on collecting

i enjoy collecting things. ever since i was young, i collected baseball cards, comic books, and now video games. although, i am beginning to think that the older i get the more obsessive compulsive compulsive i get about things. before, it was enough to just have a few of something, but now, i feel the urge to get entire collections. complete sets of this book series or multiple copies of different editions. this has even carried over to my gaming life. in fallout 3, i have 100+ dinner plates stashed away in a desk somewhere, and even more empty bottles in a vending machine out in the middle of nowhere. when did a hobby become something far, far worse? i worry slightly that this hording instinct and collection of limited edition things is just the tip of the iceberg of a much bigger problem. perhaps this is just a phase or an attempt to bring order to my life that i am unable to find in a more productive manner. but does not everyone have a special something they collect? the internet makes it so easy to find anything your heart desires, at least in a material sense. and speaking of collecting, points are amazingly fun to collect. it does not even matter what they are for, i will usually go out of my way to get them. frequent flyer miles? casino comp cards? heck, even monopoly pieces from mcdonalds.

maybe i need some help...