I had a friend (still have the friend, though we don’t have regular access to each other anymore) who liked to “show off” how obscure some of his possessions were, possibly to achieve the “wanderlust effect” (i.e. the reaction of “how did you get these here”). Something about the anticipation that his inventory was alien to whoever he showed.
One day, he was asked to bring games and a console and he brought one of those extremely rare knock-off bootleg gaming consoles they sell in Asia, which we’re not even remotely near.
“What the heck is that” asked my other best friend?
“It’s the Mega Duck. I brought CFGP with me too.”
“Why can’t you be a normal Upstate New Yorker? We literally got Playstation.”
“What fun is that?”
It wasn’t some small quirk either. One day he took a long walk and came across a part of the area nobody had been to in decades and took pictures with my camera which he happened to have. Also having hyperthymesia, he came back and was all like “I took these photos of a place that seems like it was out of a fantasy painting and also recognized someone there who was on the missing persons list when I came back”. Like a boss.
In contrast, alas, ever since moving, my possessions have become overwhelmingly mundane enough you’d expect most of it to be in an 18th century post-colonial American home, the exception (if you could call her that), ironically, being my dog who is of a rare breed.
What’s the most wanderlusty thing you own, something that would be the absolute opposite of mundane if in your possession?
I MADE a clock with nixie tubes. I gave it a friend who is notoriously difficult to buy for. It was the only thing I’d ever heard him express an interest in that I knew he wouldn’t buy for himself. We both talked about how cool it was.
Now it sits on his entertainment center and every time I visit, I’m envious that I don’t have one. How stupid is that? I have to get around to building one for myself.
Oh wow, how are they built? I want to make one!
You can watch some videos on it but generally it’s not too hard. You buy the circuit board and solder all the parts on according to the instructions. The nixie tubes must be bought separately. They were only ever made in the USSR so most come from Russia. Buy extras because they are so old some fail. Then just power that sucker up. The tubes are quite fiddly and there are different types and sizes so you have to buy the board for the type you are building. The real fun is building the case of your choice.
Thank you!