NEED HELP WITH PARENTS

[obiprime]

Maybe your parents are right. Maybe you should spend a little less time Gi joeing. Im kidding of course. Just do what we all do, Hide the new stuff. Tell them you stoped buying stuff. And one day you'll sell some Misb stuff and it will pay off someday.

[useless]

I didn't get a job straight after university, I'd openly said I was taking 6 months off because I didn't think I'd ever get the chance to do so again. My Parents on hearing this didn't even suggest they thought anything was amiss with the idea. But two months later I was getting flak for "wasting" what money I had, spending time playing computer games or hanging out with my friends when I "should be out looking for a Job". Almost exactly when I origionally said I would I left home for my first professional contract.

 

Turns out they'd expected me to run out of money within a month and have to get a job then or to ask them for money (which they had planned to make contingent on my starting job hunting straight away), and that the personal attacks were their "plan B" when they realised I really had thought it through and had enough money to last as long as I had said. They admited this about a year after I'd moved out.

 

The point is that I think, honestly, its not going to work. When Parents critisise on their adult offsprings hobbies they're really just doing it because they think it increase's the leverage of their "get on with your life" arguments. Even if they accept your argument they'll just start on another tack.

 

Rather than trying to win the aguements, You're best off just getting to the point you can move out and doing that, they may still lecture you about how you should live your life but most parents tend stop that once they can't claim that you're still dependant on them, and frankly at that point you can ignore them if they don't.

[Riker]

I have never had this problem with my parents even when I was growing up and living with them but I do see how some parents will react this way I mean these toys we collect are toys after all for children and at 18/21 age you are pretty much considered an adult being able to go to War, starting a family, and just plainly doing adult type stuff! Some people (like your parents) do not understand what collecting stuff like we collect is like, maybe because they could not experience that for themselves.

 

My family is from Cuba and in Cuba there were Nativity sets that were shaped like action figures and that was something my family was use to doing collecting each set from the nativity, so this was passed on and my aunt has about 90 different Nativity sets each Christmas she puts out.

 

For anyone who does not know what a nativity set looks like or what it is . . . it kind of looks like a playset for something but it has Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph and anyone else who was present at the time of the Lord Jesus Christ's birth.

 

Finally, just tell your parents how you feel, and tell them that you will look for a better job in the near future!

[LT. Quintero]

HI, i am 26, and i will be 27 in august 14 jhehe. I had the same problem since i was 15:

 

"mom: you are to old for toys", bahh, i bougth them with MY money, hehehe.

 

Well a I am an Ingenier in information systems and i have a master degree in Information technology so, nop, joe collecting is not bad, but everything has it limits, i mean, dont focus alll your time on it, you have sports too, GIRLSS, etc. So I recommend you to make a balance in yout life, it is good for every one, ok?

 

So dont stop collecting, and keep playing, it is good for our imagination and it helps to get on with our, some times, hard lifes.

 

 

YO JOEEE FROM MEXICOOO

 

HUUUU-RAAA!

[martini_847]

I will give my 2 cents.

 

Just from reading your post, I have a few questions.

1. you still live with your parents, do you pay any rent? do you have a savings account?

2. how much on average, do you spend on your hobby in a month?

3. the concerns of your parents make it sound like you don't go out much... how much time do you spend at home? do you have any other hobbies (sports, walking, community theater etc)?

 

OK now for my opinion on Hobbies in general.

 

1. Have a budget for your hobby. It should never interfere with paying bills, family, or job. Once they do they are no longer a hobby, they are an obsession.

 

2. Don't let your hobby be what defines you. I love my toys, but I also have a job, a family, and an outside life.

 

3. Don't worry about being too old... for your hobby. As long as you are a well adjusted normal person.

[LT. Quintero]

I will give my 2 cents.

 

Just from reading your post, I have a few questions.

1. you still live with your parents, do you pay any rent? do you have a savings account?

2. how much on average, do you spend on your hobby in a month?

3. the concerns of your parents make it sound like you don't go out much... how much time do you spend at home? do you have any other hobbies (sports, walking, community theater etc)?

