chicken.
Pretty much everyone I know, knows of my obsession. Many except for a few, and the people at work, aren't quite aware of the extent. None the less, all are aware I am a severe geek. One guy thinks it's a complete waste of money, which is correct, but who cares, it makes me happy.
Non-work friends have seen some of it. The room is not currently in progress, but there's no hiding it. From the helmet on the monitor (and playskool biker scout and Vader) to Ephant Mon on the printer to the unleashed on the bookshelf. The Vader standup and the R2 on the floor plus the 150 open figures. Can't really miss it if you come into the room.
Work people are all too aware and get tremendously dissappointed I don't come dressed for Halloween. For about 18 months now there have been 1-6 boxes showing up per week for me, so it would be silly to hide it. But it isn't all that accepted. They love my Simpsons stuff and go crazy when I put a new McFarlane goalie up, but the SW stuff is so so in terms of reactions. A new guy started last year that loves star wars as well and I pretty much hooked him into collecting. So far, just blue boxed stuff (SAGA) but I'm working on my padawan. Good to have another geek around.
Best man at my wedding has a six year old into McFarlane stuff and a four year old into Star Wars. Uncle Brent is a pretty cool guy in their eyes. He's my regular golfing buddy, so he knows I'm not totally nuts.
I've been a collector forever. From childhood with GI Joes through bottle caps to cards to comics to Star Wars and bugs, I collect, therefore I am.
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All of my familiy knows about me being a collector but I think only a handfull know how much stuff I have in it. My coworkers know that I'm a fan of the movies and I think a few have known about my collections. I really don't care what people think about my hobby, some people collect beer bottles (why I don't know) while I collect star wars stuff.
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[Stands up]
Hi, I'm Mikey D and I'm a Star Wars geek
The wife tolerates it and my immediate family knows (most, however, were surprised at how much I had when they came up for my wedding and I showed them. And 95% of it is packed away in a closet. All I did was slide the door open and their jaws dropped). Most of my friends know but don't probably know the extent of it. My co-workers know as I get my on-line orders delivered to work and have a few figures on my desk.
Now, if you saw me walking down the street, would you know I'm a fanatic. Probably not. I only wore the few T-shirts I own to opening nights of TPM and AOTC. Its not that I'm trying to hide my hobby, I really feel Star Wars T-shirts is not appropriate dress apparel. I don't know why I feel that way as I'll tell anyone who asks about my hobby and will be proud to show it off any chance I'll get, by T-shirts is a no no IMO.
Any you know the weird part, I won't wear a T-shirt but I will get a tatoo. Think about that for a minute :P
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I'm out. Out out out. I have toys at work, including the framed "From Ackbar to Zuckuss" poster on my office wall.
As a Star Wars licensee, it's probably expected that I have a few knick-knacks around the office, but when people look at the poster and ask, "Do you have any of those figures?" and I reply, "Yes, all of them, and then some," you can smell the fear as they backpedal toward the door.
The only Star Wars related apparel I wear out is a denim jacket with the Lucasfilm Ltd. logo embossed on the back, a souvenir from a trip to The Ranch.
Every time a Star Wars movie comes out my wife gets sympathy cards from her family. She's great about the disorder though. We're looking for a house and she wants to make sure I have enough space to display - not store, display - my collection. The way she sees it, I could be spending our money on far worse things.
My friends know, my family even shops for me, and lately we've had quite a few people come off the street to see our apartment (which our landlord has up for sale) and their jaws drop as soon as they see "the studio." The only problem is that these civilians invariably tell my wife to sell it on eBay so we can move to Beverly Hills. Stupid civilians. ::)
Bottom line, it's a hobby. It's not model trains, it's not NASCAR, but it's just as much fun for me and there's no harm in it. So long as I'm providing for my family, there's no shame in it.
