The Proof of Addiction Thread
 

Hi all!:waving

I thought I might start a 'Proof of Addiction" thread, so that everyone can submit one story which might quality them as a certifiable, orchids addict. Only people we do not want in our lives think of this as a dubious distinction.

Unlike the AOS, we will not award actual points, cause you either got this bug or you ain't got this bug.

I will begin with my account.

A while back, already after it was clear I was seriously addicted and out of control, I was about to attend our biggest Spring Show and my then boyfriend was going to come along.

Heroically and proudly, before we left, I handed him my wallet...keeping only my Metrocard, and said with absolute conviction, "Please keep this until we are on the subway on our way back, and, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you to give it to me, no matter WHAT."

He got it and nodded happily and gave a thumbs up.

The minute we walked into the show....my whole endocrine system changed. But I remained mostly normal. When, at some point, we ventured into the vendor's area.....I began to leave my body and, as I went from table to table... the demon began to take hold and burgeon. It was ALIEN redux.

Soon, there were three cultivars I would have happily killed for...then four.

At that point I turned to my BF, he later said, with dilated pupils....and exhaled "Give me my wallet."

He proudly nodded NO.

This became a pas de deux, with each exchange more intense and manic on my part: "I changed my mind! I am an adult!"

The demon finally reached critical mass, and I literally leapt about and screamed, "I WANT MY WALLET!!!! GIVE IT TO MEEEEEE!"

At this point, his eyes were darting about in terror, as he, and I as well, both realized some humans within this crowded arena were getting rattled, some I got, even then, thinking maybe I, the screaming flailing female had been actually robbed of this wallet by this male person!

The demon will not be denied. My BF, then with the face of an OMG!!! smilie... gave me the wallet. The demon won. Again.

I am JM in NYC....and I am an orchid addict.:blushing:

WELCOME ABOARD!

Fellow New Yorker....
*what an interesting narrative....

HI!!!!! :biggrin:

THANK YOU!:waving

Yes, I may be small outside, but the orchid demon makes us GINORMOUS. (Goliath, eat yr heart out!)

BUT, where is YOUR story? We wanna hear it!!!

But I am not an addict....majority of my orchids were given to me or I swapped them ....

OMG....I will believe that when I believe Geo W has a brain.;)

We are safe here; exit denial and come forth!:lol:

The first step is admitting you have a....er, is orchid addiction a problem?

I'm not an addict. It's cool. I feel alive. If you don't have orchids you're on the other side.

:biggrin:

NAH. Not problem at all, unless you end up robbing banks or selling faux designer purses to feed the habit.;)

OR.....start tearing down bearing walls to get more footcandles.

But see, addicts don't dabble, we EMERSE with unalloyed passion.

Starting to think, some members of this community might actually not be true addicts!

Howwwww......annoying.:D

---------- Post added at 09:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:09 PM ----------


lol Are you at least addicted to The Blue Devils? Kidding, we get you are one.

I wonder if Im an addict? Let's see...

I bought my first orchid less than two months ago, and since then Ive added 5 more to my collection...

:-( oh no...is it bad? Have I caught the bug?

My story started with one orchid it was a large Phaleanopsis. yes I said was. I ended up killing it by over watering it. Since then my son gave my granddaughter one for her birthday in Jan. I had been helping her care for it. I went to Lowes with my son to pick up some flowers for my garden around our pond. Well I seen the Phals there and I now have a addiction. Last week I purchased 9 from a nursery and had them shipped to me. Today I went to lowes again and purchased 6 more mini phals. Last night I ordered a small green house to put into the back of our house where there is little heat in the winter. I have purchased pots, orchid food several boxes. Soil meter to tell me if I have enough light is ph right and are my orchids moist or dry enough. I have even now hand pollinated and it took. I have Phal seed pods forming now. I ordered books joined the board as well as a forum. YES I AM addicted to orchids. Now I just have to find out how to care for each kind... LC Cariad's mini Quinee,Slc Fire Magic 'Solar Flare', Den bracteosum Species, Epi Radicans obrienium, Dtps,fusheng's Gold lip " Mx Dtps Hsinging mount 'BD, Slc Fire Magic 'Nora', oncidum alliance Gold Dust, Dyakia hendersoniana Xsibling. cattleya syn lealiapurpurata v. alba Slc world vacation ' shibuya Sunset. These are the ones I need to find out how to care for... They are also the ones from the nursery. Would you say I have been bitten by the orchid addiction? YUP

