58 replies to this topic

[Spider-Man]

So I am going back to school in just a little over a month now and am starting to get those sad, inevitable feelings that I will have to leave my collection behind and put a hold on buying new sets  

However I started thinking that this year I am going to do it a little differently! I decided that I am going to take one of my small bins of misc. pieces down to school with me for those times that I just need to hear that clinking of the pieces bouncing off each other and let my creative juices run free!    I also decided I am going to take down some of my favorite minifigs (Spidey   ) to keep my new builds company. I have a single for the entire upcoming year so I won't need to worry about bugging a roommate! I feel like this is a great solution to the long break that college can sometime be!

So come on fellow students! Let's hear some of what you guys do to stay LEGO active at school, and for those that have made it through college already, what did you guys do?

[SheepEater]

I used to live in a crappy college dorm, so I know the dread you feel. However, I had begun my "dark ages" then. Still it would have made no difference if I hadn't; there's no way I'd leave ANY Lego in a crappy college dorm.

[HumanPackMule]

I'll be living on campus next month, but since my house is a 25 minutes' drive away I'm not worried. Chances are that I'll keep a set or two with me in addition to a Nerf arsenal big enough for a small army. Additionally I'm keeping a decent part time job(getting a raise in October) so I'll still have money to throw at sets that interest me.

[ZO6]

I totally admit that College didn't slow down my Lego buying habit in the least (which arguably wasn't the best thing).  Even during those years when I lived in one of those 7x10' rooms, I had every surface packed with Lego.  It didn't help that I had a TRU a walking distance of 5 minutes away, a Lego store approx. 25 minute drive away, and an independent Lego store with rare and old sets about a 40 minute drive away.  I had a steady income, and I budgeted myself so I never had any problems in that department.  When I was around, I pretty much always had my dorm door open.  People were constantly checking in to see the latest and greatest that I'd purchased and put on display.

[HumanPackMule]

ZO6, on 19 July 2012 - 12:59 AM, said:

I totally admit that College didn't slow down my Lego buying habit in the least (which arguably wasn't the best thing).  Even during those years when I lived in one of those 7x10' rooms, I had every surface packed with Lego.  It didn't help that I had a TRU a walking distance of 5 minutes away, a Lego store approx. 25 minute drive away, and an independent Lego store with rare and old sets about a 40 minute drive away.  I had a steady income, and I budgeted myself so I never had any problems in that department.  When I was around, I pretty much always had my dorm door open.  People were constantly checking in to see the latest and greatest that I'd purchased and put on display.

That's a good idea, leaving the dorm room open. Did you make any friends that way?

[Spider-Man]

ZO6, on 19 July 2012 - 12:59 AM, said:

I totally admit that College didn't slow down my Lego buying habit in the least (which arguably wasn't the best thing).  Even during those years when I lived in one of those 7x10' rooms, I had every surface packed with Lego.  It didn't help that I had a TRU a walking distance of 5 minutes away, a Lego store approx. 25 minute drive away, and an independent Lego store with rare and old sets about a 40 minute drive away.  I had a steady income, and I budgeted myself so I never had any problems in that department.  When I was around, I pretty much always had my dorm door open.  People were constantly checking in to see the latest and greatest that I'd purchased and put on display.

Thats pretty sweet that you were so close to everything! I atleast have my car on campus so I can atleast drive the 10 or so minutes to Target and see what they have in. I just don't like having to break everything down to bring back home   lol

[4WD]

I'm taking a fifth year in high school, so I'm not headed for College/University for another year. As I need to limit my money and space, however, I've already made some plans.

I'm limiting myself to one big set a year, of any price, that I'll keep built together. This can be anything from a medium-large set like the Batcave to the $500 Super Star Destroyer. The rest stays cheap, but generally goes in my parts collection for MOC'ing.

Great topic, by the way. There are quite a few newer members going somewhere this fall.

[ZO6]

Oddly enough, the years that I was in a small room were also when I acquired and displayed the most stuff.  Those little rooms had loads of shelving on the walls!  I was easily able to display 2 complete themes plus a number of even larger sets all at the same time.  

HumanPackMule, on 19 July 2012 - 02:27 AM, said:

That's a good idea, leaving the dorm room open. Did you make any friends that way?

