Sometimes Less Means More

I am the kind of clumsy you normally only see in sitcoms, so the BreyerFest crystal release Lorelei is not even an option: 

This is also why I don’t buy (many) china releases at retail: breakage is just a matter of when, not if. I don’t need that kind of guilt.

Plus, my shopping list this year is already a bit on the long side, which is partly my rationale for (probably) not getting the online-only Georg release who, oddly, doesn’t have a name beyond “Rhenish Draft”: 

They’re making 5000 of him, and that means he shouldn’t be too difficult to locate after the event, if need be. He reminds me quite a bit of the #777 Belgian release, down to the mismatched hoof colors. It’s not just a random style choice, it’s a thing that happens with flaxen-pointed Chestnuts whose points are so light that leg markings essentially disappear, with only the hoof color to distinguish them. 

I was kind of hoping that they’d offer something exclusively to online-only attendees, but all the online-only items are also available to in-person attendees, so far. 

Another complication for me with these online options is that I normally try to limit my online interactions during the event. The whole point of being there is to get the face-to-face interpersonal interaction I don’t get with my fellow hobbyists on a daily basis: any moment I spend online there feels like I’m taking away from the in-person experience.  

Plus the past two years has soured me a bit on the online experience: the less I am reminded of it, the better. While I acknowledge that it has been a boon for those of us unable to attend in-person, for whatever reason, it’s just not for me personally. 

If that means missing out on some items, so be it.