I've Got a Bad Case of Kawaii

Bullshit. Why don't I have the freedom to choose?

It started simply enough. I was in the Kinokuniya Bookstore when my boyfriend pointed out a little box with little forest creatures on it:

He knows my tastes well. I love kitschy things. Some examples of useless kitschy stuff I own: a tea kettle shaped like a chicken, a cuckoo clock, a creepy back scratcher that has red fingernails on it, etc. etc. etc.

But the kitschiest of the kitsch? My gnome collection/brethren consisting of 11 gnomes (sadly one was injured in the line of duty. He's repairable, but I keep forgetting to get super glue to fix him).

The gnomes holding the paintbrush and hammer are from Japan (the box they came in actually calls them "Elfin Figures") They're in front of the giant gnome that looks kind of like actor/playwright Wallace Shawn. I started branching out to give the collection a more woodland theme, as you can see by the inclusion of the squirrel.

Back to the bookstore: This tiny box of forest creatures looked promising. I could get bears and a deer and an owl and more? And they all fit in this one little box? Amazing! These forest creatures would go with my gnomes perfectly! Let's buy this, buy it now!

Then I looked at the back of the box.

The animals were no longer reading together. Now there were 10 individual pictures (see above). Although I'm not able to read Japanese, I was able to use my keen deductive powers to surmise that this was a surprise box.

Here's a short video to enlighten you:

When I understood the nature of the box, I got pissed off. I wanted the damn reading bears, yet I was not guaranteed to get the damn reading bears. I'd be almost as happy if I got the fox or the boars or the deer, but if I got the stupid frog/bird comb, there would be hell. Hell I say!

I carefully selected a box. I had a feeling fate would not be kind.

I opened the box:

Ducks are perfectly fine in the right context. However, this was not the right context. Ducks aren't really forest creatures, they're maybe on the margin. Didn't you hear me fate/luck? I know ducks are nice, but when reading bears are an option, you've gotta reach for the stars.

I vowed never to buy another box again. I knew if I bought another box, I wouldn't get the stupid bears and then I'd be annoyed for no reason.

So then we happened to go to Little Tokyo for a field trip. And though I tried to resist their siren song, I heard their call from the bookstore, "Rachel, try again. You know you want to..."

I bought another stupid box.

Even less forest creature-y than ducks. Damn it.