 

OK now for my opinion on Hobbies in general.

 

1. Have a budget for your hobby. It should never interfere with paying bills, family, or job. Once they do they are no longer a hobby, they are an obsession.

 

2. Don't let your hobby be what defines you. I love my toys, but I also have a job, a family, and an outside life.

 

3. Don't worry about being too old... for your hobby. As long as you are a well adjusted normal person.

 

agree 100%

[BlueFootedBooby]

I'm 21 years old and just completed my third year of college. I was hoping to grab a degree in journalism but sadly my mother recently became very ill and I decided to move home. I can always finish school, but I need to support her.

 

I work almost full time at a very upscale restaurant and make anywhere from $19-21 an hour with tips. I also do some modeling on the side. That pays anywhere from $150-250 an hour depending on the job, maybe more or maybe less. Obviously that work varies and I can't rely on it. It's nice though so I can afford toys and college bills.

 

Just move out though.

[MaceWinduPreview]

Move out, that way you don't need to answer to anyone...

 

 

My parents, God Bless them, don't stick thier noses in my business, not since I was 18 and moved out, I am almost 32 now and my mother actually likes my collecting... not that I would care if she didnt.

[RoyalZarak]

I will give my 2 cents.

 

Just from reading your post, I have a few questions.

1. you still live with your parents, do you pay any rent? do you have a savings account?

2. how much on average, do you spend on your hobby in a month?

3. the concerns of your parents make it sound like you don't go out much... how much time do you spend at home? do you have any other hobbies (sports, walking, community theater etc)?

 

OK now for my opinion on Hobbies in general.

 

1. Have a budget for your hobby. It should never interfere with paying bills, family, or job. Once they do they are no longer a hobby, they are an obsession.

 

2. Don't let your hobby be what defines you. I love my toys, but I also have a job, a family, and an outside life.

 

3. Don't worry about being too old... for your hobby. As long as you are a well adjusted normal person.

 

 

I agree with everything here. HEy TFJOE don't worry about it, if you have a good job, girlfriend, and good life then your parents wouldn't be complaining.

[ARROW]

Guys, I need help fast. My parents don't think that GI Joes are a good thing for me to collect at my age (considering I'm turning 21 on the 26, work part time and still live at their house).

 

They don't belive that Joe Fans can go on to be things outside of computer nerds. That they don't have normal lives. They want me to grow up and have a family and a job. I'm starting this thread to send as an email to both my parents computers, so they can watch and see what kind of people we are outside of GI Joe.

 

So. If you work in the field of anything, ranging from computers to medicine and stuff, let my folks know. Also, tell them of stuff like conventions and what not. They need damning evidence that it's okay to continue with this hobby, and I'm going to do the same thing with my Transformer buddies on a Transformers message board.

 

Please Help.

 

 

Thanks in advance to those who are helpful to me.

 

TF Joe

 

BTW, my mom has this whole thing about them being real people, which I realize they kind of are, but how often is the army sending an elite task force to battle a lone psycho bent on world tion through the use of state of the art robots and other mechs and stuff that the real US Army doesn't even have and fight against. I don't see too many things like the Sigma 6 Ninja Hovercycle on the roads as of late.

 

 

So the folks are giving you a bit of a hassle?

 

 

Well, here's some perspective from a someone whose been collecting for longer than you have been alive.

 

I'm a 44 year old professional cartoonist/animator/storyboard artist. I've a wife, three step kids, pets, and live-stock. My collecting career mirrors the length of my professional career: 21 years. I've collected pretty much every major action figure toy-line at one point or another over the past two decades, including GIJOE.

And I'm not alone.

 

Let me tell you about some of the other GIJOE collectors I rub elbows with daily, both in person and on-line:

They are doctors, lawyers, policemen, firefighters, one gent commands the USNAVY Naval Warfare Flight Center in California ( former F-14/A-6 pilot, no joke), Captains/Majors/Chief Petty Officers and all other ranks/specialties in your Armed forces, chemists, security guards, cooks, software designers ( yes, them), writers, teachers, IT techs, moms and dads of all stripes, and yes, a few other cartoonists.

