Greetings Gentlemen,
I know…you might be thinking “here we go again.” Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
In this case, the title may be a little misleading; when sabbatical is mentioned in our hobby, oftentimes it implies a commitment to refrain from making any purchases for the entire year. I contemplated this notion for quite some time actually. Should I continue to cater to my AD’s as I have been throughout this past year, or should I stop cold turkey? I certainly have enough in my den to easily last me the next 5-7 years. For me, I found the answer lies somewhere in the middle. This is a sabbatical from using anything that is not part of my den as of the last day of 2013.
The truth is, I’m quite realistic about how things will actually work out with me. It’s not that I can’t go a year without buying anything, it’s that I don’t want to. Granted, I do plan on drastically limiting my purchases (since I wouldn’t be able to use them anyway), but if I come across a rare opportunity to acquire something special, whether its an LE, SE, or some other unique item that comes up on BST, by all means I’ll be logged into my Paypal account before I finish reading the description. I couldn’t forgive myself for letting a rare opportunity pass simply due to the technicality of time.
Why am I doing this? Simple…In 2014 I want to slow down and smell the roses, so to speak. I feel like I have many excellent products in my den that simply don’t get the attention that they deserve, or never got the chance to take center stage, even for just a little while. Particularly over the past few months, it seems like a new brush doesn’t even get properly broken in before another one shows up at my door, and of course my attention is diverted. The same applies to soaps…a new recruit quickly overshadows the previous troops. I am fortunate and grateful that this is the dilemma I’m facing, but I feel at this point I should take a break from the acquisition obsession, aka the “pursuit,” and really direct my focus on what I already have, over the next year.
The fine print:
In regards to new acquisitions: Earlier I touched on my thought process here. If a rare opportunity comes up, I will take advantage and obtain this hard-to-get item if it is within my means. However, I won’t buy something that is easily obtainable just because it is on my ongoing want list, and I happened to get a good bonus at work leaving me with a little extra cash. For example, I have a Duke 3 and a Duke 1, and I love both and really want a Duke 2. And I do plan on getting one eventually. However, they are not hard to come by, so it’s out for 2014…unless Simpsons happens to release something like an LE D2 in super with a unique handle material (hint hint, Mark Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.). Now, a TSN 2014 LE Brush…count me in right now.
Use limitations: As I also mentioned earlier, I will not use something that is not in my den as of the last day of this year. Now, if I happen upon that special brush purchase, will I really NOT use it? Right. However, I will certainly do some test lathers and might shave with it once or twice to ensure the brush is, in fact, not defective. Once that condition is met, in to its box it goes where it shall remain until New Year’s Day of 2015 Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Speaking completely for myself here, I believe sometimes we tend to get carried away with the “hunt.” It can be a little too easy sometimes to convince ourselves to get something because {I just read some reviews on it and I came to the conclusion that it’s the greatest thing since air, and my life will be completely empty, dull, and pointless without it}, or {well, I have the small and large size, of COURSE I need the medium size and I have a $0.02 credit at X retailer so let’s do this}. While these are meant to be exaggerations, I will be the first to admit that at times, for me, they’re not too far from the truth. Some may read this and think, “Giorgio, you need professional help!”… and others might relate and think “Darn! He read my mind!”
Either way, I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts. Feel free to follow along and observe my possible breakdown in Q4 of next year, or even jump onboard, perhaps tweak the rules to your liking. Or on the other hand, tell me how utterly ridiculous and blasphemous this idea is, and the gentlemen on TSN will hear none of it…your comments are welcome. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
I know…you might be thinking “here we go again.” Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
In this case, the title may be a little misleading; when sabbatical is mentioned in our hobby, oftentimes it implies a commitment to refrain from making any purchases for the entire year. I contemplated this notion for quite some time actually. Should I continue to cater to my AD’s as I have been throughout this past year, or should I stop cold turkey? I certainly have enough in my den to easily last me the next 5-7 years. For me, I found the answer lies somewhere in the middle. This is a sabbatical from using anything that is not part of my den as of the last day of 2013.
The truth is, I’m quite realistic about how things will actually work out with me. It’s not that I can’t go a year without buying anything, it’s that I don’t want to. Granted, I do plan on drastically limiting my purchases (since I wouldn’t be able to use them anyway), but if I come across a rare opportunity to acquire something special, whether its an LE, SE, or some other unique item that comes up on BST, by all means I’ll be logged into my Paypal account before I finish reading the description. I couldn’t forgive myself for letting a rare opportunity pass simply due to the technicality of time.
Why am I doing this? Simple…In 2014 I want to slow down and smell the roses, so to speak. I feel like I have many excellent products in my den that simply don’t get the attention that they deserve, or never got the chance to take center stage, even for just a little while. Particularly over the past few months, it seems like a new brush doesn’t even get properly broken in before another one shows up at my door, and of course my attention is diverted. The same applies to soaps…a new recruit quickly overshadows the previous troops. I am fortunate and grateful that this is the dilemma I’m facing, but I feel at this point I should take a break from the acquisition obsession, aka the “pursuit,” and really direct my focus on what I already have, over the next year.
The fine print:
In regards to new acquisitions: Earlier I touched on my thought process here. If a rare opportunity comes up, I will take advantage and obtain this hard-to-get item if it is within my means. However, I won’t buy something that is easily obtainable just because it is on my ongoing want list, and I happened to get a good bonus at work leaving me with a little extra cash. For example, I have a Duke 3 and a Duke 1, and I love both and really want a Duke 2. And I do plan on getting one eventually. However, they are not hard to come by, so it’s out for 2014…unless Simpsons happens to release something like an LE D2 in super with a unique handle material (hint hint, Mark Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
). Now, a TSN 2014 LE Brush…count me in right now. Use limitations: As I also mentioned earlier, I will not use something that is not in my den as of the last day of this year. Now, if I happen upon that special brush purchase, will I really NOT use it? Right. However, I will certainly do some test lathers and might shave with it once or twice to ensure the brush is, in fact, not defective. Once that condition is met, in to its box it goes where it shall remain until New Year’s Day of 2015 Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Speaking completely for myself here, I believe sometimes we tend to get carried away with the “hunt.” It can be a little too easy sometimes to convince ourselves to get something because {I just read some reviews on it and I came to the conclusion that it’s the greatest thing since air, and my life will be completely empty, dull, and pointless without it}, or {well, I have the small and large size, of COURSE I need the medium size and I have a $0.02 credit at X retailer so let’s do this}. While these are meant to be exaggerations, I will be the first to admit that at times, for me, they’re not too far from the truth. Some may read this and think, “Giorgio, you need professional help!”… and others might relate and think “Darn! He read my mind!”
Either way, I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts. Feel free to follow along and observe my possible breakdown in Q4 of next year, or even jump onboard, perhaps tweak the rules to your liking. Or on the other hand, tell me how utterly ridiculous and blasphemous this idea is, and the gentlemen on TSN will hear none of it…your comments are welcome. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
