Saturday, August 22, 2009

SuperHappyFunSell is giving me guilt

In less than 26 days it will be AWA (Anime Weekend Atlanta) time! Even though I was at AFO just under 3 weeks ago I am having major withdraws in regards to conventions and fun mayhem. Maybe that is because work has become increasingly -_________________- and I keep telling myself JUST XX MORE DAYS to get through the WTFness.

Since AWA is over 5 hours from my house we will have to stay night on Thursday instead of our usual Friday/Saturday only pattern. Apparently a lot of other AWA attendees do the same thing so they can get a jump on the registration line and get a lay of the land. To help those arriving early AWA puts on an event so everyone doesn’t go crazy from boredom. Enter the SuperHappyFunSell!

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Making some quick cash without getting sun burnt or attacked by someone's random dog.

This event is basically a giant flea market. For a small fee you can sell mostly anything that is taking up room in your house and fatten your wallet. Given that this will be my first AWA in like…7 years I am not sure what sells at this event. But I am sure it is safe to assume that mangas/DVDs/figurines and other anime related products will be available at rock bottom prices. A fun event for those buying and those selling!




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To make that one special sale!

I was always planning on going to this event as a spender. I like me some bargains. I hope to find great deals on mangas I am beyond behind on and HOPEFULLY score some figurines on my must have list. Also I think I can only explore the hotel for so long before I get bored. At least this would be an anime event (sort of) and I wouldn’t be spending all night watching hotel TV.

Due to an unexpected, impromptu week off from work I am going to have less dealer’s room cash than I had wanted. I had already saved for the hotel and paid for the tickets and have gas/food money squirreled away. But I is a greedy person and am saving for two! So this would be a way to make that extra cash up without having to go to a REAL flea market and melting in the sun (and waking up at the crack of dawn).
However…this might be harder than I thought.

Why is that? Well I am a pack rat. I love getting stuff and hate parting with it. I have about 7 boxes in my garage of OTHER flea market stuff I keep meaning to sell but haven’t. Shoes I have worn only once live in my closet. Bottles of the free hotel shampoo clutter up my cabinets. I have more Hello Kitty stickers than the most devoted 5 year old in Japan. I like stuff.

So parting with my stuff is hard to do on a normal day. But now I face an even crazier problem: Parting with gifts.

As I am cleaning out my closets and book case it is much easier to put stuff in the sell pile that I bought myself. When I get to a certain stuffed animal I see the person who gave it to me and it is hard to put in the AWA box. I start feeling guilty and put it back on the shelf, so it can gather dust apparently.

Why do I feel so guilty know fundamentally people gave me those gifts to make me happy and they have served their purpose over the years. But now it is time to find these items a new home so they can be loved.

But deep down I think I am afraid of hurting people’s feelings because it would hurt my feelings. And it has. I have witness my mom placing a carefully bought present from me in the Salvation Army donate box a few years after I gave it to her. I helped a friend run her own yard sale and found several items I gifted to her out on the lawn. I was hurt as dramatic as that sounds. So in my mind if I part with these items I will be hurting the ones who gave them to me. Even if they have long forgotten about giving me said items. Especially the husband who forgets anything that happens 30 minutes after it occurs.

This might explain why I have 687898445 stuffed animals and random knickknacks I am not longer MOG excited to see. I can’t part with my stuff easily and I really can’t part with a gift. Despite the fact things are taking over my house and they need to GO so I can make room for new lovelies.

So while I might look like a greedy girl with way too much stuff there is actually reasoning behind my piles of “crap”. I get sentimental about who gave me the item and why. I think back to that day and how happy I was to receive whatever item it was and how much it meant to me. I hope that the giver also experienced that joy as I think picking out gifts is important and should mean something. I fail to realize that the memories are just as important as the physical item and if it’s time to let it go it needs to go.

So far my pile for the HappySuperFunSell might fill one medium box. X_X Not enough to justify the booth fee and sitting there for 4 hours. I need to either come to terms with parting with some of my past treasures or come to terms with the fact that I one day might be a crazy cat lady. And I really don’t want people gagging when I walk down the produce lane at the grocery store so I think I need to man up and fill a few more boxes!

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I would love them all!

Wish me luck! Or send me list of cute kitten names. Pack rats like to be prepared.




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