J.U.I.C.E

JUICE. It stands for Just Under Inside Clearly Experience. That, of course, stands for nothing. Ever since going through my quarterlife crisis I've started, amongst dozens and dozens of other little things, looking back at the toys of my youth. For me the toys weren't just "smash toys" like so many kids. I'm sure I did a bit of that but for me there was more. A creative outlet in my youth. There were stories to be lived through my toys. Whole worlds to be created, histories to be formed, and lives to be experienced. Appropriately this made me an odd kid. I was an introvert. I am still an introvert. These toys played off that retreat to my inner sanctum. They were my outlet and my easal (sp?).

Last year I started going ballsout crazy. With an influx of money like only the Kaiser had ever seen and a nagging feeling of... well something negative I needed a comfort zone in which to retreat. This came through LEGOs! I bought one set. That spiraled into a couple sets, which grew into an entire line. Ah consumerism, isn't it a beautiful thing? I bought a LEGO castle for three reasons: it was a good buy at half off, it had tons of cool figures and parts, and finally I had always wanted one in my childhood and never got one. I started looking at old sets to buy online and interesting newer sets, but my excitement had waned enough that I stopped pursuing LEGO. I admit that I'll still like it and pick up sets probably for as long as I live, but it won't get like it was last year.

I started looking at other toys I had when I was younger. I found websites for G.I. Joe figures, TMNT figures, Ghostbusters figures and such. It's ridiculously easy to research anything these days. Everything has a wiki or fansite. I found a website that had listings of every G.I. Joe. Every single figure I had owned was catalogued at the site. I jumped back to 1992-93 and was able to find all of my favorites. In my LEGO fury last year I found numerous amazing websites that both catalogued not only every set, but every brick. What a nostalgiac feeling it is to find the pictures of toys you've long ago lost.

I've overcome my need to seek out any of these old toys now. I'm going to keep looking to the future. I'm not the most mature person, I'm not the farthest along in life. A small amount of nostalgia was fun. A good feeling. I don't need that sort of thing any more. My focus has shifted back to my current hobbies and life.

Like Helen Wade Keller. My deaf cat. He's almost as annoying your average white trash American. Not in the same way, of course. I mean, he is white. But he's not trash. He does get into the trash. And finding a job. Not for the cat. He can't afford to get a job with his current schedule. It's loaded. But for me, or even Silas. He's laaaaazy. Lazier than Smudge.