C is for Collection #AtoZChallenge

A to Z Challenge – April 2016 2 Minutes

C is for Collection

If you had 100 million euros and just for fun you’d spend 1 million, what would you buy?

When I was recently asked the above question, I had no idea what to answer. In my head the picture of a beautiful wooden table popped up. But no object that I have been dreaming of for years, that if I had the means would be bought without the blink of an eye. I am not longing for beautiful necklaces, Van Gogh paintings, contemporary art sculptures, antique coins or Ming Porcelain.

It seems that I am not much of a materialist. Not that much of a collector. My passion, writing cannot be purchased in a store, or crafted by someone else, I have to do it myself.

Of course I have come to collect things here and there. I collected the Harry Potter books, and proudly kept the receipts stating the date of purchase, especially if the book was bought before 1 am on the release day. Nowadays these books are on a shelf in my dad’s apartment. There was a time when I collected CDs, challenging where those albums that could not be found anywhere, that were a mission to get. Part of this collection is with an old friend in the UK, the other part sleeps beneath my bed, I have no CD player at home, and my computer doesn’t even have a CD slot anymore… I have an ever growing collection of wooden bowls, all from Austria. But at a price of less than 30 euros a piece with a million I’d be buying way too many…

stamp collection In a way I collect beautiful stamps. Not like you might imagine, I am not sitting there with my stamps above steam to remove them from the envelopes, I am not organising them into stamp collector booklets. Mind you I tried that as a kid, but after I received a box of very ugly stamps from former East Germany, my passion died off very quickly. Now, when I receive a letter with a beautiful stamp, then I tear off that bit and keep it. I really like it when there is a very visible postmark on it (look at the stamp on the bottom left of the picture).

So, let me ask you if you would have a million to spend for fun, what would you buy?
Are you a collector? And what do you collect?

Cathy Columbus the California Catch Champion counts coins and cashes checks in Cincinnati. 

During the month of April, I am participating in the A to Z Challenge, my theme is authenticity and eclecticism, which in my book go hand in hand.

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave a comment, to share this post on social media and to follow my blog and/or twitter @SolveigJW…

© Solveig Werner 2016. All rights reserved.

 

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44 thoughts on “C is for Collection #AtoZChallenge”

  1. Actually, I try not to collect things, because I have this unrealistic desire to “simplify” but beautiful and unusual books have a way of following me home… 🙂

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    2. I think travel/moving mark us a lot in that perspective. When I moved as a kid I was always asked to do a big clean in my things. So anything that wasn’t too important was donated or binned. When I left for University all I had was my suitcase, and well that was packed with a ton of CDs, some fancy shoes and clothing. But still I had a smaller suitcase than many people have for a 2 week trip…

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  5. Hi, Here from the A-Z and loved your C-word. If I had a million, I would buy tickets for several destinations! Or maybe buy some books and get on with armchair travelling instead. A million would probably get me everything I have on my TBR 🙂

    Best wishes,
    Nilanjana.
    Madly-in-Verse

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  6. I’m not too sure how well euros translate into Australian dollars but I’d love to buy a house at Byron Bay and watch the sun rise over the ocean in Winter. I’m not up early enough in Summer.

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  7. I think I would buy a collection of organizing bins and shelves do that my house would be enjoyable. I like pretty Stamos, too. I used to collect them and make book markets out of them. I don’t need book marks anymore because i only tag digital books, though.

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    1. I am sentimental about some things too, but mostly they have a story attached to them. Like the ring my mother gave me or an old book that belonged to my grandmother.

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  11. I have had so many collections in the past… I am trying to get rid of the clutter now. I think if I had money to spend just for something fun, I would buy flowers and other things for my yard, but if a million euros are as much as a million U.S. dollars, I’d really rather spend the money to pay off my bills and my children’s college education.

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    1. It is about the same amount. I guess if you had it to spend on fun things, then paying for college education of your kids, nice and nephews and your kid’s friends would be no problem.
      I think you would end up with the most beautiful yard ever, or is that what it already is?

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  12. You have bought Harry Potter books at 1 am on the release day!! Wow! That’s soooo cool! I used to collect stamps as a kid and for some time coins and feathers too. Now, all I care about is books. One can never have too many books! Right!?! 🙂

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    1. I actually ordered it months before they put the preorder sign up, they did look at me very strangely…
      I guess not, we can’t ever have enough books 🙂

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  13. 100M Euros or Dollars is way to much to have fun; sometimes it becomes a burden worrying how to maintain it or make it grow. Since your word challenge is C, I think (a worthy) Charity would make you feel much better and enjoy your life; a million goes to a long way for the right cause. 🙂

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    1. You are definitely right. I did think that maybe a good thing for those who don’t collect things is to help out others who don’t have lots of money themselves.

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  14. I’m not much of a collector either. Physical things aren’t that important to me. The “what do you want for Christmas/your birthday” question is one of my least favorites, because when I buy things it’s almost always from necessity, so I don’t have a wishlist going in my head all the time.

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    1. I so agree with you, whishlists are a pain, I only ask for things that I really need, so theres never any fun involved for the people giving the present…

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  15. Since I have a tendency to collect everything, I pay attention to my habit, now that my kids are no longer home and that I try to have more free time to write and spend less to keep up with clutter. But shells, pencils, and notebooks are my favorite collectible items. Otherwise, I love to collect as many joyful moments as possible.

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  16. I like to collect tickets to places I’ve been. They can be concert tickets, museum tickets, flight tickets, movie tickets…etc. I have a photo album that I stick them in. It’s nice because when I look through it I get reminded of the memories from that event. 🙂

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  18. I collect compacts, I have since I was a young girl. I love the fancy ones that hold loose face powder that they made back in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. They were works of art back then. If you want a nice ones now you need to get very lucky or they cost a fortune. I have about 15 of them and I love them all. But I would also love to travel more, maybe I could bring home a compact from each place I went. : )

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  21. Well let’s see, a million here won’t get me a house but it would pay off my bond so there’s that. And I could always use a new car. But spend it on frivolousness stuff, no that’s not me.

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  22. Pingback: Reflections #AtoZChallenge 2016 | Solveig Werner

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