Taipei Toy Festival and Me
A couple of years ago - before the pandemic gripped the world - I was on the verge of buying a ticket and flying off to Taipei, with the distinct sole aim of visiting "Taipei Toy Festival".
No sight-seeing needed, just for the event and I'll bug out return to SG after that, like the Internatioanl Jetsetter I wished I was, PRE or POST-Stroke LOL
There are more days when I wished I actually did the deed (because of what happened afters), than there are days when I am thankful I did not indulge in myself too much then (because of what happened afters...).
After years of blogging about the annual event (every year since starting in 2007), and a growing-n-gnawing desire to visit and see with my own eyes (Stroke-recovery be damned lol), I was seriously considering depleting my entire savings (which is not a whole lot, but was actively employed then, so I foolishly felt slightly more "confident" :p) to fulfil this desire.
"Math" eventually won out ("MATH" always wins in the endgame), and I regained my dwindled-sanity but for a moment's respite, and I continue to hope to one day be able enjoy my experience more freely, and with lesser feelings of guilt nor consequence to my personal funds (AKA "Not in this lifetime"), and that I could still comfortably afford my own medication in the long run. #truestorybro
Since then, COVID happened, and international borders closed, and I am no longer in gainful employment, so it all kind of "worked out", didn't it?
Ironically, I blew my savings for that year at my local toycon, before that too succumbed to COVID-restrictions, leaving me with a boxful of toys as yet reviewed, and a nagging regret for not sustaining my urges, especially with realising I'd not be receiving a monthly paycheck thereafter.
Hard to view the box of toys without feeling bitter, and I really don't want to fake it. I don't regret my choices though! But my guilt overcame my toyjoy, so they remain snapshots on my blog instead.
A self-funded trip would include flight tickets, accommodation, event admission, and yes, funds for buying toys. I tell myself: "It's less of the toys I can buy, but the experience I'll have", but I know I am partially lying to myself LOL
Also on the other hand (knowing myself more than I let up) - WHAT I buy, is not as important than the experience that comes with buying the toy. The people I meet - both artists and collectors - are crucial parts to the overall equation. Owning a piece of colored plastic versus the memories of getting that piece in your hands, are two different things in my mind, be it "cause and effect", or "intertwined destiny" (as I yet again comfort myself for excessive buying *cough*) ... but that's just me and my aim and expectation in mytoylife.
But even without flinging myself down the dark hole of brokedom, what I've always looked forward to, is viewing the various art exhibitions affiliated with TTF, on the event grounds, and timed to coincide with TTF-dates (I'll have to sort out HOW to get there without getting lost - so it might also mean "additional cab fare"? :p)
And of course MEETING FRIENDS. That's par for course, and frankly needn't even need be said, but...
My life anywhere certainly would not be as colorful now either way - my dietary habits have altered drastically (Thanks to Gout - brough on by long term post-Stroke medications that have fkd up my kidneys - I no longer take most red meat, soy products and a laundry-list of foods that would've made my life a tad nicer to live on for), and "night-time" activities remain minuscule-to-none-at-best - my physical condition is not tip-top, and my body is older (even as my mind struggles to mature still LOL), so really, "low maintenance" versus "high maintenance" = depending on which side of the restaurant booth you choose to sit, innit? LOL
In many ways - for a very long time now - I have accepted that beyond Singapore, the only other accessible and affordable toycons outside of Singapore, would be (A) Taiwan and (B) Thailand. San Diego Comic Con and New York Comic Con used to be my goals when I started blogging decade(+s) back, since then the closest English-speaking country would be DesignerCon in USA, but even then the feasibility has dwindled to a unspoken whisper.
Japan is ever my dream destination, but that's another story for another day, for another KIV bucket-list unticked.
With friends in both Taiwan and Thailand, I could at least get some recommendations to suit my ability and accessibility. I have had wonderful trips to Thailand in the past (and hope to continue to in the future), but I've never been to Taiwan or Taipei, so that would be a right decent tick off my bucket list.
And I remind myself to bring a umbrella ... it nearly always rains during TTF, doesn't it? :p
Maaaan, I've reach an age where the "bucket list" has taken on a more tangible notion, no longer a figment of imagination, but a physical list etched in my consciousness LOL
Cheers, and hoped Taipei Toy Festival 2022 was good to you this year :)
Andy TOYSREVIL
