Buying items related to your special interests

Hey! I absolutely LOVE the Jellycat Bashful Bunnies, I brought my first one when I was about 17 and realised they come in all sorts of colours and different sizes too. I've posted a photo of the bulk of my collection however I have them scattered around the house (colour coordinated to each room decor) I have around 60 in total now, and I try to limit myself to buying one each month if I can afford it as I can get very fixated and carried away spending all of my money. I get a lot from birthdays and Christmases too as I keep a list of which colours I am yet to get which I share with family. I do have my original one though if I'm ever sleeping away from home it comes with me! She's a very loved, very tatty bunny now though!

I love your collection Cayman! I also have the speed champion and Porsche. I love collecting the speed champions! I’ve been collecting them over the last couple of years and have a nice collecting going.
Have you seen Lego have recently released a Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole? It’s beautiful! 

Bless you, it's so hard.  It's good you are learning how much to push yourself and your own boundaries though.  I never use public toilets unless absolutely necessary but it's more about the smell and sensory feelings i get as I am able to push the germ thoughts away.  I'm not diagnosed OCD though so I reckon you have a more intense reaction than I do.  My fears are mainly to do with being allergic to products that they use to clean the toilets and not being able to use their hand washes because my skin will itch and blister.

Yes, the hoovering works well for us both so thats a good thing.  That's rough that housework is stressful for you.  I hope you are able to get to a point where the anxiety reduces the more you do and that you find reasonable coping strategies for when it's bad.  I find putting on music is a good motivator for most things for me. :-)

Hey there! 

I also buy too many things related to my special interest. In my case, that interest is performance cars. I can relate to that level of obsession whereby, upon seeing anything even remotely related to your interest, you feel completely compelled to get it! 

I particularly enjoy collecting highly detailed 1/64 scale diecast models from a range of manufacturers. And, as a fellow Lego Lover, I pretty much immediately purchase all of the car-related Lego sets as soon as they are released (I have more Lego Speed Champion sets than I know what to do with).

Pictured below are a few of my favourite models from my collection: 

Below is a size comparison between a diecast 1/64 Scale Porsche 911 (964) RSR model, a Lego Speed Champions Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Edition and the absolutely awesome Lego Porsche 911 Turbo set. That big Porsche is a particular favourite of mine as it has a fully modelled interior with adjustable seats, a working steering system, a modelled engine bay and functioning doors, bonnet and trunk! 

I can also really relate to the idea of having very slightly different versions of the same thing, as you have with your many different versions of the Titanic on DVD! For example, I have two nearly identical models of a red Lamborghini Countach sports car, with the only difference between them being that they are based on slightly different variations of the same car. 

I honestly think it is great to be so enthusiastic about an interest! Whether that be Lego, The Titanic or cars! The thing you need to watch out for is the burden it can take on the wallet!

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of Lego sets do you collect? Are you a fan of any one range, or do you collect Lego in general? 

Wow-well done on overcoming some of these tendencies like the same coloured clothes pegs-this remains a pretty big issue for me. I try not to do things like that but it doesn't last unfortunately. Sounds like you're doing really with it though-you should be really proud of yourself! 

I'll offer to vacuum for her when she's making tea though which she's fine about and I love doing so it's a winner but I still get the fear using their bathroom... :-/

Big problem for me! I struggle to use bathrooms in extended family's homes-and almost never use public toilets because of the germs-the idea of it just gives me such intense anxiety I try not to think about it. 

I like how the hoovering helps her but also helps you-that's really neat and a kind thing to do. I wish you came round my house! I do like housework I love everything being clean-but I feel anxious when I'm cleaning because of the germs and dust-its something I'm trying to improve on. 

I'm the same in the way that all my objects have a place and so if there are new things appearing that my daughter puts there, I feel the urge to move or tidy them but I don't straight away so I don't give in to these feelings.  I've overcome matching the colour of pegs to clothes when hanging clothes at my mums but I still have the urge there.