(And Matt, if you ever go to the Super Bowl, PLEASE don't tell anyone. Tell them you're going to a wedding or something instead. I'd hate for people to think you were one of those rowdy, naked, body-painting, armchair football fanatics who loots the streets whether your teams wins or not. ;) )
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For the most part, I am out about my collection. My family knows about it and have seen it all displayed in one of our rooms at home. Most of my closer relatives know about it too, and many of them have seen the room also. They just stand there in the room with that expression of disbelief on their faces as they shake there heads and mutter "Oh..my...god". But they like it so it's all good.
Co-workers, that's a different story. No one here knows anything about it. I don't go around bringing it up in conversation but since no one has asked me anything about my hobbies either, I can't exactly be accused of hiding it or lieing about it either. But if asked, I'd "probably" tell them. ;)
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Well I am "out" as well. My family knows that I am a collector. They think its fine and don't really say much about it. The wife supports my collecting for the most part as long as all the bills are paid and she has money to do her thing. My co workers know I get into SW but I don't think they know the full extent of my collecting. They know that I also get into costuming and keep hinting for me to wear my armor for halloween. I may one of these years but I wouldn't feel to comfortable wearing it all day at work.
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Mostly still in the closet for me. My family has always known, and I had to ease my girlfriend into it ever so slowly when we first started dating a couple years ago, but she's fully in the know now. But as for my friends and coworkers, I mostly don't say much about it in front of them. Several of them know that I'm a fan of the movies (but not the true extent), but I think I've only shown the collecting habit just a smidgeon to one friend, and that's it so far.
I'm a little self conscious at my adult age too, I guess. I think eventually most people will find out when I display more of my collection in the future, but for now I guess I haven't really outted myself much either.
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I think a big part of being an adult collector of ANYTHING is having a place dedicated to your collection.
My stepmother's a big Yankees fan and has a small shrine in the seldom-used guest room. My stepfather had well over half the basement dedicated to his awesome HO scale train layout and brass engine collection. I have a studio on the thrid floor of our apartment where I put up shelves and shadow boxes to neatly display my loose collection.
A lot of how well any collection is received is in the presentation. If you put on a good show, people respond favorably to it. But if your crap is shoved into every available closet, spilling over into your bedroom, dining room, and kitchen, it just looks like Sanford & Son with toys. Nobody's going to respect a "collection" that looks like a toy factory blew up in your living room.
Like the teacher said, "Neatness counts." :)
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Thats true. I have been rotating my items I display. That way I can show items with out it looking like a cluttered mess. I have a room for my stuff but I have so much it just looked like a tornado went through it. Now everything that is out is organized and set up. Then after I get bored with it I change it all out.
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I'm bumping this thread back up to see where some of our newer members stand on this issue... 8)
In the closet, or out?
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I would say that I'm "out" for the most part. I don't go around announcing to everyone I see or work with that I'm a collector, but if anyone ever asked about my favorite movies, or my hobby, I would gladly tell them. I used to get a little more embarassed of it when I first started collecting again (as an adult), but as I found communities such as this, I found out that there are many of you out there like me. My wife is 100 percent supportive of my Star Wars collecting, gives me a few jokes about it from time to time, but always checks out toy aisles for me and will talk to me about it whenever I want to. My family (and hers) all know I collect, though maybe some don't know the full extent of what I have. My close friends know I collect as well, but most of them haven't ever actually seen it. A few of my co-workers know I collect, and the majority of them know I'm a big Star Wars fan. Like I said, I don't go around announcing it to anyone, but if anyone asked me, I would be glad to tell or show them. :) I guess the bottom line is, while you should never be ashamed of who you are, you should only do what you are comfortable with too. Its your life, just live it like you want to. God and your loved ones will love you regardless :).
