Korean Job Discussion Forums

[JongnoGuru]

How many of you collect things?

Irrelevant Tangent: I once heard Jay Leno, or maybe it was Johnny Carson, ask this exact question in his monologue. The audience reaction surprised me. People burst out hooting and hollering, laughing, screaming, cheering and stomping. "Woo-hooo!! WOOOOO-HOOOOO!! Hell yeah!! Collect things! Woof! Woof! Woof!!" It went on for quite some time as the camera panned across the studio audience to show the utter pandemonium this question had triggered. I think it was at that moment I gave up trying to understand American humour.

So, how many of you collect things? And what do, or did, you collect? I imagine that for most of you, these will be collections you gave up when you went to college or overseas. That's what happened to me. As with many hobbies, it takes a fair degree of stability and predictability in one's life before they feel like starting up or restarting a collection. Though I know some people maintain their collections throughout their lives. The most bizarre collections I've heard of involved people who collect... themselves, I guess you could say. Like their own hair from the barber shop, or saving their own toenail clippings in little boxes, each labelled by 'year of harvest'. Seriously.

A distinction should first be made between collections on the one hand and compilations or assemblages of like items on the other. To me, a collection is something the owner maintains, adds to, and considers as a separate and self-contained unit. For instance, I have quite a few Korean and Western antiques, but I don't regard them as a single, isolated collection that sits on its own somewhere. It's spread all around the house, on display where it's being seen and used, or in storage and awaiting placement somewhere logical.

So, let me start this off.

(current)
-- Antique maps of particular regions of the world. (collection)
-- High-end "Walkmen", not only Sony but all top manufacturers. (collection)
-- Korean & Western antiques. (compilation)
-- Books, art, prints, plans, sketches, etc. of an architectural theme.(compilation)
-- Old prints, engravings, advertising or propaganda posters and photographs, relating to East Asia. (collection)
-- Art & sculpture too disparate to classify and too meager to call a collection. (compilation)

(previous)
-- Rare & old coins. (collection)
-- Corgi & Matchbox cars. (collection)


What I predict some posters will say:

-- Comic books.
-- Films, music & books of various genres. (me too, but I didn't bother listing those)
-- Girlfs, girls' phone numbers, bedpost notches.
-- ESL books.
-- Books on Korea.
-- Recipes and cookery books.
-- Pr0n videos.
-- Money.
-- Credit or Reputation.
-- "Whew! I thought this thread was about school-loan collections officers coming to Korea and busting heads! "

[indytrucks]

I collect old cameras. I also collect expensive camera gear and lenses for my newer cameras, but I spend a lot of time in the poorhouse. Last night I had a dirt sandwich for supper.

[Satori]

I collect Korean language learning books. I have way more than I need for actual study of the language.

Nothing else unusual. I have rediculous gigabytes of mp3`s, but under your definition, that`s not a collection, as it`s utilitarian.

I also collect ESL books, reference and teaching. And linguistic books. English grammar books. These are useful, but I have way more than I need of each item, so I guess they kind of collections.

[JongnoGuru]

[schwa]

I dont collect anything.

All my ownings are utilitarian & sentiment-free.

[The Chewbacca Defense]

I collect MacDonalds cheeseburger wrappers from around the world.

So I far I have 9.

[Hollywoodaction]

"-- Antique maps of particular regions of the world. (collection)"

Sea of Japan/East Sea or Dokdo/Takeshima?

[poker player]

I collect an old car. That's right-car not cars because I have sunk so much money into this 1966 GTO that I can't even begin to think about collecting anymore. Actually, I bought it brand new for $4800 with a lot of help from my grandfather in 1966 when I got my first job after high school. But then came University, marriage, babies-you know the drill and it went up on blocks in 1970. When I had some money, I spent about $15k on it-paint, new 454 engine with twin 4 barrel carbs, headers, super hi torque rear end, the hood scoop, steel scattershield to protect me from the flywheel that the pressure from those huge slicks on the back might send thru the firewall. I raced it a few times and got in the high 10s until life interfered again. Now I pay a mechanic in Canada to store it in his garage and keep it ready for the road although it hasn't been licensed now for 15 years since it's no longer street legal. I should sell it but there are too many memories so I am now a collector.

[Woland]

Childhood: Coins. My borther collected pennies, but I thought that was silly and went for quarters, which are worth so much more! These are, I believe, in storage in my sister's attic.

The Russian Period: Russian-language language learning materials for a variety of languages (Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Dutch, Polish, etc.). A Dutch speaker later looked at the Dutch text book and told me that it looked like it had been written by someone who knew German more than Dutch. I let my brother who was keeping these dispose of them when he needed more room in his place. Got a surprisingly good amount for them.

Nowadays: Applied linguistics books. I'll come away from the AAAL conference in Montreal next month having easily spent $500 on books, and maybe more. I'll use all of them. Really! In my moves in recent years from Turkey to Armenia and from Armenia to here, I've given away a lot of these as well. Of course, having a lot of books really means that I collect dust.

I try to get weavings or ceramics (my grandmother was a potter) from everyplace I go. I have pieces from Indonesia, Korea, Eritrea, Turkey, China, more that I can't remember).

[RACETRAITOR]

I collect those magnets that restaurants leave on your door.

[Yo!Chingo]

Various stick pins, DVD's, and recipes I'm cheap to keep!

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

I used to collect comic books. I still regret not purchasing for 250 bucks the first appearance of Wolverine in an Incredible Hulk comic. I imagine it's worth upwards of $1000 now.

Sparkles*_*

[captain kirk]

I collect boomerangs. A couple of years ago, for a year, it was my mania to go all out and make them, too. The boomerangs in my assemblage made by other people number about 150, maybe. With fifty that I've made, probably more. Germany, Australia, America, France, they're from all different countries. Tri-bladers, distance, different shapes, ranges, flights, materials, paint jobs. I actually get out and throw them but last year there wasn't a field in the city. This next Korean job has huge sandflats along the river I'm hoping/sure will be a good b range.

I have two motorbikes, which feels like having a collection since you can only ride one at a time, unfortunately. One is a highway bike, the other an off-road. It was very expensive last year getting one, or the other, fixed, and it continues...But they're so damn much fun!

Seashells. One very large Triton conch, a medium sized one. And a couple of other types of conch, one of which is wickedly, sharply barbed. Smaller shells.

Crystals (quartz, amethyst), carved jades, antique-like little things which got shipped back home and distributed amongst the family.

[the_beaver]

Glass Coke bottles from different countries -- not always easy to find.

I have Greece, Italy, Turkey, China (which I got in Cambodia), Thailand, Japan (that was a search and a half), Korea, Malaysia (with Thai writing), Indonesia, and a single can with Arabic script which I also got in Malaysia.

[HapKi]

-Absolut Vodka ads
-Hard Rock Cafe shot glasses, and pins
-smooshed pennies for my mom's collection(where you put a penny in the
machine and turn the crank, thus smooshing and imprinting the penny
with a scene of the Grand Canyon, Tokyo Disney, etc..)
-baseball cards (collection now dormant)
-stamps (collection now dormant)
-Keith Haring sketches
-beer coasters
-mid to late 20th century first editions of authors I like
-old metal cars, Tootsie Toys (collection now dormant)
-masks