State of the Collection

Everything in the last post is still for sale; I'm going to put it all up on eBay this weekend.

I am current about $100 in the hole because of my contest prizes on my stock account. Whoops! ^_^; I also just booked a $200 plane ticket to North Carolina in May, and I dropped $100 on the Anime Boston convention and AA registration. SO NEEDLESS TO SAY I will probably not be buying any cool toys in the next few days, weeks... months? xD Seems like a good time to reflect!

My goals with this collection started off as pretty much: get everything Sailormoon that I can get my hands on. After three or so years of collecting, I'm starting to realize that I should probably focus a little more. Presently, I have three bookcases in my house full of merch. I got the third bookcase because I had stuff just lying around in piles that did not fit on the other two. Unfortunately, that means bookcase #3 was full upon arrival.

So the question becomes: do I continue with this bookcase thing (husband insists I cannot fit another one in there) or do I start putting up shelving? I love that some people have their collections in these nice, closed cabinets. I don't really want to go spend money on something like that though - I have gotten two/three bookcases for free and the last one was $20 at IKEA. :P I guess I could put a few shelves up over my sewing machine and that could hold a few more things. The other option is to - omg - SELL some stuff to make room for other stuff. I realize that this is probably the most logical thing to do because at some point - no matter how creative I get - that room is going to run out of space. And there are so many pretty things I want still! D:

The collection has reached a sort of point where I know that from now on, most of the stuff I'm going to want to focus on is going to be big ticket items (lockets mainly, and toys). There's a few less expensive things that I still want (plushies, the last few gashapon) but for the most part, it's the shinies I'm after now. So, assuming I make some money at the conventions and assuming I can find said items for sale, there is a decent possibility that I may be offing some of the items I have which take up a lot of space but don't necessarily mean a great deal to me.

It's really hard for me to part with something once I have it though, even if it's a long face doll :P

Hmm, maybe we could build an addition...

Things for Sale & New Collection Pic

I got a new bookcase and took an updated photo of my collection last night:

The Sailor Moon Display V by *SakkysMoonBag on deviantART

I also have some stuff for sale:

SAILORMOON STUFF FOR SALE:


Sailor Mercury Keychain - asking $4


Spinning Adventure Dolls: Chibimoon, Jupiter & Mars- asking $10 ea.
These appear to be unopened though the boxes are a little squished.


Long face Super Sailor Moon with Luna Keychain - Asking $15
She's been out of the box but she's in nice shape. Update: she comes with a stand (I found it while cleaning)


PGSM Venus - asking $18
Box is in rough shape (crushed, plastic is loose) so I had her on display outside of the box. She comes with her stand, gloves and choker, but I do not have her bracelet.


Sailor Moon Centerpiece - $3 or all five for $12
I have 5 of these.



NON SAILOR MOON STUFF:

Wedding Peach, English, Vol 1 Asking $4

Three NewType Japanese magazines, some content shown, $5 ea or all three for $12:


This one has Sakura Wars Postcards and some Full Metal Panic featured art:


This one has Chobits Postcards:


Various Japanese gaming mags - make an offer if you are interested!

Found it on eBay!

I've been staying off eBay for a while because I've been pretty broke. But the other day I ventured back on again!! Here's some of the stuff I'm watching right now:

A Blue Box 17" Mercury - I really do want to get all of these. Right now I only have Moon so this is pretty tempting. But I have a bid on something so I can't swing this now. I'm hoping it might get relisted...
This Stallion Reve - I'm watching mostly to see how high it goes. Call it morbid curiosity! I'd like to know what it sells for in a real auction to have a better idea of what I'd be willing to pay when I do actually try to find one for me
StarFighter Doll - I have this already, I'm just waiting to see if anyone's actually going to pay that much for it. I got mine for $48
PGSM Venus - I have her, but not in the box. And I have the other inners in the box so it would be nice to have Venus too... but I've got money tied up elsewhere so I'm hoping for a relist, again. :P
Mars Petite - I also have this already but not with the Mars card.
Super Moon Gashapon - one of a few that I don't have T_T
Super Chibi Moon Gashapon - another of the few I don't have D:
This wicked cute Serenity plushie - really? That's too friggin' cute!
This pink fabric - Does anyone have a small swimsuit pattern? ^___^;
Another Infinity Volume - in case I happen to come across $500 somewhere to offer...

That's it for now. The item I have a bid in on is at $70. I am not going to bid again if someone out bid's me. In some ways, I'm hoping someone does because I've realized there are other things I think I want more. D: However, since 'un-bidding' is SUCH a pet peeve of mine, I refuse to do it!

Basking in Victory

Finally.

I just LOVE getting something when I've been after it for years. Of course, there's the thrill of a big ticket item that you've saved up for, but sometimes the small stuff can be as or more exciting when you've been on the hunt for so long.

