OMG...I feel as if a weight has just been thrown 
from my chest.  I thought I was the only one who 
felt this way about cel collecting.  When I got 
back into it, I thought it'd be fun.  But the 
politics, and the misses, and the pain, and the 
politics...did I mention the politics?  I mean, I 
really had to check my dignity at the door, 
something I didnt think Id have to do.  I've 
gotten myself way into debt, as well as made some 
enemies with people I dont even know.  How does 
that happen??  I thought you could only dislike 
people you knew.  I love my cels, but when I look 
back at the pain I've had to go through for some 
of them, the nights of no sleep over waiting to 
see if my offer was accepted, or my order was 
first in line, or if so and so updated, or if 
someone sniped my Ebay auction....it's really 
REALLY a life killer.  I used to be able to go 
out, buy music, clothes, dinner, groceries, gas 
to go home and see my folks...etc.  Now, I have 
to struggle to make rent, and my friends have to 
buy food for me >_<.  

Now...here's the conundrum.  I love the cels, and 
the friends I've made...but not the hobby.  It's 
hateful, mean, crude, stressful, backstabbing, 
heartbreaking, and above all expensive.  Not to 
mention the fact that total strangers treat you 
like dirt for saying something remotely outspoken 
or wrong about X gallery, or X person.  God, you 
can get blackballed by this "community" just for 
saying something about prices on stuff.  Im an 
artist, with experience animating.  I love the 
art, I really do, and I respect it.  But this 
hobby is often times not about people like me who 
love the art...it's about competition, status, 
money, connections, names...oh, I forgot politics 
again, dumb me.  I guess Im in a gripy mood 
tonight, but MAN Im glad somebody had the stones 
to get up and say something!  I plan on stopping 
this hobby pretty quickly.  Im just shy of all 
the things I want, and after that, poof, Im 
gone.  I love the friends I've made, and I ADORE 
my cels so much, they really are treasures....but 
the "bloodshed" is getting too thick for me now 
as well.  I do love collecting...but I cannot 
handle the Commandments that it's bound to.  I 
hope I dont get slammed to bad for saying this 
stuff, but, at least it's off my back now.  Im 
sorry to see you go Steph, but....trust me, you 
will be a much more contented and happy person 
once you lock the door on cel collecting.  Good 
luck, and may the rest of us be able to finish 
our collections, and finally sleep a full night 
through without stumbling over stuff on the floor 
to check Keep Track just one more time...