Collecting ... Genie Lamps

Just before Christmas one year my mother began to complain that I was too difficult to buy for. I wasn't too worried about it and said not to buy me anything. 

"Oh I can't do that?" she replied. "What would people say?"

"Honestly Mum, you don't need to get me anything," I tried to reassure her.

"Why don't you start collecting something?" she suggested.

I became rather alarmed at the thought, because mum has a collection of more than 800 dolls, bears and figurines.

"Oh no!" I thought to myself, images of enormous mounds of dolls sprang into my mind, growing larger and larger, overtaking the walls and cupboards in my home, until finally spilling out onto the street and footpath.

"Let me think about it," I finally replied, hoping fervently she wouldn't buy me a doll of any kind.

At the time I had a kind of theme going in my bedroom - lots of purple and gold with glittery pendants hanging from the ceiling. Friends commented that it looked a little like Aladdin's cave.

"Aha!" I thought, and when I spoke to mum next suggested she might like to get me a genie lamp because I was starting a collection. 

I intentionally chose genie lamps because I knew they would be difficult to find, and I didn't want to be overrun with them.

Well, it's been more than five years now, and my mum still hasn't managed to find me a single genie lamp. But would you believe it ... I started collecting them myself and now have around fifty. I've become rather fond of my collection.

It is getting rather difficult to find inexpensive and different kinds of genie lamps though.

As we head towards Christmas again this year, my mother has once again complained about how difficult I am to buy for. After writing an article on hearses recently I've told her she can buy me a miniature hearse.

For some reason, my mother thinks I'm a bit strange.