But, even if I don't have much time to take photos of my dolls, I still feel like a lot is happening with my dolly family :)
My birthday was in May, and for my birthday, my faincee did something very sweet for me. I think you need to know a little bit of background first.
Back in 2009 I was really getting into the heart of collecting BJDs. My grail doll/biggest dolly-want at the time was a Minifee Seorin. I just thought his face was everything I wanted and more, plus their posing ability was oh-so sweet!
So I got on the DOA marketplace and started poking around, and found 2 lovely Seorins for sale. I sent a pm to both owners about a possible trade, having no money at the time. Unfortunately they both sent me back a "no thank you" message D:
So I was thinking about what to do. The doll I had available to trade was really nice, a very yellowed minisupia Yan, who I really liked a lot - - but I *needed* a Seorin. He was my dream doll. I contemplated listing her on the marketplace, but I thought that if I didn't get any takers, or if I couldn't sell her for enough to get a Seorin, it'd be pointless. (Saving up wasn't really an option; I think at the time I was jobless -- how I manage to buy/get more dolls while not having a job than while working is beyond me lol).
But anyway, while I was contemplating things, I got a pm from one of the people who had originally turned me down.
It said she might possibly have changed her mind about not trading, and would like to see photos of my Yan.
So I immediately complied. I also noticed, at the time she was living about 30 minutes away from me (I was still in California at the time), and told her that if she wanted to, we could meet up and if she liked Yan, and wanted to trade, we could do so right there, and if she didn't, well...it would just be a nice day out with another doll collector :)
She agreed and said she wouldn't mind coming out to where I was, and that I could pick the place.
The volks usa store while awesome, was out of the question, since neither dolls we were trading were Volks and that would just be bad juju, so I told her to meet me at a Starbucks where my good friend worked there as a Barista (she was even going to be working on the day of the meeting).
Well, long story, while still long, and hopefully with the purpose of shortening it a bit, we met, she liked Yan, and we traded on the spot :3
So I brought my lovely new (well, to me anyway) Seorin home, where he was instantly dwarfed by my Dollzone Hid, so, thinking short + muscular must = Italian, I went on a naming website trying to look for a good name for him. The name "Andrew" popped in my head while I was playing with him back at starbucks, but I put that name on the backburner because Andrew was not at all Italian in my mind, and I couldn't even think of why that name would have popped in my head to begin with.
But, I looked on the naming site for the Italian equivalent to "Andrew", and that's how I came up with the name "Andino". I loved the sound of that name, and immediately settled on it; with "Andrew" being his "american" name since he felt more americanized than italian, and wanted something people could relate to and not mis-pronounce (aka story development lol).
So he quickly became my ladies man, and my absolute favorite doll ever, all my friends loved him, I loved him, and was one of the few dolls to make it past the year-mark with me. (read: has a bad habit of selling dolls).
So, I'm in Florida. Things are happening (I'm honestly depressed), and a co-worker offers to sell me his car (a dream car of mine, an oldschool Volkswagen Bug).
In a fit of (emotions, feeling childish collecting dolls, etc), I sell almost -all- of my dolls. And against the advisement of everyone around me (boyfriend, parents, etc), to come up with the funds to buy the car.
So on the 2nd year anniversary (3/11/10) I sell and ship out Andrew.
Honestly, I cried at the post office.
But I felt like I had to do it. I couldn't hold on to being such a kid anymore, and needed to do grown up things like buy a car. And all the dolls in my collection added up to a car.
A while (too late), I come back to my senses. Maybe this was about a year later.
And I regret, more than anything selling him. All my other dolls in my mind, were easily replaceable, except him. I had such memories with him, including the uniquness of all my other dolls, being able to pick him up at Starbucks. All of my friends fawning over him. "Mr. Sexyman" as everyone called him.
And Brian (my fiancee) said he'd buy him back for me, if I could ever find him again.
So I emailed/pm'd the girl who I sold him to, knowing she herself sold him to someone else -- asking who she sold him to, and my ideas of getting him back.
She told me who currently had him, and that she doubted that the girl would mind selling him back to me.
I got excited, giddy even, and pm'd the girl who at this time still had him (a girl who was good friends with the girl I sold him to), and it took no time at all for her to respond.
She said she had no problems selling him back to me, whenever we were ready :3
And so, for my birthday this May, that's exactly what Brian did.
He brought back my most treasured doll, Andrew. He's old. Yellowed. Faceup is chipped. His hands don't match his body. But I couldn't be happier.
When I got him he didn't have the eyes & wig I sent him off with, so it's been a process of collecting things (with limited funds), but we're getting there. His eyes showed up recently, and he's looking a lot more like himself :3 He just needs his dark wig.
I promise more photos. And not instagram ones lol.
And to know what he looked like before hand.
Just so excited, and I had to share my joy.
You all get awesome-points if you actually read all this :P