You bet I made a lot of friends by having my door open!  The only time it was closed was if I was away or asleep.  If you've got something like the Tower Bridge or one of the Modular buildings built and on display, no one can resist giving them a closer look - providing a perfect opportunity to strike up a conversation!

Spider-Man, on 19 July 2012 - 04:43 AM, said:

Thats pretty sweet that you were so close to everything! I atleast have my car on campus so I can atleast drive the 10 or so minutes to Target and see what they have in. I just don't like having to break everything down to bring back home   lol

Luckily the Lego store wasn't built until my last year in residence, otherwise it would have taken even more of my time and money.      I was a really social person, but I never did much partying or drinking, so I put that money towards Lego instead.  At the end of each year I'd always disassemble all the sets into ziplock bags and pack them into tupperware containers for easier transportation back home.  I didn't mind having to rebuild everything at home.

[Spider-Man]

I am the exact same way. I love going to hang with friends and I play basketball at the gym pretty much everyday, but the whole drinking and going nuts thing just isn't for me. I did a lot of that stuff back in HS and just got bored of it and didn't really see the point to it anymore. I see people spend easily over $100 a night on booze, which is ok since that is their "hobby", and it also makes me feel better about buying the occasional set!  

[Rook]

Easy, I didn’t. Sex, drugs, rock'n'roll, and homework vetoed any hobby. I was in my dark ages anyways. :/ Not helpful I know. I did however have an Art Minor slipped in there the last few years so it feed my need to be creative and helped with the creation of a passion for art & design that rebirthed my love of Lego.

Edited by Rook, 20 July 2012 - 06:45 PM.

[prateek]

I'm off to university in September, and I'm not really planning to take too much Lego. I might just pick up a couple inexpensive sets for when I'm bored. Nothing like what ZO6's room sounds like

Edited by prateek, 20 July 2012 - 07:26 PM.

[Spider-Man]

His room does sound lovely though   I think I will be content with just one of my containers of random pieces to mess around with as well as some of my figs  

Plus most new sets won't come out until January anyway and we usually get a good break around then so that will help!

On another note, in Canada do they always call college 'university'? My grandparents are Canadian and they always ask me how University is   Where everyone here in America would ask how is college.

Edited by Spider-Man, 20 July 2012 - 08:28 PM.

[prateek]

Spider-Man, on 20 July 2012 - 08:27 PM, said:

His room does sound lovely though   I think I will be content with just one of my containers of random pieces to mess around with as well as some of my figs  

Plus most new sets won't come out until January anyway and we usually get a good break around then so that will help!

On another note, in Canada do they always call college 'university'? My grandparents are Canadian and they always ask me how University is   Where everyone here in America would ask how is college.

US college = Canada university
Canada college = US community college

That's why if you tell a Canadian person you're going to college, they would most likely assume you aren't the smartest person, academically speaking, in the world.

[Ralph_S]

Things are a bit different in the Netherlands than in the US and the UK for instance, where student dorms (or halls, as they're often called in the UK) seem to be the norm- certainly for 1st year students. In the Netherlands most students either live at home and commute or they rent private accommodation -typically a smallish room in a (shared) house. For most of my student years (which arguably already are a fairly long time ago, 1993-1999) I lived in smallish rooms and, apart from a MOC or two, I never had any LEGO there. I didn't really have enough space and during term times I rarely had the time to build anything. I also didn't have all that much money to spend, so I didn't buy LEGO during this time either. The money that didn't go into necessary things such as rent, books, food and whatnot, went into my social life. I didn't have a full-blown dark-age though. I still built stuff during holidays and weekends spent at home. My parents lived about two hours away, so for a long time I frequently travelled home during weekends.

More recently, I've been away from my LEGO for a while because of work and I gave building on my computer a go. It wasn't quite to my liking, but I know some people consider it a decent alternative when they're away from their collections.

Cheers,
Ralph

[legomaniac83]

prateek, on 20 July 2012 - 08:52 PM, said:

That's why if you tell a Canadian person you're going to college, they would most likely assume you aren't the smartest person, academically speaking, in the world.