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I proudly speak of my toy collecting hobby to all that I know...if it seems like a proper subject. I'm not ashamed to be consumed with all that is toys or other hobbies.....
so in one word...you could say that I'm "Out" hehehee
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I think I technically came out of the closet today, kinda. Well, I at least showed my "hobby/Star Wars room" to someone for the first time ever. Jared (Tydirium) stopped by, and I gave him a good look into the chaos and insanity that is my collection room. Up until now, the door to that room has stayed closed when folks come over to our place - even when we're giving them the "official house tour". We'll occassionally let 'em take a nanosecond peep into the room, enough to see stacks and stacks of boxes and random stuff spread out all over the place. Obviously, I don't really tell them what's IN all the boxes, so that's all well and good.
Of course, Jared already knew I was a hard-core collector, so it was more the collection room that was outted, than me personally, but hey - it's a start, right?! :P
Any other closet SW collectors?
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I'm out like a deaf kid in musical chairs.
People ask me what my hobbys are, I tell them. And by people, I mean guys. I'll explain that later.
Most friends haven't seen my collection in its entirity. Currently, its all piled on shelves and floor. I need to re-do my room really bad.
When other people ask, I shamefully hang my head, and say "I collect Jurassic Park toys, and StarWars action figures." And by other people, I mean women.
Usually I get an "Aw, thats cute. How many do you have?" but sometimes, I get a "Wow. Your a freak." Drives the ladies crazy wild. :-*
Oh come on, like you've never used the toys to get chicks.
Right?
Guys?
Kevin
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Hello,
My name is Matt and I am a Star Wars Collector!
After selling off my modern collection (minus Kubricks / Clone Wars / Playskool)
I have the following in my closet:
x1 Darth Vader Mask, x3 Action Fleet Ships, x1 Comic 3-pack, 50 loose vintage figure extras, x1 ARC Trooper) that is it folks!
I recently talked myself into this logic. Vintage figures have the sentimental attachment for me and I have other things to do with my time and money.
So, I bought a 5 shelf glass display cabinet to display everything. I went the whole nine and got clear real stands for all my figures and variations.
I will pick up interesting pieces like Sacul or Silver Figures, but that is about it. Free from compulsion for about 6-8 months strong.
JediMac, when you coming over buddy to check it out and watch the "big aristotle" swat a few of Duncan's / cough Garnett's shots into the Staple Center bleachers?
-Fish-
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I'm 'out', mostly to family and close friends. Most of my collection is in plastic tubs in my parent's basement (the worst possible way to store a collection) until I buy a house. I have my favorite and/or most expensive stuff at my apartment.
Co-workers only know I'm a big movie and monster fan. They have no idea I stalk toy aisles looking for toys from a twenty-five year old movie. Fine with me. They don't need to know.
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Some of my friends know about this some don't. Living in Romania it's difficult to explain them how you want to collecto something pretty expensive (I collect Action Fleet) when the medium salary/month is $150 and mine is about $200/month.
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So... I had a rather unpleasant (embarrasing) moment today. I was just heading back to the office after grabbing lunch with Jared. He had given me a Cantina set and a couple Endor Generals to pass along to Morgbug and chuckles, in a thin white plastic bag. So I'm walking back to the office, and even go out of my way to come in through the back entrance to the parking garage, so I can stash the loot in my car without anyone from the office potentially seeing it, and discovering that I'm a dork, and not really the totally cool co-worker that they all know and love...
So whaddaya know... I run smack dab into our secretary and office manager (both girls in their early/mid 20's), who were also returning from lunch. They saw me from across the street originally, and hustled their way on over to me, and one of them starts asking "What's in the bag?" I'm already trying to shield it's contents with my lunch leftovers box at this point, so they're keyed in on the fact that I'm trying to hide something from them. Of course, that makes them want to see what's in the bag even more. The one girls persists, bum rushes me, grabs a partial hold of the bag, and takes a look inside... :o
Yep, those would be Star Wars action figures in there, thank you very much. :-[ I'm having one of the more embarrasing moments of my life at this point, as they both start laughing at me, which turns into a somewhat playful session of taunting and ridiculing. We talk a lot of **** to eachother as it is, and they could see they had me by the balls at this point, and they really went for the jugular. Boy, I didn't hear the end of it. Still getting it too, each time I pass either of them in the office. Snickering... Humming of the Star Wars theme... Toy talk... etc.