Outstanding. Your credentials should arrive in the next email via attachment. Make sure you check your spam folder so you don't miss them.:)

---------- Post added at 02:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:30 AM ----------

:bowing

Congrats! You have achieved placement in the very select, overclocked warpseed, supersonic section!

Be proud! Be VERY proud!

I just found out the parent company of Oak Hill Gardens is only a 45 minute drive from here. This is bad news...this is, omg! I cant go! I wont! I shouldnt...

My boyfriend will tell me no! He will fix this :-) wait...no he wont. He always says yes :-( OH NO...

(Dear Lord, give me strength...to leave my credit card at home.)

Hello. My name is Laura, and Im an addict :-(

Laura I know what you mean 15 minutes from me is a big nursery I have been there twice so far. Not purchased anything yet there but boy they have some beautiful orchids.

My son just shakes his head each time I bring a new orchid home. But usually its just NOT ONE. lol

---------- Post added at 02:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:55 PM ----------

JMNYC, is there a award I can put on my wall for making it to the addiction orchid club this fast...:rofl: I have only been collection orchids since hmmmmmm a month or so now and yes I am just as much addicted to orchids as I think someone that collects them for years.

No! Read my account. No Faustian stuff goin on here, Laura; the orchid demon is benificent, the orchid demon is your FRIEND!:bowing

---------- Post added at 02:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:35 PM ----------

Of course! As I posted, that your addiction has taken hold/progressed at solid state drive, supersonic, overclocked speed has qualified you to be in a very small coveted section of the addicts" community!

Just print out my official acknowledgment post, frame it and put it on the wall.

You will be the focus of uber envy!!!!:D

You know I will post it to on my wall... lol got to get a nice frame to for it. Will be on my wall by the end of the week... hahahaha

Fist Bump! Just make sure you don't trivialize it by posting it on yr Fakebook wall.;):bananaslide:

And remember, any little gaggle of humans showing up at yr door saying they have arrived for an INTERVENTION....are agents of.....SATAN.:fire:

Peeks out the windows before opening the door from now on... LMAO

Exactly! Tell them thru the closed door they should be looking for Lindsay Lohan....and they are not even in the right state!:nana:

How's this. After Grad School, I plan on going where it would be most beneficial to my orchids.

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OMG! we (the envelope please!) haaaaaaave.....the WINNAH!!!!!:celebrate

I'm not an addict.

In the 1980s I used to have 2000 orchids. I went through treatment for a number of years with zero plants. Now I have a modest and controlled collection of 30 plants.

I know I am playing with fire, but I hope to come out unscathed.

:shock:

1) In the days of the 2K.....did you grow outdoors? In a greenhouse? Where?????

2) You did the cold turkey on your own?? Formal rehab?
Did someone employ harnesses or physical shackles?

This.....is really sumthin!!!!! Pls tell us more!!!!

See, I think it rocks that you no longer feel you must sacrifice by total avoidance! And I think, this time, you will be more in charge of the number!

Sends Plantbuddy another orchid... ok how about a flask of pretty baby ones. Can you resist them now?

Pls no mocking/enabling of our brethren with extreme cases needing compassion! Not cute!
:(

Sorry I will be have, takes orchid back and flask to.

Perfect! Even within a heady, jocular celebration, sometimes really serious emerges and must be respected as such!:bowing

But in this account, I am dying to know more details re what kinda facility someone would have to have to simply accommodate 2K orchids!

I get plantbuddy is in Ottawa, but that does not tell me what I want to know re specifics.

Given plantbuddy is now doing something heroic in starting over, I do think we need to support him, even tho he made sure to put a playful spin on his account.