That's just in the GIJOE hobby itself--if you talk about the general toy collecting community, you can count almost any kind of person and damn near every occupation under the sun.

Most are between your age and 50 years old--more than a few have been collecting for longer than 10 years.

They are mature, responsible, dedicated career types, with families and loved ones. They are charming, intellient, gregarious people with a passion for all things in life, including toys.

The kind of people that live in the homes, right beside yours.

Their hobby harms no-one, least of all themselves.

 

So, tell Mom and Dad you love them, then tell them they know squat about this hobby of yours and to kindly not make assumptions about it. Also ask them to allow you to be the kind of person YOU want to be, instead of who they think you should be.

 

After all, you are collecting toys, not crack pipes, right?

[Phanstar]

Well I'm going to add my wordy input on the matter.

 

First off, I am 31, Married, Father of 2, and trying to have a 3rd. I do computer support for the local city government, I make about 42k a year and get about 5k a year in child support for my stepdaughter. My in-laws HATE my hobby. They have openly expressed dismay about it many times. But their perceptions are accurate in some respects and WAY innacurate in many others. The bottom line is they think it is a "waste" of money. To them every dollar I spend on a Joe could be a dollar tucked into a 401k or an ROTH Ira, or saved for our future. So to them, its wasted. That in a way is true.. ANd I don't argue that. But they often portray it like anytime we get any money it all goes to m y "toys" and my children are starving and my family is suffering because I neglect them all. My inlaws are insane I might mention. Truth be told, I have bought 10 bucks worth of Joes from Nevermore a few weeks back and My wife out of her own birthday money found the new oktober guard comic pack and suprised me with it, and that is the only money I have spent on toys in about 3 months or more. So thats what? 22 bucks? Uh huh.

 

Anyways... Thats the breaks. Some people will never get it. And sadly its usually these closed minded people that always see the world and black or white. Our way is right, your way is wrong. There is no getting through to these people so dont bother.

 

 

Now I will tell a little story that has a lot to do with why I have never felt any shame or insecurities about my hobby. When I was 12 years old it was 1987 and I had started to feel a little too old to play with Joes any longer. Also around this time the figures started getting wackier and wackier and that only pushed me further away from wanting to play with them. However the Nintendo Entertainment System had not been out long and I WANTED ONE. I packed up *ALL* my joes. Probably at close to 100 figures. The Bridgelayer, A MBT Mauler, Devilfish, Shark, Cobra Stinger, A U.S.S. FLAGG!!!! And only God knows what other vehicles and accessories and put them in an ad in my Dads employee newsletter at the VA Hospital. A few days later the phone rang and I answered it and when I repeated the name of the caller my dad had a panick and jumped up because it was his BOSS on the phone. Turns out his then going on 60 year old boss in 1987 Just happened to be an avid GI Joe collector. I sold the ENTIRE COLLECTION for a measely 93.40 cents or something like that. EXACTLY what I calculated the price of a NES with SMB to come out to at our local hills store.

 

Sad story... But it just goes to show that adult toy collecting is not a NEW trend. Its just recently become way more popular and thanks to the internet way more public... And with this new publicity the hobby has changed significantly too....

 

Phanstar

[BobM]

Umm.. you're 21 and your parents are that controlling? Have you thought.. just maybe... it's time to move out?

 

BTW, age 33, a beautiful wife, 3 sons (ages 6,4,1) and I make $72K/year.

 

Unfortunately for your needs, I'm a computer programmer.

 

To them every dollar I spend on a Joe could be a dollar tucked into a 401k or an ROTH Ira, or saved for our future. So to them, its wasted. That in a way is true.. ANd I don't argue that. But they often portray it like anytime we get any money it all goes to m y "toys" and my children are starving and my family is suffering because I neglect them all. My inlaws are insane I might mention. Truth be told, I have bought 10 bucks worth of Joes from Nevermore a few weeks back and My wife out of her own birthday money found the new oktober guard comic pack and suprised me with it, and that is the only money I have spent on toys in about 3 months or more. So thats what? 22 bucks? Uh huh.