I think they've now figured out what all the packages are that arrive for me here at the office too, including one this morning... :-\
ARGH! >:(
Signed,
Very Embarrased in Sherman Oaks
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Like I told you, you need a cover story handy at all times! What the hell were you thinking? They're for your cousin, fool! Then you go into the office, box them up, and pretend you're leaving to mail them. You just wanted to be outted, didn't you? ;)
Oh, sorry about that thin plastic bag, too. The whole incident is obviously my fault.
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Like I told you, you need a cover story handy at all times! What the hell were you thinking? They're for your cousin, fool! Then you go into the office, box them up, and pretend you're leaving to mail them. You just wanted to be outted, didn't you? ;)
Oh, I'm sorry, I don't have time to talk--I'm on my way to buy a speedboat.
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what's the big deal, really? everyone i work with knows full well how obsessed i am, and they tear into me all the time, but do i care? no. it's all about finding out how to retaliate. and you know what's funny? the person who tears into me the most, now calls me from target - from the toy aisle - and asks me if i need anything they have on the shelves...
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Most of my friends know I have issues and when they see all this crap they usually give me the big Woowwwww or Holy S*it. But in technical terms it pretty much means Loser ;D
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I have the McFarlane Alien figure on my desk. Most people are weired out by it, but some are like "Where can I get one?"
I also have a Darth Vader figure on my desk. When I'm bored, the Alien and Vader do battle. This is also the reason I'm passed over for promotion.
j/k 8)
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Im 100% open fan.
My collections is placed next to my computer, and on the opposite wall as my bookcases, and the door to that room is open,which meens any vistior can see the figures.
At my former work for SA ViewCom (a LEGO owned company, which makes communication systems for trains) I mentioned it would be cool to build the big Star Destroyer. The job was temporarily at 5 month period, but I got a cool parial gift...The Colector's Edition Imperial Star Destroyer.
OK I admit, some of my friend thinks that I make more money on selling Star Wars stuff at conventions and so than I realy do. I do sell well, but considering buying price, transportation etc. the profit is not very high, but convention are damn fun.
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So... I had a rather unpleasant (embarrasing) moment today. I was just heading back to the office after grabbing lunch with Jared. He had given me a Cantina set and a couple Endor Generals to pass along to Morgbug and chuckles, in a thin white plastic bag. So I'm walking back to the office, and even go out of my way to come in through the back entrance to the parking garage, so I can stash the loot in my car without anyone from the office potentially seeing it, and discovering that I'm a dork, and not really the totally cool co-worker that they all know and love...
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Yep, those would be Star Wars action figures in there, thank you very much. :-[ I'm having one of the more embarrasing moments of my life at this point, as they both start laughing at me, which turns into a somewhat playful session of taunting and ridiculing. We talk a lot of **** to eachother as it is, and they could see they had me by the balls at this point, and they really went for the jugular. Boy, I didn't hear the end of it. Still getting it too, each time I pass either of them in the office. Snickering... Humming of the Star Wars theme... Toy talk... etc.
I think they've now figured out what all the packages are that arrive for me here at the office too, including one this morning... :-\
ARGH! >:(
Signed,
Very Embarrased in Sherman Oaks
Ahem.
Bwah hahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahah
whoot. whoot. pbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbt. Mwahahahaha.
I am so damn happy to have been a part of this ;D :-*
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Bwah hahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahah
whoot. whoot. pbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbt. Mwahahahaha.
I am so damn happy to have been a part of this ;D :-*
damn... you really are one mean mother ******, ain't ya?
