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I genuinely enjoy watching the movie You’ve Got Mail with the actors Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan.
I’m not really a big fan of “chick flicks” or Romantic Comedy movies, but there are a few that I enjoy every now & again. You’ve Got Mail is one of those such movies that I like to watch. It’s a pretty outdated film, focusing on dial-up modems, the AOL running man logo, & that ringing email chime. Also, who can forget the start of instant messaging (a.k.a. AIM)?? Those were the days before iMessage and MacBooks.
This movie is charming. I like the idea of chatting up your love-interest/soul-mate through letters (electronic or other), getting to know each other deeply through careful, heartfelt words written without inhibition. It brings me back to when I was dating my husband. I used to send him handwritten letters at least once a week. He didn’t really have interest in the girly stationery or stickers I put on them, but he loved reading my letters. He kept all of my letters. I stopped writing him letters, but every once in a while I still write him notes & leave it on his nightstand table for him to read. He still loves reading my letters. I still love writing them, especially decorating them…even if he doesn’t much care for the stickers.
I was changing my wallet today; I wanted to reuse one of my old wallets. As I was pulling out my old wallet, it felt a bit thick for being “empty”. To my surprise I found a stack of cards stashed away inside (eg. various business cards & store point punch cards). This was the biggest surprise of all! Many great memories came flooding back as I was sorting through these punch cards.
Ever since I was a small child up until my early twenties, I used to shop at my local Sanrio™ shop probably once or twice a month or so. (It got worse when I was able to drive a car.) Each time you made a purchase of a certain dollar amount or more, you would get your point card stamped. Then, when you filled up your card(s), you were able to redeem them for prizes. The more point cards you accumulated, the bigger (for lack of a better word) the prize you could get. I would save all of my cards each time to get the highest point value prize. I was probably saving these cards for something special I wanted…which is of no use now, since Sanrio™ has discontinued their point card program for quite a few years already.
Not only do these point cards bring up memories of the times I used to regularly shop at this store, but it also triggers memories of the wonderful times spent working there as well. Yes, I used to work at my local Sanrio™ shop. One of the greatest memories I have of that shop was the day I was invited to work there. The shop manager kept noticing me every time I shopped there. So, one day she approached me & told me that I should just work there since I would visit often enough, & I would get a sweet employee discount. That sealed the deal for me. I ended up working there for approximately four years, made lots of fun friends, learned how to appreciate everybody working in the retail industry right down to the “little guys” behind the cash register & taking out the trash. I had so much fun working at that place. I even got a big compliment from our regional manager for having an overly-obsessive knowledge of all things Hello Kitty & Sanrio.
Those times have long since come & gone. The shop I once worked at has changed ownership & management, moved to a new location, & now looks completely unrecognizeable. A new shop has taken up our old location within the shopping mall. However, the memories still remain each time I walk past that storefront. Those surely were the good ol’ days. Cheers.
Hi, I’m Melsenpai, & I have a problem. That’s how these confessions usually start off, right? Well, to really get into it, I do have a problem…a stationery hoarding problem. It mostly revolves around postcards & pens, but today I will only be focusing on pens.
This all started when I was a small child back in the mid 80s. My aunts & uncles from Japan would always send my parents presents & snacks from overseas, & they would often include small trinkets for my sister & I (mostly Sanrio/Hello Kitty related). Also at that time, my sister’s dad (my mom’s ex-husband) used to manufacture licensed Sanrio merchandise. So, my sister would always get a whole bunch of free Sanrio stuff, which she would pass on to me if she didn’t want them or got bored of them. That really jump started my huge obsession/fanaticism/passion for practically ALL THINGS SANRIO. Then, when you couple this with my habit of hoarding (a.k.a. not wanting to give away or throw away any of my toys & things), that’s where the snowball effect came into play.
What I am about to show is only a portion of my pen collection (with a couple of mechanical pencils thrown into the mix). I’ve got many more pens scattered around the house & stashed away in old storage boxes. A while back I got this large craft box from the Container Store & quickly filled it with stickers, pens & other supplies.
That is what the box looked like before I went nuts. Over the course of one year plus that box became cramped, dare I say…too small. I filled up that box with what my husband would call “useless junk”…but I would call them my treasures! After my last few trips to Tokyo, this is what my craft box has become.
I had to take out all of my pens. They were becoming unruly & kept falling out every time I opened the box. This box now houses a majority of my stickers & a few washi masking tapes.
I now store all of my pens in a new box, which I lovingly refer to as Trevor. (Yes, I gave it a name.)
Trevor is slowly being filled up as well. However, despite all of my “hoarding”, I DO, in fact, use all of these things. I don’t just collect them for the fun of it. I actually use the stationery I buy. Though it may take a long time for me to use them all. I keep adding to my stockpile before I can finish them. Oh well. Cheers.
Rabbits & Foxes 
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