Hello to all in the group...

Is this "Normal" ?

1. You find out about LB'ing while doing a few searches of the web as you work on another activity .. "GeoCaching"
2. You stumble across the web page of AQ.
3. You think .. "Hey, this looks really cool!" I'm gonna work a few of these just for giggles.
4. Go out and buy a simple SB Stamp .. just so you can play the game like it should be.
5. Find a few easy, local boxes .. "Man, this is so neat!" Would you just look at all the stamp art work some of these LB guys and gals have made on their own ...
6. Post a few questions on the site to get things in order .. "I hope" :-)
7. Work a few virtuals that so many kind folks have made available.
8. Post my own First Virtual .. COOL !!
9. Spend several hours on the weekend .. "working a few"
10. Start gathering the needed supplies to carve my own stamp.
11. Check the AQ mail box to see what's going on .. several times a day ... ????
12. Wonder if I should sign up for Prem. Membership ?

Now, should I seek "help" with this ???
Maybe work "just one" on the way home from work ?
Stop at Hobby Lobby and see if there is anything more I need ?
Head to the Man Cave at home and get 'er going on the new stamp ?

Oh, BTW .. the wife thinks this all pretty cool too !

Best of the day to you,

GeoGordie In Greensboro, NC

sounds right to me...

Normal or not, it sure does sound familiar...
JBanana

My family's fairly new as well. Still haven' t carved our own either, but hope to do so. Planting is on our list, too. You need to find an event near you and go. It is awesome to meet others. Great way to get some personal travelers (PT) and a cootie or two or twenty!
You'll definitely be hooked after an event. Enjoy!
~BF

sounds normal to me & a fellow NCer too!

Sounds pretty normal to me, but then again who am I to say what's normal? I'm on AQ every chance I get! Nice to have another boxer in NC. We're in Statesville.

That's about how it works.

There are two types of people in the world.
1)Those addicted to letterboxing.
2)Noxers.

That's it. Sounds to me like you're addiction is only in the early stages. Wait til it really grabs hold.

ah, well yea, sounds normal to me and then your friends start dropping hints to you about a 10 step program. Roxboro,NC boxer.

My professional diagnosis: you're hooked.

Forget about doing anything else. You'll note that your productivity in other areas of your life will drop sharply, while the hunting and creation of letterboxes takes priority.

It's a very good thing your wife thinks it's cool, too... because then you'll both be sucked in together and won't have a rift created by little pieces of rubber and ziploc bags! :-D

*S

Welcome, yep, all perfectly normal, and apt to consume your life. As for needing help, of course you do, and plenty of help is to be found here on AQ! Oh wait. You meant help quitting? No way! <g>

DebBee, UNC-G graduate

I agree, with the others, certainly is normal. And once you go to your first gathering, watch out!(especially if Ryan is there). Welcome to the "normal" club.

dee123

Sounds about right to me too!

Welcome to the nut pile! ;)

Yup, it's normal. Welcome to the addiction! The good news is that it's an addiction you'll enjoy and it's legal!

I heard about it from a friend, but then the rest of the steps you mentioned...I followed. You have "found" a couple of my boxes...welcome again!! Turtlelove, in Burlington

PS Did you see the series I put in Greensboro? Monkey, Tigers and Bears...oh my! Local and three more under your belt...

yes, it is normal
yes, you are adicted
yes, it is too late to get out
yes, you need to buy a green hat

welcome to letterboxing...

by the way, you can use that gps thingie to keep track of where you walk during a box hunt, so in case you get lost you can find your way back out...I watched a guy do this. He also sets the unit exactly where the box hides and records the "exact" lat/lon of each box in his logbook. Just wanted you to know that expensive electronic thingie can still be used and isn't a waste of space/time/money.

night writer

I'm sure this is very normal to most, but I what I like is the 'Man Cave'!

heehee,
~SHH :-)

Welcome to the magnificent obsession of letterboxing! I don't know about "normal" (what is "normal", exactly?), but those are the usual steps down the slippery slope. (If there isn't a letterbox at the bottom of that slope, I need to plant one...) :)

Have fun!!!
Webfoot

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I don't know about "normal" (what is "normal", exactly?)

This is an excellent point. It may not be normal for the general population, but if you're going to hang out on AtlasQuest, you'll fit right in!

