I am writing a book about people who collect stuff in some kind of organized fashion. I am interested in people who collect specific things and have imposed specific parameters on their collection. I especially interested in people who are passionate about collecting things that don't have a lot of value to the rest of us. For example, vacuum cleaners. A man has created a website about his vacuum cleaner collection. His advice to other vacuum collectors is that an object, in this case a vacuum, is only as valuable as someone else thinks it is--in other words what is someone else willing to pay for your old vacuum or iron. He points out that since there is a very small pool of vacuum collectors, he will not get rich on the proceeds of selling his collection. This is the type of collector I am interested in--not the investor or speculator--but the person who enjoys or finds comfort in the objects they accumulate.

As I write, I am reminded that I have always been interested in what people are doing and why their activities are meaningful to them. This is why I went to grad school. And then I put my interests in stories aside and started doing corporate work. I was using my skills, observing and interviewing people, and trying to translate what I saw into something the client or colleagues wanted. I am terrible at it. I am a terrible powerpoint creator. I am terrible at micro messaging at the slide and bullet point level. Telling a story in the corporate world and telling a (real) story are two different animals. It took me a long time to realize that. So, after my last couple of spectacular stumbles in the corporate world, I get it. I am done trying to do the ppt. schtick. Hopefully, the stories I will tell from now on will be interesting to others.