It's really tough going to others houses because of the whole germ thing but I am of the mind that exposure to different environments allows for a healthier immune system so I keep that in mind when I'm anxious about how dirty someones house is.  My friend who I mentioned in the previous post doesn't like housework so has a pretty untidy and dirty home.  It's not hugely dirty but enough to make me uncomfortable.  I'll offer to vacuum for her when she's making tea though which she's fine about and I love doing so it's a winner but I still get the fear using their bathroom... :-/

This is something I don't do because I get stressed when my environment is too full

That's so interesting-from that point I'm almost the same I get stressed when my environment is too cluttered-I don't mind there being lots so long as it's neat and organised. If I see something out of place or looking cluttered I get really stressed-then there will normally be a meltdown in store for me. 

Everything in my room has to be just right if it isn't-or gets cluttered and out of place then it'll really affect me badly. 

Going to other people’s houses is always hard. I can totally understand where you're coming from with that. I also worry about germs and how clean other people's houses are-that's just my anxiety and ocd going in to overdrive though!

This is something I don't do because I get stressed when my environment is too full.  I'm sitting here in my living room typing this and thinking everything needs tidied away as it's too messy (there's only two extra library books there and a glass which aren't usually left there).  I only really have stuff that I use and tend to buy small batches of things I like - my favourite cruelty free, vegan shower and hair wash, the fabrics I'm going to make underwear and tshirts with and my favourite food spices for example.  I only tend to buy three at one time so two can stay in the cupboard while one gets used except for the fabrics as I needed new tshirts so splurged on the fabrics I loved since it's rare for me to see already made clothes I like.  I like to literally create my own style of things from designing my own shoes, jewellery, rucksacks, hair (I cut my own) and makeup ( I used to make this until I became allergic to more things so no longer wear makeup).

My friend is a collector of all things so I find it pretty stressful going to her house because there's stuff everywhere.  I love seeing her though so that takes precedence.  She's a person who rarely contacts me but when i contact her she replies almost instantly.  This is something I find tough but I figure if she is ADHD (as she suspects), her mind is probably overrun with thoughts so it's hard to have time for everything she likes to do.

I looked through more of my collections last night and found I've got 19 David Bowie cds. I do listen to them a lot as well-but didn't realise I had so many. He did used to be a special interest for me but not so much now. I've loved his music though since I first heard of him at school. 

I've got the same problem-try and not get carried away and get too much collecting and yet I always end up getting way too much. It sounds like you collect some lovely things though-I would love to collect stuffed animals. 

You sound real adventurous with your cookingI cook from time to time but I'm not experienced and generally always make the same things-I find cooking stressful though. 

Have you considered online shopping so you can get the ingredients you're specifically after? I get a lot of things online now-find it a lot easier and a lot less stressful than having to go in to the shops in town.

Sounds lovely!-I used to own lots of historic books but my collection is dwindling a bit now-yours must be amazing though! Do you read them much?

I really want to get vinyl-only got cds at the moment.

Wow great pictures-thank you for sharing them! I really need to get myself to the Lego House one of these days-I'd move in there if I could!

Lmao!!! Strawberries.  But they're no longer the giant nightmare they were. The war is over! Uhane's tip of using Vaseline was genius and actually worked-today I still have 2 Strawberries still thriving.

That’s a really good find in a charity shop! DVD’s will make a comeback one day like Vinyl, so definitely keep hold of your DVD’s, you might have some gems in there!

As for your minifigure collection, I know how many you have and I’m jealous! I went to the Lego House 6 months ago and loved the display of some of the very first minifigures ever made… 

I’ve also found you a piece of Lego that has your name written all over it…

I don't set out to collect anything, but because I keep gathering things I like over time, it becomes a collection. I have many card decks, crystals, books, puzzle cubes, stuffed animals. I try to be sensible and not get too many things, but considering that my collections are always growing, I'm not doing a very good job at that, to my own dismay. 

