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Skylar and I have a new obsession…Iwako Erasers!  They are these Japanese erasers that look exactly like whatever they are supposed to be and have interchangeable parts (like the fish comes apart and has the bone skeleton underneath).  Such as - fruits, vegetables, any food, scissors, cars, and they are coming out with a helicopter this month!  I know it is ridiculous, but Skylar and I have SO much fun collecting, trading and displaying them.  (Think Garbage Pail Kids, Pogs, and Beenie Babies).  We started out with about 20 and when we really need to splurge, we go out and buy one or two.  So far we have a ton of classic stories that have stemmed from our collections, but I will only recount a few:

1. We have official trades where we sit down and everything is timed out.  We get 10 minutes to look over all the Iwakos, ten minutes to trade and ten minutes to display them on our shelf.  During the look over, I always try and show Skylar the worst ones and talk about how cool they are.  For example, I was telling her how cool the (lame) Eggplant Iwako was because it was a deep purple - like none other either of us has.  Like clockwork, she took the eggplant on her second pick — freeing up the pink tulip for me!  After we trade, we do a little trash talking about how cool our picks are, and then we go to the shelf to set them up for everyone to see.  Mine looks really good, but Skylar has a hard time using different levels and props.  I keep telling her she just doesn’t have the eye for it, but as she gets older, she may develop that eye.  She just responds by flicking one of my Iwakos so it falls down, but I don’t really care because all I have to do is put it upright again.  She had finally had it when I called Gary Samuelian and asked if he would come over and help her.  I told him his visual merchandising background just might be able to help salvage her side of the shelf.  Gary thinks we are both crazy, but did offer his assistance.  Skylar just rolled her eyes, walked away, and next time I saw my collection my penguin’s nose was the whale’s water spout, and the top of my pineapple was a surfboard — she had changed all of the parts on my erasers so none of them went together.

2.  We display our collections on the same shelf of my closet.  Between our collections is a bottle of hand sanitizer, that must be used before we touch any of the collector’s items.  (The hard fast rule is that you can’t touch the other person’s collection without permission, but in bouts of teasing, we have both been know to break that rule.)  One day Calin walked in while we were both reorganizing our displays, and rolled her eyes…BUT tried to handle almost every one of them.  She acted like she didn’t care, but I knew she got the Iwako bug and really wanted a piece!  As she walked away, making fun of our obsession, I asked her if she wanted to start her own collection.  She quickly and eagerly responded, “Yes…but how will I buy them?”  I told her with her own money, and she disgustingly said, “forget it.”  As she walked away, I was trying to explain that if she didn’t spend her own money she wouldn’t have the same appreciation for her Iwakos that we did, and like any adult I was wise in my words.  She was long gone before I finished, but I think she got the gyst.  I entered my closet a couple of hours later and noticed everything was misplaced.  My heart skipped a beat when I thought my Iwakos had been terrorized, but both Skylar’s and my collections were safe.  But on the shelf next to our display was a printed sign that read, “CALIN’S COLLECTION! DO NOT TOUCH WITHOUT SANITIZER!”  And the shelf was full of different colored bouncy balls.  DUH — doesn’t she know that you can get those at ANY grocery store for 25 cents.  Ours are hard to find and are at least $1.75!

3.  Skylar and I both have a hard time remembering to put on our seatbelts in the car.  Trilby has tried everything from scolding to giving out bribes, but nothing has worked so far.  When we were in the car one day, and she was getting in trouble for not belting up, I said, “Skylar, I will make you a deal.  Anytime you catch me without my seatbelt you get to choose an Iwako from my collection.  But if I catch you, I get one of  yours!”  She was all over the deal and the games began!  She caught me the first time, and the second time.  I was so irritated, so I started trying to distract her when we started up the car.  I subsequently got her three times.  At this point I was one up on her.  Not to be outdone, as soon as she would get in the car she would get her belt on very quietly.  Then the second I turned the key she would get me.  I told her we had to wait until the end of the driveway, and she said, “yeah right”.  Then I told her that she had to wait until I at least backed out of the garage, but she won’t go for that either. So at the moment, she has gotten me 6 times, and I am still at 2.  What a rip off!  But I guess it taught us both a good lesson……be really sneaky when you are in the midst of a competition.

My mother thinks I am out of my mind, but Skylar thinks I am the coolest! Micah is slightly embarassed, and thinks I am funny because I love anything miniature!  If anyone out there has an Iwako collection themselves, please let me know and we can make an appointment for you to come over and join in on one of our trades! Also, if anyone asks what I want for my birthday at the end of this month…The new helicopter and jet sets would really be one up on Skylar!

PLEASE READ— IF ANYONE KNOWs OF SOMEONE LIVING IN JAPAN, I REALLY WANT TO BUY THE BOX OF 300, BUT THE WHOLE WEBSITE IS IN JAPANESE, AND I NEED SOMEONE OVER THERE TO BUY IT FOR ME.  THANKS FOR THE HELP!

I just went to admire my collection, and it is like there was an earthquake?!!!  Skylar, you are SO dead for knocking them all over!