Getting Mugged.
I'm not really a "collector" kind of person. Some people just collect stuff; comic books, band t-shirts, stamps, coins, action figures, teddy bears, a friend of mine has a dizzying array of yarmulke's attained from an insane amount of Jewish weddings. My Mom collects souvenir spoons. Her Mom started the collection and we've added to it since inheriting it from her. I once stayed at my friend's house in the room where she housed her creepy doll collection (clarification: the dolls themselves were not creepy. The fact that she had so many of them from her childhood and they were all on shelves in that room watching me while I slept, was super creepy).
I love the spoon collection and contribute to it when I travel, but I've never really been interested in the history of stamps or coins, or Civil War era hats. I do have a lot of shoes, but that's lifeblood. I have my own personal library including ridiculous stacks of magazines that I just can't throw away but that aligns with my pack rat tendency, in this case, borderline hoarding. I guess we could say then, I'm not a conscious collector.
I realized a few years ago that I do have a coffee mug collection. It occurred quite spontaneously and I didn't realize how many there were until I tried shoving them all in the tiniest cupboards in the world. I illegally drilled holes and put hooks under my cupboards (I was supposed to get approval from the office, but I just went ahead and did it like a BAMF) so I could hang mugs, plus I have two mug trees. I don't know why, I don't know how, but I collect coffee mugs.
I got four for Christmas! A Brelby one, which I've been wanting for awhile, a tall Christmas one with snowflakes, a gorgeous antique-y one with feet on the bottom like an old timey bathtub, and an Arizona one from Starbucks. AND, BONUS CUP!! I got a Shots & Shots mug from my cast and it's in a "Jingle all the way" box, so I think it counts as the fifth one. Even if it doesn't, it's one of us now.
A few years ago, my sisters and I all started getting these "you are here" mugs from Starbucks whenever we would travel or move somewhere new. Finally, we got the ones from the state most of us live in. But we didn't talk about collecting them until a year or so after when we already had four or five.
You could sift through my coffee cups and probably be able to identify a few defining traits about me. First, I travel a bit. Also, I love huge coffee cups. My parents have these tiny little Christmas mugs that I always end up filling way too full, they're like tea cup size, and when you want coffee you cannot do so in a tea cup size cup. They're cute, they're just so small! I love a big cup. I have a bit of a thing for Christmas. Most of my mugs are Christmas themed somehow; my favorite cup is this massive blue one with clay snowflakes all around it. I have souvenir mugs too; I do not use the ASU one. I have fond memories of being at ASU and that mug was a graduation present. I won't have it looking worn.
When I moved out, I bought a set of dishes that included four big white plates, four little white plates, and four white coffee cups. Those are my tea cups. I cannot drink a good amount of coffee in those itty bitty cups.
What I really need now, are for people to get creative. Don't just give me a mug. Give me a mug the likes of which you've never seen before. Something high tech that scares me to use it, but I have to tempt fate and see if I can keep my lips safe or wash it when I'm done. Something weirdly shaped that you're not sure how to wrap it/hold it. Something awesome.
I look at the souvenir spoon collection, the coffee mug collection, and think of who I was, where I was. The things we collect just may tell the stories of our lives. And I'm glad my friends and family know me well enough to give me things I appreciate. But I have no idea where I'm going to put five new coffee cups.
I hope you all had a lovely holiday season! It's the last week of 2014! Let's make it count!!
I love the spoon collection and contribute to it when I travel, but I've never really been interested in the history of stamps or coins, or Civil War era hats. I do have a lot of shoes, but that's lifeblood. I have my own personal library including ridiculous stacks of magazines that I just can't throw away but that aligns with my pack rat tendency, in this case, borderline hoarding. I guess we could say then, I'm not a conscious collector.
I realized a few years ago that I do have a coffee mug collection. It occurred quite spontaneously and I didn't realize how many there were until I tried shoving them all in the tiniest cupboards in the world. I illegally drilled holes and put hooks under my cupboards (I was supposed to get approval from the office, but I just went ahead and did it like a BAMF) so I could hang mugs, plus I have two mug trees. I don't know why, I don't know how, but I collect coffee mugs.
I got four for Christmas! A Brelby one, which I've been wanting for awhile, a tall Christmas one with snowflakes, a gorgeous antique-y one with feet on the bottom like an old timey bathtub, and an Arizona one from Starbucks. AND, BONUS CUP!! I got a Shots & Shots mug from my cast and it's in a "Jingle all the way" box, so I think it counts as the fifth one. Even if it doesn't, it's one of us now.
A few years ago, my sisters and I all started getting these "you are here" mugs from Starbucks whenever we would travel or move somewhere new. Finally, we got the ones from the state most of us live in. But we didn't talk about collecting them until a year or so after when we already had four or five.
You could sift through my coffee cups and probably be able to identify a few defining traits about me. First, I travel a bit. Also, I love huge coffee cups. My parents have these tiny little Christmas mugs that I always end up filling way too full, they're like tea cup size, and when you want coffee you cannot do so in a tea cup size cup. They're cute, they're just so small! I love a big cup. I have a bit of a thing for Christmas. Most of my mugs are Christmas themed somehow; my favorite cup is this massive blue one with clay snowflakes all around it. I have souvenir mugs too; I do not use the ASU one. I have fond memories of being at ASU and that mug was a graduation present. I won't have it looking worn.
When I moved out, I bought a set of dishes that included four big white plates, four little white plates, and four white coffee cups. Those are my tea cups. I cannot drink a good amount of coffee in those itty bitty cups.
What I really need now, are for people to get creative. Don't just give me a mug. Give me a mug the likes of which you've never seen before. Something high tech that scares me to use it, but I have to tempt fate and see if I can keep my lips safe or wash it when I'm done. Something weirdly shaped that you're not sure how to wrap it/hold it. Something awesome.
I look at the souvenir spoon collection, the coffee mug collection, and think of who I was, where I was. The things we collect just may tell the stories of our lives. And I'm glad my friends and family know me well enough to give me things I appreciate. But I have no idea where I'm going to put five new coffee cups.
I hope you all had a lovely holiday season! It's the last week of 2014! Let's make it count!!
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