I'm sorry, prateek, but I am going to disagree with you on that quote. I chose College over University because of the cost factor - not because I am academically dumber.   Also, I managed to get 2 college diplomas in 4 years, instead of 1 degree in 5 years, which meant I beat University grads to jobs quicker. The biggest difference I found is that if you want history in your field - go to University. If you want to get school done and get working in your field - go to college. The program I was in was a mix of 2 yr college and 4 yr Univ. students. Some of them still don't have jobs because they graduated 1 or 2 years after I did. I could go on and on, but this is a Lego forum after all  

Anywho, on topic - I was 5 hours away from most of my collection while in school, but I still bought occasionally. My budget was very strict as I was paying for school myself, so the Lego I did buy was always on sale, or used from classifieds (which I managed to buy my holy grail from ). Good luck with school, and the biggest thing is to remember is you usually don't need a certain set right away. I can still find Lego in stores that were on my wanted list for a couple years ago. What are you taking in school anyways, Spider-Man?

[Modulex Guy]

What I did is I picked a University that was close to home. I literally had walking distance to school and back from the comfort of my own home. I didn't have to leave anything behind.

[Si-MOCs]

Polish Guy, on 21 July 2012 - 04:56 AM, said:

What I did is I picked a University that was close to home. I literally had walking distance to school and back from the comfort of my own home. I didn't have to leave anything behind.

You could have just brought your modulex.... They're so small .... you could have fit your collection  in your desk drawer  

[Spider-Man]

legomaniac83, on 21 July 2012 - 01:19 AM, said:

What are you taking in school anyways, Spider-Man?

Well I am a minority when it comes to LEGO fans seeing as I'm not going into engineering   But I do major in accounting and will start my minor in criminal justice soon, sort of ironic being Spider-Man and all but nonetheless  

[Modulex Guy]

Si-MOCs, on 21 July 2012 - 06:16 AM, said:

You could have just brought your modulex.... They're so small .... you could have fit your collection  in your desk drawer  

You saw the pile I had at Brickworld... It is a whole lot more than a desk drawer.

[pluto7443]

prateek, on 20 July 2012 - 08:52 PM, said:

US college = Canada university
Canada college = US community college

That's why if you tell a Canadian person you're going to college, they would most likely assume you aren't the smartest person, academically speaking, in the world.

Come on! What about the University of Waterloo? I's very well known for smartness.  

[Spider-Man]

I recently went through all my pieces, which are horribly unorganized, and picked out a bunch that looked useful and put them in a box that I will be taking back to school with me! I also purchased 2 custom minifigs from Christo that I will try to make a nice little MOC for as soon as I get settled back into school  

[Sir Fred]

I've been bringing more and more Lego with me every year for university. I move in to wherever I'm going to be living for the year with one or two smallish boxes (probably about the same volume as one and a half Attack On Weathertop boxes) of minifigs and some scenery like BURPs and the tree pieces along with a few baseplates. Or, this year, three reasonably large boxes with enough supplies to make a decent orc fort since I'm not in a dorm room this year. Incidentally, I always seemed to have so much more Lego when I was moving out than I remembered moving in with... I usually have a larger set on display once I find it on sale (Brickbeard's Bounty, King's Castle, Gardmadon's Dark Fortress and City of Atlantis are what I've used so far, along with the Viking Chess Set). I basically bring enough Lego with me to have something I can build for a couple of hours, and then "enthusiastically dismantle" for ten minutes to rebuild it. If you're in a dorm, I can almost guarantee you'll be known as "The Lego Guy/Girl".

[kboleen]

I enlisted in the Army right out of High School before college but I took my Legos with me though I never once built with them. They went with me to Germany also. I never played with them until I was married and my wife thought it was a kick. Hang on to them and you may never know when you will pill them out again.

[Spider-Man]

Thanks for serving our country   my gf is in the ROTC currently! And yes I definitely won't be getting rid of my LEGO anytime soon   Who knows, in a couple decades these could be worth a small fortune like that baseball card collection that was sold for over 500k!

[Capt. Redblade]

Polish Guy, on 21 July 2012 - 04:56 AM, said:

What I did is I picked a University that was close to home. I literally had walking distance to school and back from the comfort of my own home. I didn't have to leave anything behind.

Same here. I'm starting my first year at SFU's Woodward's Campus - a 30-45 minute commute from home. Suckers!