I buy a lot of history books and some I could borrow from the library but I feel I have to own them.  But I do actually read them rather than have them gather dust.

I don't have the money to indulge my interests or the time or the space, I would end up living in a library, I do have quite a few books, but read many more on kindle and use the library for non fiction that I can't afford to buy.

Luckily cooking needs to be done, but living where I do, it's hard to get ingredients so most of my food tends to be 100 different things you can make with what you can buy in an understocked supermarket. A disaster happened a couple of weeks ago, when I realised I could no longer buy jack fruit in our supermarkets, that requires a special trip to Bangor, as do so many other things. I live in a bit of a restuarant dessert too, to have a 3 course meal out would require me to go to a different restaurant for each course and a drive around the island. Most of the food is steak and chips, fish and chips and stuff like that and anything veggie is cheese heavy which is no good for me. I've not eaten food cooked by anyone else for over a year now and I can't remember the last time I went out for a meal or had a takeaway.

I do indulge myself with plants though, although the local garden centre has got very poor recently and my growing conditions arn't the best as we get strong salt laden winds.

Wow, it sounds like you're living quite the adventurous and fulfilling life in Spain! Your passion for refurbishing apartments and mentoring autistic school leavers is truly inspiring! That's such a wonderful-kind thing to want to do, just helping others, we could do with more people like you in the UK. It's wonderful to hear that you find the climate, food, and people in Spain so delightful. The low cost of living and high interest rates on savings definitely sound like great perks of living there, something we need more of over here-for sure. Sounds like you have immersed yourself there and settled in to that way-pace of life. It must be amazing to experience the diverse climates and cultural influences that Spain has to offer, from rainforests to European climates. I've read up a lot about Spain but all the reading I bet-doesn't do it justice!

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences here, I find it really interesting and it's clear that your positive outlook and adventurous spirit have brought you a lot of happiness and fulfillment there-thank you for being so open to sharing your experiences of-life in Spain. Also super appreciate your offers of help as a guide which i would undoubtedly need lol. When I visit a new place I'm like a lost sheep! One day I will def visit there-though I need to get my anxiety sorted out first. Your post has literally made me want to visit there even more now. 

Paige said:

Do you live in Brazil

I live here now - semi retired in my 50s but keep active buying derelict apartments and refurbishing them. I also mentor some autistic school leavers to help with the transition to work which feels really rewarding.

For me the climate is great (it is currenly the same season as the UK in Jan and is 27C / sunny), the food is awesome (nowhere near as challanging as some of the Far Eastern cusines with the level of chilli and spices) and the people are really friendly.

I bought my one bed flat for £20k and have renovated it to live in while doing other, more special properties in old, famous buildings - and living here is really cheap while having a 12% interest on my savings in the bank. I don't even need to work to have a good income.

You do need to speak Portuguese to get by here as English isn't spoken much at all, but it is fine if you stay in the big hotel chains and go to upmarket restaurants.

I try to live as the locals do and it works well.

A return flight from the UK starts from about £650 direct so it is affordable for long haul (6,000 miles) but the 11 hour flight direct is a pain in the bum, especially in economy class.

The country is so big (something like the 5th biggest in the world I think) that it takes up to 6 hours to fly from top to bottom, but this leads to lots of different climates from rainforest, desert, grassy plains down to very European climates in the south.

There are big cultural groups from Africa, the Middle East (especially Lebanon and Syria), Europe (French, Italians and Germans especially), Japan and Korea.

These groups are mostly well integrated and the fusion of their cuisines with the awesome ingredients out here makes eating a wonderful experience.

It is a long way to come for just one country, but you can experience so many wildly different things when here that you don't need to go elsewhere.

If you are ever considering coming out then I can either give tips or be a guide to help you find your feet here.

Do you live in Brazil or are you there for work? I've always wanted to go to Brazil-I love the history there and it's always looked appealing to me. That's really good of you to lend your books like that to help others learn and improve. What a cool thing to do.