DebBee

You are a freak, and should see a shrink at once. You need professional help or at least a 12-step program.

When you find good professional help, and meds contact me ASAP; I haven't been able to find any.

Hello, my name is Connfederate...and I'm a *hangs head in shame* letterboxer. And whom, if you were to review his profile/interview started 'boxing in a similar manner. :rolleyes:

Welcome to the Darkside GeoGordie! :D

Connfederate

he HAS a 12-step program. didn't you see his post all neatly numbered and everything? 12 steps to becoming a letterboxer...

night writer

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Is this "Normal" ?

Completely. You left out the "gave up on geocaching because it's not as cool" part though. ;D

-gollygee

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Hello, my name is Connfederate...and I'm a *hangs head in shame* letterboxer.

What is this shame nonsense you speak of?!?! I wear my addiction proudly! :D

-gollygee

sounds ALMOST normal...
before you can be REALLY normal you must add these to your list...

• you must completely take over one room of the house for LB goodies
• be on a first name basis with the hardware guy at wal-mart where you buy camo paint and tape
• have at least 70% of your casual clothing stained with camo paint or inky fingerprints
• when shopping, you enlist nearby shoppers (total strangers) to help you rummage little books and journals for blank paged ones
• every old oak or hollowed tree is a potential hiding place
• every headstone in old cemeteries makes your mind boggle with clue ideas and rhymes
• you buy little breath mints even though you don't like them cause the container will make an awesome cootie or LB
• you are on a never ending search for carveable stuff
• your kids start thinking that everything you touch must be letterbox related. (while fixing up a sewing kit in a baggie for emergency repairs the other day my son says, "where ya gonna plant that?")
• the purse section in stores becomes a stalking ground to find a bag or backpack with a place for a compass and PDA...and ink pads...and baggies...and logbook...and flashlight...and waterbottle...and sig stamp...and so on
• when you have actually learned how to explain the hobby without bumbling on the words or feeling "weird"
• when everyone you see at the local park is silently judged between your family members by what they carry as to whether they may be letterboxers or not
• you can no longer see your kitchen countertops cause there is no time to wash dishes... you might have AQ mail instead.
• when your best friends have names like Mojo, Mama Fox, Knit Wit, MountainScorpia, Mama Wolf, Shiloh, Orion, Yorkshire Tortoise and on and on...

then you are touching on normal...
normal in my world at least ;)

dixie

No not normal at all..... by now the mancave would be transformed into the letter box stuff holding area. LOL the letter box.
Welcome
Jo from Wooohoo Crew

It sounds almost exactly like what happened to me! Except I'd never heard of LB'ing or Geocaching before, but a friend told me about her first letterboxing experience, and I said "Tell Me More!!!" Ever since, I've been checking my AQ daily, always printing off new clues and now I trek out ever Saturday (3 so far) and I've now found 12 stamps, including my first Hitchhiker! First I did use a store bought stamp that I had already owned, just because I wanted to get started right away, but now I've carved my own, and I'm planning my first plant! Good luck with all your findings!

~Firedancer

I am a newbie too Geo. And, you (and they) are right, it does not take long at all to become addicted. But, I agree with Golly, I will wear my "addiction" with pride. Addiction to hiking and figuring out clues sounds like something good for body, mind, and soul!

Perfectly normal! And...... it doesn't go away, so settle in for the long haul ;-))

And sign up for a gather - before the rest of us NC boxers have to come drag you physically from your dwelling to attend one. We're Gathering Fools here in NC - and you are lucky enough to live in the middle of the state, so you can get them ALL fairly easily (not that living on the wrong side of the state has ever stopped the Florys........ LOL ;-))

There's a gather in Boone Sept 8 - not too late to sign up!!!! (or maybe you already have!!)

Mama Fox - who wants a Fox Cave, where no one will bother me for mundane stuff like juice, supper, breakfast, bedtimes, bath times, laundry, grocery shopping, school, work - all the stuff that is SECONDARY to letterboxing......

i can't help it if i'm addicted to gatherings :)

"I can't help it if i'm addicted to gatherings :)"

ME TOO! I've been to at least one gather/event every month this year. It's getting to where I can't even call myself shy and reclusive anymore.