Sometimes I wonder if I have an obsessive personality...but ahhhh...don't we all have a touch of it? An example? Take the Slice of Life....how many of us have spent an enormous amount of time writing and reading blogs? This is not bad...but in my case, I think it has taken me from what my family and friends must think is my obsession with money...not spending it...or making it. (and no...not 'making' it like my distant cousin, Ivan, who spent a few years in the penitentiary after making thousands of dollars in his basement....sorry, Maxine, I let the 80 year old family secret slip through the lines of the blog.) So, what do I do with money? I mark it...just the bills...I stamp it, enter its serial number on www.wheresgeorge.com and wait for someone to get that bill and do the same. This is a way to track the bills and see where they have traveled. I think its fun. I enjoy it. When I get an email from Where's George telling me that one of my bills has been spotted I stop whatever I am doing to check the Where's George site. Some of my bills have traveled to the west coast. I imagine what kinds of adventures they have had...whose wallets and pockets have given them temporary homes. What's it feel like to be stuck in a sock or shoe of a middle school boy or has the wind ever blown it away at a drive-thru when getting exchanged for food?
On the Where's George site there is a place to tell where you received the bill. Lots of people don't fill that in...but for those who do, it gives me another shot of adrenalin. One of my bills was going to be sent to someone in the service overseas. One of my bills was left by Santa in a Christmas stocking. My favorite was a bill that was received at a medical marijuana store. I wondered what kinds of adventures that bill had.
But this is not an obsession...the fact that my husband hands over his money to me whenever he has a bill that is unmarked...or that my friends know I will be exchanging marked money for their unmarked money when we meet for lunch...these are just small annoyances...not an obsession. I admit, I do carry my stamp with me so I am always prepared....(And no, it is not against the law.....and there was the time I started to pay the server for dinner and realized I had no marked bills...I could feel the panic begin in my gut. Should I grab the money from him and mark it?...No, that would be weird. I swallowed the panic and watched my naked bills be carried away knowing I would never hear about them.
The real reason I know I am not obsessed with Where's George occurred to me this week. I have not marked one bill. I was on a short road trip with my sister and had lots of time to mark and enter my bills...and hers too. Instead, I found myself reading blogs from the Slice of Life and writing my blog for the day. I would hear that small ting on my iPhone notifying me that an email has arrived...and I'd check to see if someone had read and left a comment about my blog. I get the same adrenalin rush from that...in fact it is more. I feel someone has heard...no...listened to something I had written. Poor George...I feel I have neglected you...but I have my stamp ready, and as soon as I post this blog and read a few others...I will begin marking and entering to continue your adventures.
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I have never seen a bill stamped like this before, but now I will look a little closer. So if I find one I need to go to the website, right?
ReplyDeleteYes, hearing the ping there's an email and the hope that it is a comment is a thrill like no other.
We all have our little obsessions in life. :-)
Hi, just getting back to replying to you. If you see a Where's George bill, just go to the website and enter the serial number. I have only done this for a couple of years and it only takes a little time todo it. Don't get obsessed!
DeleteFun to read about your obsession being replaced by blogging and commenting for a short time. It sounds fun, and like Elsie, I'll be watching for one of those marked bills in my wallet.
ReplyDeleteYes, it has been replaced by the blogging. I hope you do come across a bill. Not a lot of people do this...only about 36,500 in the country...so getting a bill is rare. I have not gotten a bill in a couple of years. Thanks for the comments.
ReplyDeleteJackie,
ReplyDeleteThis is too funny! I had no idea you could mark bills. I'm pretty sure it is something I should not have found out as I have a bit of an obsessive personality as well. Not overly so --- I don't think, but I do get in these little modes of working tirelessly on something. Genealogy. Yep, done that. Scrapbooking. Yep, done that. Blogging. Yep, done that. Slice of Life...in the process. Last week, Trish (Today I Love) told me about letter boxing. I'm afraid to give it a try as I think I might get, let's just say, a little TOO involved. Knowing I can track George may create a similar problem. Oh no, I see the website on the picture above. Trying to resist. Trying. To. Resist.
Cathy
Hi Jackie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this slice for so many reasons:
First of all, I, like you, tend to get deeply involved with whatever activity I am passionate about at the time, so I could identify with your topic, and was drawn in immediately. However, it was the perfect balance of wit, humor and emotion ("rush of adrenaline"...."swallowed the panic"). kept me reading, and smiling the entire time.....Thank you for giving me the opportunity to follow you,( and your bills), on an incredible journey. You were able to make me feel as though I were right there with you....
That being said, I may just have to take a peek at the Where's George website....but it will to have to wait until April, You see, I only allow myself one obsession at a time, and for the month of March, by obsession is blogging :-))
Thanks for the Where's George....replying late. Give it a try when you have time. It does not take long to enter the serial numbers. Good luck for the rest of the Slice this month. It has been fun.
DeleteThis is such a cool idea! I think I have seen a few marked bills over my life, but I never did anything about it. I apologize profusely if one of them came from you! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your reply about Where's George...and I accept your apology. :-) Good luck for the rest of the month on the Slice.
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