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Yes, the crotchedy old man definitely is! >:(
And just for that, I gave his formerly mint Cantina set a good punch to the plastic before I packaged it up and sent it out today... :-*
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As a fan, I'm more or less "out". For example, periodically I wear SW apparel. Many people know I'm a fan, a few know I claim to be a nerd, but I don't think anyone comprehends the awe-inspiring depths of my geekitude. ;)
It's not that I'm hiding it exactly, but it doesn't often come up in conversation and typically I don't bring it up. Though I did tell a few people I was going to CIII; once my CIII hat and T-shirt arrive from SWShop.com and I start wearing them, I'll end up explaining to a few more people. And that's cool with me, elsewise I wouldn't wear them. Seems like a good excuse to bring up the topic.
As a collector, I'm pretty well "in the closet". It just never comes up.
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I'm just a poser...
Nah, I'm out about it... I have a couple of SW items at my desk at work, and it's prominent in my apartment...
Wore my ROTS shirt today and Aidan is wearing his Vader/Emperor/Grevious shirt today... we went to the movies- saw Madagascar- hehehehe... but it's really cool- the lightsabers on his shirt glow in the dark... I haven't seen adult t-shirts for SW that glow in the dark :(
I asked him today why he hasn't asked me to go see SW, he told me he wanted to see it, but that SW was weird... yeah, I'm going to have to talk to his dad about this...
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For the longest time, I was pretty quiet about my obsession.
But I've since embraced my geekdom and revel in it! :-* My wife absolutely encourages it too -- we walked into the Imperial March at our wedding reception and our pastor actually took the time to incorporate Star Wars and The Force into his sermon. Very cool. 8)
Now that I'm in a smaller community (5,000 people), there's no point in hiding my Star Wars habit, even if I wanted to. My co-workers at Extra Foods help to point out the new ROTS food merchandise and they were all amazed it took me a week and a half to see the movie (due to "real life" getting in the way - bah! >:().
We're just about done renovating our basement, and my local friends are already asking when I'm going to be done my 2 Star Wars rooms! It'll probably take me a couple months... :D
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I'm not out about it, but I don't really hide it either. Anyone who steps into my home can pretty much tell right away from the framed posters and the Unleashed Obi-Wan and Anakin set on the endtable in the living room that I'm a fan, but I'm not out on the sidewalk saying, "HAY GUYS, I LOVE STAR WARS!" either.
Not that there is anything wrong with that, as I'm certainly not ashamed of it at all. It's a part of me, and if someone doesn't like it, well, **** 'em. I always find it really amusing that SW fans are looked at as being silly for collecting little plastic men or dressing up in costume while sports fans pay thousands of dollars for a ball that never saw an actual game with someone's name on it that can't be authenticated and that's perfectly acceptable in society's eyes.
I think the funniest moment was about eight years ago (damn I'm getting old) when I had gotten the 12" Collector's Series Boba Fett on a trip to the grandparents' home for the holidays. My grandmother (for reasons unknown) started in on me telling me how childish it was for me to be playing with a doll and how unrealistic it was.
I then asked how me collecting SW dolls was any different than my female cousin, one year my elder and married, who collects Barbie dolls. My grandmother, with a straight face, said, "That's different. They're collectibles." ::)
I love my grandmother, but I looked her dead in the face and said, "It's no different, and if you want to get right down to it, which one is more unrealistic: a man in a suit of armor with a rocket pack and a gun, or a woman who if real would have a 52 inch chest, a 12 inch waist, and 47 inch hips?" She was at a complete loss for an answer, and since then she hasn't really said much to me about it. :)
Everybody has their own thing that makes them happy, and it is nobody else's place to tell them what they should and should not be able to do, collect, or so on to make them happy. As far as I know, none of us hurts anyone by buying Darth Vader figures, so what should it matter?
(edited to keep from angering ex-girlfriends) :-*
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I would say that I am more out than in with my Star Wars obsession. I don't have anything displayed at work. It is not because I am embarrassed though. I am more afraid someone will steal stuff either to have it for themselves or as a joke on me.
However, I do not wear any SW clothing like shirts, caps, etc. I did want that C3 shirt with Kenobi and Anakin posed in a duel but the store was shut down. I do not know if I would ever wear it in public? So, I do reach a point where I don't want to be "out" with my SW obsession.