If they are anything like the folks unhappy with my hobbies, the stupid thing is that they wouldn't think twice if I went out drinking every Friday night and blew $100 at the bar. Or blew thousands a year at the casinos.

 

Fortunately, my wife doesn't feel that way. She agrees she'd rather have me home.

[Forcehunter]

I am 22 years old, a Senior in college working two jobs to help with tuition and collecting: a supermarket service clerk (cashier), and public opinion research assistant. I am a Political Science Major and International Relations Minor. I intend to head to Law School and get my PH.D in Political Science and teach at the college level. I find it fun to teach what you yourself have learned.

 

I currently live at home with my parents but since the college is so close, wouldn't it be foolish not to take adavntage of the free rent for four and a half years?

 

Anyways... Thats the breaks. Some people will never get it. And sadly its usually these closed minded people that always see the world and black or white. Our way is right, your way is wrong. There is no getting through to these people so dont bother.

 

True dat. My dad grew up with people who collected toys, played role play games and he thought they were freaks. The only reason he bought any of my toys when I was little was because he thought they would be an investment that I could sell them while in college. If there is anything we have learned about the comic book fiasco in the 90s, nothing is guranteed collectible if everyone hordes it to later put on the market. I collect for nostalgia and because I like the brand. Nothing else.

[Phanstar]

If they are anything like the folks unhappy with my hobbies, the stupid thing is that they wouldn't think twice if I went out drinking every Friday night and blew $100 at the bar. Or blew thousands a year at the casinos.

 

 

Yes you are exactly right.

[Three Storms]

Tell them it's a harmless hobby, and is no different than collecting model railroads or baseball cards.

[robot_sonic]

I'm guessing your parents' issues with your Joe collecting are not the real reason they are worried about you. More than likely, they blame the Joes for things they think you should be doing with your life. Perhaps they don't think your life is balanced enough? Maybe you don't spend enough time out with your friends? I don't think the fact that you collect toys is what bothers them as much as they are worried that you're not developing other areas of your life with enough fervor.

 

While toy collecting is fun, being 21 is more fun. And, as such, you should have some good balance in your life. You should have a solid group of friends with whom you spend time. While you can share your collecting fervor with them, it's good to develop friends in other aspects of your life to make yourself well rounded. You don't have to give up collecting or give up surfing the internet, but that needs to be just a part of your overall life that is mixed with social interaction, study (don't be fooled into thinking that once you're out of school the studying and learning stops!) work and other things that you both do and do not enjoy.

 

As a note on the collecting community, I've found that Joe collectors range from millionaires to guys who are well on their way to being millionaires to solidly middle class families to guys who barely scrape by on minimum wage. You know what, though? Go join a softball league at night. The guys there will range from MD's to high school drop outs. My point is that a wide range of social and professional classes share an interest in the same things. It's difficult to pigeonhole one type of person as a collector or anything else.

[Three Storms]

I am guessing that the parents are seeing it from the perspective of a grown adult holding on to kid's toys, and not recognizing the collecting element to it.

 

The way to deal with that is to expose them to the collector's side. Show them rare $1000 Joes and other toys that kids sure as hell aren't buying. Show them toys especifically marketed at adults like various Spawn toys and high-end Gundam Titanium and Bandai Chogokin figures. Show them the value of a lot of vintage Joes.

[Pit Viper]

Move out.

 

It will mean you won't be able to spend nearly as much on Joes but then you can do as you please.

[pesatyel]

I will give my 2 cents.

 

Just from reading your post, I have a few questions.

1. you still live with your parents, do you pay any rent? do you have a savings account?

2. how much on average, do you spend on your hobby in a month?

3. the concerns of your parents make it sound like you don't go out much... how much time do you spend at home? do you have any other hobbies (sports, walking, community theater etc)?

 

OK now for my opinion on Hobbies in general.

