Post #64130 by fatuhiva on Wed, Dec 10, 2003 1:34 AM

Thanks for the lexon info.

I just wanted to add that most of the mugs were found in Arizona, not Florida. By the time I got to FL I was dragging boxes around with me.

Yes I know now that I suffer greatly from obsessive tendencies. I have gone through several stages during the building of this wall of insanity.

At first I would look at the very small collection and feel inspired to build it.

Then it got to the point of filling up a bookcase and I was very proud of the results of my hard work and persistence. I would look at my collection whenever I was down and cheer myself up by seeing what I could achieve if I put my mind to something and stuck with it.

This feeling continued as the collection got bigger but then I started feeling a little weird about it.. like it was taking over.

Then my wife started losing interest in it basically because it had become a bit of a nuisance for her, as it was at times alot of cluttery mess, until I found places to put new mugs.

Then we moved into a new place and I had to PACK IT ALL.

At that time, I had doubles and doubles and extras and extras and ... blah blah
It was all totally unorganized and mixed up.
I decided that since in a year or two we were moving across the country to Florida I would box it all up, wrapping each in Bubblewrap to survive the trip, and keep a logbook of what was in each box. I lettered each 3'x3'x3' box A, B, C, D, etc etc

It took three F'in weeks to box them all. By that time I was pretty angry at myself.. I felt I had really gone overboard. I was SO SICK of boxing these mugs, and being so ANAL about it at the same time- glueing every hairline crack I came across. Duh. I still had to pack up the real furnishings to make the move.

My wife just watched and shook her head.

So we get to the new place and I fill up the whole one-car garage with these boxes. I had blown out the alphabet and was marking boxes ZZ, XX, etc

So there the boxes sat. I unpacked about 4 of them to decorate the current place, which we stayed in for about 2 years. I ebayed off much of the extras to thin things down a little- but my issues were not over. I would see NEW UNACQUIRED mugs on Ebay and had to have them! I would get them, open the box, look at them, and then log them in the book and pack them in another box since we were going to move again.

My wife would barely see these mugs go by. She still thought I was insane.

Then we had to move across the country. I handed these boxes over to moving men. Like 35 giant boxes all obssesively marked "fragile" 10,000 times. duh. The tikis had become my albatross.

So we move into our Florida rental. There the boxes sat in a bedroom stacked to the ceiling filling it solid. They sat there for almost 3 years. Again new boxes were packed and added to the mess as my urges continued.

During these years I also attempted some trading. However, since I had opened and repacked boxes a few times in different homes, I had lost track of what mug was where. There were a few times I owed a guy a certain mug, and I'd have to unpack and repack like 12 boxes to find it. Again, duh.

So finally, we buy a lot in Florida and get ready to build a house. I have the plans all worked up, have the measurements made, know what shelving I'm getting, and make calculations/guesses as to if I can cram all this stuff in one room. I'd hate to part with anything... after all the trouble. I have to admit I had a pretty good mental image of what it would take after all this time.

So finally, the house is built, we move into a permanent location and the boxes are dumped in the dining room.

At this point I've moved these cursed boxes like 3 times over many years. The tikis are no longer a positive source in my mind- they are a reminder of how obssesive-compulsive I am. (I later told Duke that these tikis are to me like the scene in The Shining were they find the stack of typing paper with "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" written over and over and OVER. Duke laughs.. I sorta laugh.. heh.. heh..)

I slowly put the thatching up and just kinda procrastinate for a whole year. There's alot to do in a new house- landscaping, painting etc etc.. So I distracted myself from tikis.

Finally, after a year, I start cracking the boxes open. To my surprise, my wife is really excited. She sits on a chair and oohs and ahhs as I unfold the bubblewrap from each mug. She even recounts stories of where we found each one, and how excited she was to find this one, or show me that one. I ask her why she's excited- that I thought she wasnt interested in tikis all that much anymore. She says she only likes tikis when they are in the proper environment and people can come over and enjoy them and that now finally they will be in their rightful place and she can't wait to see them... go figure!

So at first unpacking, I was getting that feeling of "you've got a problem dude" but now, I'm excited about them again. I'm probably going to have to thin the collection down a bit due to space constraints, but I will be very happy when they are all unpacked, put in place and sealed in.. the thatch, bamboo and artwork on the walls, the flickering lighting going, and the Arthur Lyman floating around the air.. then I can sit back and once again get that good ol' tiki vibe.. I'm glad I've got issues after all.

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2003-12-10 01:47 ]