Once in awhile I get a tad paranoid when carrying lots of SW toys around in the store. Even though I am married for some reason I don't want to run into pretty young women who will see my Star Wars nerdiness. I guess it's just carved into my psyche to try and look as cool as possible to the opposite sex? If at all possible. Ha-ha!
Once I get comfortable with people I tell them about my passion for Star Wars. Most people think it's ok. Others laugh at first but then warm up to the idea and decide I am not that freaky afterall. Especially since they see me being "normal" most all of the time.
I did get quite a bit of attention from people at work and friends when they heard I went to the convention. I guess that is a pretty freaky thing for most people to comprehend. Of course they were all on me about whether I was going to the midnight showing of ROTS or not. The tone has gone from kind of ripping on me to more positive since the film has been received so well now. That's nice.
All in all I don't care if people know about my SW obsession or not. Very few people have ever seen my actual collection though. I think my wife's family is a bit put off by it but oh well.
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I'm a proud Star Wars collector. Look at
my our wedding cake topper. Can't get more open than that.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y26/JayDouble/Internet/Picture440.jpg)
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I'm a open fan/collector, everybody knows, not just The Shadow. ;D
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My Air Force callsign is Obi-Wan. No big mystery here! ;D
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I think the funniest moment was about eight years ago (damn I'm getting old) when I had gotten the 12" Collector's Series Boba Fett on a trip to the grandparents' home for the holidays. My grandmother (for reasons unknown) started in on me telling me how childish it was for me to be playing with a doll and how unrealistic it was.
I then asked how me collecting SW dolls was any different than my female cousin, one year my elder and married, who collects Barbie dolls. My grandmother, with a straight face, said, "That's different. They're collectibles." ::)
I love my grandmother, but I looked her dead in the face and said, "It's no different, and if you want to get right down to it, which one is more unrealistic: a man in a suit of armor with a rocket pack and a gun, or a woman who if real would have a 52 inch chest, a 12 inch waist, and 47 inch hips?" She was at a complete loss for an answer, and since then she hasn't really said much to me about it. :)
LOL! Nicely done, Doc. ;)
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On the moon, nerds get their pants pulled down and they are spanked with moon rocks.
I guess I'd say I'm more of a "closet" fan, my family and a few of my good friends now about it. It just doesn't come up often enough when talking with most of my other friends and stuff. Anyone who sees my room would know the extent of my damage though ;D.
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I'm just a poser...
Nah, I'm out about it... I have a couple of SW items at my desk at work, and it's prominent in my apartment...
Wore my ROTS shirt today and Aidan is wearing his Vader/Emperor/Grevious shirt today... we went to the movies- saw Madagascar- hehehehe... but it's really cool- the lightsabers on his shirt glow in the dark... I haven't seen adult t-shirts for SW that glow in the dark :(
I asked him today why he hasn't asked me to go see SW, he told me he wanted to see it, but that SW was weird... yeah, I'm going to have to talk to his dad about this...
Yes you are nothing but a poser and just remember who outted you.
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Nope, I don't try to hide that I'm a nut job for SW. One of the guys I work with
bribed offered to buy me dinner the other night for doing a project for him, and I said, okay, I want a Burger King kids meal. He's like, "Are you sure, I was going to get you a good meal." And I said, I want a Star Wars toy. He ended up buying me about a dozen toys and then was really all bummed out when I admitted that I already had them all (but I told him I could trade them for other stuff....).
Now, I don't know that any of them really grasp how massive my collection is; if I ever get my SW room fixed up, maybe I can talk 'em into doing a story on it (I work at a TV station) and then they'll understand completely. I had to go straight to work after the premiere of Ep3, and I wore my costume. <G>
So, nope, I make no secret or apologies for my obsession. :)
Auriette
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My familly knows all about my SW collecting disease, but my in-laws are somewhat clueless. In our new house, I have very little display room, so there's only a few shelves of stuff in my office/studio. The thing is, they couldn't tell Darth Vader from Darth Maul. They few times they've commented on the stuff I say "Oh..I've had it since I was a kid."
