Century Mark! 100 Followers! 100 Words About Thrift Stores in Japan!

I don't know exactly when it happened, and I don't know how to tell who it was, but sometimes in the past few days I broke the 100 followers mark. I want to thank all of my readers for visiting this little bundle of insanity that is my writing on trading cards. I know that this blog has continued to be successful (in other words, written) because I know people are reading my posts. I like to share my thoughts with others, and even though they can be quite pedestrian or boring at times, I appreciate all the time you all spend in my neck of the woods.

And with the thanks for reading, I can add thank you for your comments and emails, thank you for your trades, and thank you for your insight and feedback. I often work with the resource that is my brain, and many times it is wrong - and when I'm wrong I appreciate the corrections. Last, thank you for all the trades over the past 16 months or so. I owe many of you cards, and some of you are in the middle of trades with me that I really need to address!

It hasn't been easy to keep writing all this time. There have been significant periods where dust has settled onto the shelf that holds this blog's keyboard. I've gone from being unemployed and thus a full-time collector and writer to living in Japan, working full-time, traveling all over Asia, and splitting less time with more hobbies (hello social life, and welcome back photography). I've been making a serious effort lately to consistently write again every day for one of my two "life" blogs, fighting mental and physical exhaustion-caused apathy. The topics are there - card scans are piling up in my hard drive and my travel photos and experiences are certainly backlogged (all the way back to April). It seems that time flies by even faster in Japan.

But every time I write, I see people reading, and that's just inspiration to write more! As are the comments and emails I get. And the continued new followers. Even with a complete change in my lifestyle, I'm happy to keep writing. And while I don't have three posts a day like I did just one year ago, the words are still flowing over here.

So thank you again for being a part of my life!

So with that, I give you 100 words on some finds at a nearby thrift store here in Japan.

 Bobbleheads for 500 yen?!

 Creepy Giant plushies?

 Someone lost interest in Ichiro.

 Thrift stores in Japan are called Recycle Shops.

 They are pretty rare, but have cool stuff. Like a Goodwill in Massachusetts.

 A stadium giveaway from Seattle for 100 yen. Sweet!

 A cool bank for 50 yen!

This holds a small shopping bag that attaches to your keychain. Eco-friendly and stylish!

Thrift stores are pretty rare in Japan, but with a weak economy, more stores are popping up. Unlike Goodwill, they usually have very high-quality goods (especially clothing). Finding them has been hit-or-miss, and one of them I found on accident!

That's about 100 words. I'm planning some return trips (everything above was found at two thrift shops in my town) so I could have more luck again. Until then...

PS, I'll do something for having 100 followers once I get it organized. Unfortunately, my weekends seem to be getting booked a month or more in advance.