PGSM Jupiter Purse. It will finally be mine! I've been after this darn thing since I won the first one at the Sailor Moon Fan Panel at Otakon 07. I was quick to find Moon, Venus, and Mars soon after, but Jupiter continued to evade my searches. I have a friend that has one. I offered her $100 (because I'm insane). I offered her 4 custom plushies, but she could not be bribed.

I waited and I waited and FINALLY the power of the moon has prevailed!! $35 later, my PGSM Jupiter purse along with the promotional poster for the set is coming my way!

Ohhhh the thrill of the catch.

Sailor Moon R Movie

I'm rewatching the SMR Movie because I am planning on introducing some friends to Sailormoon with it. I figure it's a nice introduction because it shows the main characters really well, deals with Mamoru and Usagi's relationship, and it has closure as a stand alone story.

Unfortunately, they prefer to watch it dubbed. Gosh. I am watching it dubbed with subtitles now to see how bad it is. Once thing I notice is that the dub adds a lot of extraneous voice lines. Mamoru can't walk out into the flowers and just look like he's thinking about them, we have to actually here him think, "Ah, the flowers are so beautiful. This place is so nice!" Are American audiences just too dumb to get that's implied by his content expression? And when Fiore dissapears, why does Usagi have to say "He's going!" as if that's not terribly obvious. "Yeah, but where to?!" Mamoru replies. Honestly, it sounds so forced. Like, "Here let me hold you hand through every little thing that happens."

This is why movies like UP are awesome. They don't assume kids are stupid.

Can I really show this to my friends? I hate to ask them to read the subtitles when they don't want to, but I can't imagine them watching to dub and being impressed. xD

Of course watching this has reminded me that Terri Hawks isn't my least favorite Sailormoon, but I still like Tracey better. ^_^

Starry Sky Orgel

At least, that's what my Japanese friend says the box says.

I bought one. I finally got a Star Locket. You know, a plastic toy painted gold that plays a little tinny tune when you open the top. You know, $250 dollars later.

I'm rather excited.

No more eBay for me for a while. Going to have to do quite a few commissions to pay this sucker off. :D

I also recently got a 17" Mars and a 17" Venus. I think I also bought another of the re-released manga volumes. I finally have all of the Japanese manga, though 4 or 5 are not first edition.

I LOVE THIS HOBBY

P.S. My price check list still needs love! Halp?

This isn't about Sailormoon at all.

Really, it's not. ^_^;

This week has been kind of a mess. It's been a little frustrating at work (though nothing really to complain about) but just a huge emotional roller coaster online. Home is good, so at least there's that.

Anyway, I've learned a lot in the last few days. I learned a lot about myself, a little about my friends, and a lot about what I do and do not want. So here's a list, some self reflection if you will. This will be a check point for me. It will be my place to turn back to when I feel like I'm losing sight of things. If this seems TOTALLY out of the blue to you, just bear with me. :)

1. If something doesn't directly effect me or something I'm responsible for, then there's no need to get involved with it. Whenever I feel upset by something on the internet I need to ask myself, "Is this significant?" before I get all emotional about it.
2. Misunderstandings are a huge part of why things can go wrong in relationships. Communication is very important and I should always as myself, "Is it possible I have misunderstood?" before I get mad at someone.
3. I'm not going to get along with everyone, all the time. It's unreasonable to expect myself to be friends with EVERYONE and I can't beat myself up every time I find out someone doesn't like me or is mad at me. I can just do my best to be kind to people, be respectful, and learn from my mistakes.
4. This means admitting when I'm wrong. It's a very hard thing to do, but I've learned to do it in other parts of my life (like in art), so its time to learn to do this in personal relationships too. Sometimes, I am going to be wrong.
5. When I am wrong, and I've made a mistake, "I'm sorry" is not always going to solve the entire problem. I have to be patient with people and understand that it takes time to move through certain challenges, and sometimes you break things and they can be fixed. While I really hope that isn't the case this time, I know that I have to come to terms with the fact that sometimes my mistakes are going to have longer consequences.
6. I love my friends and I want to do what I can to be the best friend to them that I can be. Sometimes they have to teach me important things I don't want to learn, but that's what good friends do.

So that's it I guess. That's my 'take away' from my week. I really want to do all I can to avoid becoming swept up into emotional drama, especially online. There are so many important things in our short lives and I know how silly it is to get all worked up over little things. I will be a much happier person if I just go a little slower and think a little longer. I am an optimist at heart, though I find it hard sometimes to hold to that feeling when I feel drawn into negativity. So I have to be strong and remind myself that there is always something good around. I know I will still make mistakes but I have to just keep going and learn where I can and do my best.

Thanks for reading. :)