My wife totally supports my collecting, and encourages me to find ways to display more of it, but, in a way, I am nervous about her family seeing walls of stuff. They're great in-laws, and I couldn't be luckier, but they are very "sensible" and an adult collecting toys might rub them the wrong way.
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I just got to thinking about this more lately, particularly in relation to what I display. I'm not a "closet" collector, all of our close friends and family know that I collect Star Wars, although I don't really discuss it with them (outside of my wife and here on the forums) just because I don't think its really something they are interested in. So far, I've been able to display quite a bit of what I have collected, but its honestly getting to the point where things are a bit crowded. I'm someone who likes a "clean look" and not a fan of things getting over-cluttered. At the same time, I can admit that things are starting to get to that point now. Also, we were recently going to have someone stop by our house (one of our friend's new girlfriend/fiancee actually) who we didn't know previously - and it got me to thinking about this topic again. I'm not ashamed of my collection, but I can see the difference between a couple of display cases with figures - "Oh, he's a Star Wars fan", and an entire room stuffed with collectibles "whoa, he's a nerd". Outside of the Star Wars stuff, I collect a little of Marvel (and to a lesser extent, DC) stuff as well, so that is currently on display too (along with a handful of LOTR figures). Anyways - long story short - are you conscious of what you display in your home, how much of it, etc.? Do you see a difference between what might look like an "interest" and an "obsession"? My wife often says I should step out of myself (collector mindset) and look at things, and seeing it that way, things do seem a little crazy - to a non-collector. Again, I'm not ashamed of anything, I'm just curious about how some of you feel about this topic now - as well as what you display (if anything).
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Kind of touching on my last reply in this thread....I recently picked up another bookcase to display some things on, and I have to admit our office is getting a little fuller. I'm curious how much of your collection you display? Do you try to display all that you can, or just have a shelf or two with some things on it. Like I mentioned earlier, I can see how friends/family members could see a difference when walking into a room in your house and seeing a shelf of VOTC/VTSC figures (or something like that) and saying "oh, you like Star Wars", or walking in seeing several cases, bookshelfs, desktops, etc. filled with figures, ships, beasts and everything else from other lines you might collect and being "yikes, you like Star Wars" (or insert other interests here). Do you keep your display toned down intentionally, or is it totally dependent on what type of space you have to work with?
I know I've toyed with packing some things away to have a less overwhelming feeling in our office, its just tough to pack stuff up that I've bought - it sort of seems like a waste in some ways. I might eventually move that way though, depending on space needs (especially with the little one now). I can say, the question I get asked most often when people see my collection is "what is worth the most?" or "how much is this worth?". Back to the original question a bit - I'm not a "closet collector", but I don't necessarily advertise it to everyone. Our family and close friends know though, most definitely.
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Collecting for me is 'my other life.' Only my family (and the petsitter) knows. However, I have no way of hiding it, so anyone that happens to wander into my room would know. ::)
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Only my hairdresser knows for sure.
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Most people know I love SW, as I occasionally wear shirts, talk about, etc, but only some of my close friends know of my collection.
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i pretty much never tell anyone about my collection. family and friends know, but i intentionally don't go into details. i only have my vintage carded stuff displayed, so it doesn't look too over the top, and if you don't tell people what the cost they usually just think its kinda neat and kitschy.
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I am oretty open about it. All my friends know, my girlfriend buys stuff for me, my family knows and thinks i am crazy, even the people at work know. I have stuff all over my desk. I dont hide it.
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Still out in the open for anyone that cares to look.
Nothing displayed at work anymore though, they seem less tolerant these days so I took it all down.
The new neighbourhood is kind of shocked at the volume of stuff and all the construction/service workers have been pretty cool about it. But like John, no one really has a clue how much money I've spent on all that crap.