Select Page

It seems a bit strange, that with the bang-bang nature of G.I. Joe news in recent weeks, to be writing a post about finally picking up DVD pack #3 (that’s the “Arise, Serpentor, Arise” pack containing Dusty and Montezuma’s Skeleton, for all of you who have moved on from such ventures).  Granted, I could have picked this one up sooner, but I was picky about finding one with a fully-accessorized Dusty.

All the same, from a collecting standpoint and as a G.I. Joe fan, I’m pretty wiped out.

While this is only the second G.I. Joe purchase that I’ve made in 2009, I can’t think of a time when I’ve been more preoccupied with the hobby.  Are those new pictures?  Will the movie be any good? Are they ever going to get around to (insert character here)?  How am I going to get the COIL Newsletter together?  Should I put something up on Justin’s site?  What am I doing about getting to Kansas City this summer?  Can I even afford to do this anymore?

That last one’s a big one.  There are days where it looms large.  At the risk of turning maudlin, though, I’m going to steer clear of it for now.  Times are tough all over, and the last thing I want to do is risk turning this entry into four hundred words of “woe is me.”

Regardless, it’s been more about keeping some degree of focus in the last few months.  Even last night, as I stood in a Target in Carmel, Indiana, ready to pick up that “elusive” DVD pack #3, I was wooed by a newer entry on the bottom shelf.  Yes, the new Target-exclusive Tiger Rat and Python Conquest were in, and they were joined in their sirens’ song by the G.I. Joe Conquest that I’ve still neglected to pick up.  I was frozen there for at least ten minutes as I pondered which item I really wanted more, if the extra five dollars for one of the planes was really worth it, if I could somehow stretch that $20 impromptu toy budget to $30 or even $40 and not get kicked out of my apartment, or if I should even be buying toys this week in the first place.  A glance to the pegs saw that I could have bought two comic packs for the same price (like the Iron Grenadier/Viper and Gung-Ho/Fred pack, which are both on my “buy” list), and there was still that pesky Matt Trakker that I’ve been neglecting… ultimately, of course, the first impulse won, but you see my point.  I guess that immovable skeleton really is that exciting.

Is anybody else dealing with “voices” like this?