 

1. Have a budget for your hobby. It should never interfere with paying bills, family, or job. Once they do they are no longer a hobby, they are an obsession.

 

2. Don't let your hobby be what defines you. I love my toys, but I also have a job, a family, and an outside life.

 

3. Don't worry about being too old... for your hobby. As long as you are a well adjusted normal person.

 

 

Gotta agree. As long as you maintain your responsbilities, it really shouldn't matter what you spend your money on (you know what I mean) and what hobbies you have.

[boff123]

i work in the medical/cancer field and i still collect joes. they were always my favorite toy/cartoon. just want to hold on to a piece of my childhood that i could share with my kids.

[Ren]

Dang, I have been waiting for the one reply that says:

 

I am 43, live in my parents basement, I play World of Warcraft for 18 hours a day, I collect toys using my government check and my "allowance" from my parents. I am 5'4", weigh 390 lbs. and sell my plasma, blood and am trying to sell a kidney on eBay so that I can buy a USS Flagg. I have a girlfriend, really I do, she, um, she lives in Canada, she has big breasts like bags of sand. Plus my 14th level Orc is getting married to a 16th level Goblin next week so I will be losing my virginity, well, online anyway.

Um, er, ha, ha, I was kidding, I've dorked alot of women. I may be a virgin but I'll F*CK YOU UP!

 

-EDIT: I see someone did just that as I was writing this - LOL!-

 

@loll@

 

As for the pissing contest going around here about who makes what $. Don't bother. The more you make the more you'll spend and if you are like 60% of the population you'll be in debt shortly if not already. What you need to do is simply not bother arguing with your folks over it. They aren't going to change their mind. If they did it would negate their membership in the parents guild. I have 2 young sons who play with my Joes (@1500 of them so far), except the expensive ones. I also have a wife who loves to let me have it for my hobby. Paychecks don't mean a thing. I own an IT Security company and make a small fortune every year and I still can't get the respect of my hobby from the wife who always argues that I spend to much on it. This BTW isn't true, she just needs an argument b/c she hates that I collect the toys. I am good for @ $2500 max a year on Joes and it represents about one half of one percent (.005) of my salary and I still get the same complaint every time.

 

There is a lesson to be learned here. Never Try. @firedevil@

 

 

bitter much?

[Phanstar]

I didnt think there was a pissing contest about wages. I think the point of posting our wages was to show that Joe collectors come from all walks of life. ANd that we arent just all high school dropouts delivering pizzas and spending our cash on comic books, lottery tickets, joes, and mountain dew every week.

 

The point is, you can have a skilled job, raise a family. be a husband, AND be a GI Joe collector.

 

 

Phanstar

[Three Storms]

I didnt think there was a pissing contest about wages. I think the point of posting our wages was to show that Joe collectors come from all walks of life. ANd that we arent just all high school dropouts delivering pizzas and spending our cash on comic books, lottery tickets, joes, and mountain dew every week.

 

The point is, you can have a skilled job, raise a family. be a husband, AND be a GI Joe collector.

 

 

Phanstar

 

 

I agree completely. I think it is important to show how wide and diverse the collectors are. We're not just a bunch of 40-year-old wierdo's hanging out at TRU at 4 am for it to open so we can hoard stuff for sale on Ebay.

[Admiral Hunter]

I didnt think there was a pissing contest about wages. I think the point of posting our wages was to show that Joe collectors come from all walks of life. ANd that we arent just all high school dropouts delivering pizzas and spending our cash on comic books, lottery tickets, joes, and mountain dew every week.

 

The point is, you can have a skilled job, raise a family. be a husband, AND be a GI Joe collector.

 

 

Phanstar

 

 

I agree completely. I think it is important to show how wide and diverse the collectors are. We're not just a bunch of 40-year-old wierdo's hanging out at TRU at 4 am for it to open so we can hoard stuff for sale on Ebay.

 

I read that, then looked at your sig and laughed. Not to be a dick, but I thought that was funny.

 

-Kevin

[yo-man2]

i think we need to have a hot girlfriend contest

 

"GEEKS UNITE"