Welcome to the club! Last october, I started building my collection after the house renovation works were done and i had a balcony space for my orchids. The collection grew rapidly from say 8 noid Phals which i had from the pre-reno, by me adding say 10 each trip to a couple of suppliers. Some mths had several trips... Needless to say, less than a year later... I have over 120 orchids... This is an addiction indeed...


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:biggrin:

You have absolutely passed this very esoteric voir dire! Forget, in under one year!!! (Wow.)

Congrats!:bowing

Gawd, not to mention me checking out Orchid Board every night before I go to bed. No matter how tired I am.


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I drove about six hours, so I could buy orchids for my terrarium rather than just ordering online, because I wanted to see the actual plants themselves and talk to the person who was growing them.

And after doing that, I'm thinking about heading up to Trader Joe's today to see what they have.

I'm thinking, I might be an addict.

So tell us what you bought when you get home and take some pictures we all want to see.

YOU POLLINATE!!!! Let them form pods and you POLLINATE?:shock:

Not only are you a true and happy addict, you, atypically are a graduate level school addict!!! How many of us will ever be moved to breed?

A-mAzing!!!!:bowing

Came away with another NOID mini phal. I just counted, I already have 8 mini phals, this new one makes 9. Pics later. LOL!

I've taken a part time job at the big box store so I can buy all the cattleyas they bring in. In one season I've bought over 25! Then I go to all the other stores to check out what they have. I can't stop. They're inexpensive so I figure it's cheaper than drugs or a therapist.

I ordered 8 flasks to come in next week with a few friends from on the board we are sharing them. So I have my hands into a little of everything right about now. hehehe Watch out.

Please, I already relate and I've been here for eleven minutes.:blushing:

---------- Post added at 11:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:34 PM ----------

:shock:

Flasks of what? Pls share! How much of your primary residence is devoted to/occupied by this passion? Say, in square feet. Versus the total square footage? Percentage?

But, at least this "lovers on the side" phenomenon.....will not threaten relationships!:biggrin:

---------- Post added at 11:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 PM ----------

Yay! :dance13:

All of this is making me feel so normal!!!!:blowkisses:

---------- Post added at 11:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:44 PM ----------

I just love this! Anything for love! This account is a MOVIE. Who shall we cast as you??

Pls revisit GOODFELLAS (one of around 450 items in my DVD library).....I believe you should consider learning truck hijacking. If you get them BEFORE they hit the store, you can quit the part time job!!!:bananaslide::nana:

JMNYC, well my daughter and granddaughter will be moving out next month so that's one complete room, back is a sunroom the length of my house. As well as there is orchids in my livingroom as well as on the front porch right now. Hmmmm some in my bed room to.
I lost my husband 2 years ago to cancer so it will not hurt my relationship at all. Its giving me something to do and keep my mind on.

Well! First, my hearfelt condolences.:(

But I must say, I can not conjure a more life affirming, rapidly burgeoning passion than exactly what you are happily engaged in!

So, BRAVA!!!!!:congrats::verycool:

---------- Post added 06-27-2014 at 12:36 AM ---------- Previous post was 06-26-2014 at 11:57 PM ----------

Hi again,

As further proof of my addiction, I thought I'd put up two of the desktop wallpapers I made a while back using ONLY MS PAINT. No Photoshop EVER...all you need is a clear vision in your head (these are not actual cultivars) and being a good mouser. In my case, a left handed mouser.

With only MS PAINT, you can do almost anything, including honing parts of the image you are creating, pixel by pixel should you want.

Oh dear! I uploaded them and they did not appear! I then checked and both bmp files exceed the size allowed! hold on, I will try to make them smaller.

K, I need to make them even smaller, and I cut both by half already.

K, I made them both jpegs and then even smaller; not sure if they will even be visible but here goes......

OMG, I did it again today. Friday shopping spree. 12 orchids came home today. One of them cost a third of the entire 11 others. It's the most expensive orchid I bought and it wasn't even in bloom or spike. I hope it blooms for me. Another addiction sign? The most expensive orchid in the collection keeps getting MORE expensive?


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Bet it will bloom in your care! And all this....perfectly NORMAL.

Simply watch for some point at which you are moved to start giving away yr furniture to make more room to grow.