> I know while I might not quit collecting,
> I can see how it can occur to someone say, 
> chosing to start a family

I don't deny this in the slightest. Like I said 
in my post, what you choose to do in your free 
time has to be fun for you. If you change your 
feelings about collecting cels (or anything 
you're doing for fun), then it's time to move on 
to something else.

However. . . Is Ly *really* not looking down her 
nose at the rest of us? Let's take a look:

> I rather travel and spend time w/loved ones, 
> instead of spending hours on the computer 

> I've found I will not become a slave to my 
> possessions.

> Actually cel collecting is more correctly
> termed an addiction.   

Seems the rest of us are all wasting our lives, 
ignoring our relationships with other people, are 
slaves to our possessions, and even *addicted* to 
the hobby. Why do I find this offensive? There 
are many jokes about being addicted to cel 
collecting, but in reality "addiction" to 
something is a serious problem that involves a 
person's inability to control themselves. I have 
no problem controlling myself and it irks me for 
someone else to decide -- by nothing more than my 
chosen hobby -- that I am not fully capable of 
making rational decisions.

Further, my family is very important to me. Thus 
I also resent people assuming -- again only from 
my chosen hobby -- that I spend forever in front 
of the computer, ignoring family obligations and 
relationships. I check in with the computer a 
lot, but don't sit in front of it endlessly. It's 
actually completely the opposite, in that I've 
pressed into use every means I can find to "save 
time" cel hunting. . . And that's what gives me 
the time to have both my cels, and time to watch 
my (yay-it-didn't-die) rosebush put out buds.

As for not being able to have everything you 
want. . . Well, who really cares?? Why is the 
grass always so much greener somewhere else? I 
have a wishlist, like everyone else. If I find 
the things on that wishlist: YAY! If I see one of 
those things sell for well more than I'm willing 
to spend -- or never see it -- I rarely care too 
deeply about it. I'm not going to say I'm never 
disappointed when I miss something I wanted. 
Sometimes I even get a bit mad. But it is only a 
minor bummer. Life goes on and you're not going 
to have everything you want out of anything. . . 
Not a hobby, job, religion, marriage, or even 
child. Does that mean nothing is worth 
participating in or doing?

Cel collecting is all about being happy with what 
you have and enjoying the excitement of seeing 
what will be the next thing to come around the 
bend. So when people say things like:

> Phasing out of cels, selling them or quiting
> cold turkey, makes absolutely 100% sense.

I say: Why is what *I* do for fun so much lower 
than what *you* do for fun? Do you really think 
you're that much better than I am, or have found 
that much higher a wisdom? I doubt it. Almost 
whatever you do for fun, just like me, you're 
only amusing yourself.

Many Sharp Smiles,
--Drac