I actually ponder this often, although I think "overrated" is not the word I would use (perhaps "productive" would be better). Most of you that do know me know I dont frequent the gathering circuit or tie my wife up and tickle her (once she is tied up, there are other things I would rather do to her, honestly). My tickling partialism is more geared towards the voyueristic spectrum, which explains all of the clips I have acquired.
When I think about this, I am not considering the friendships I have acquired in the last 7-8 years. I think the TMF now, and even AMT (as horrible as it was) bridged the gap for many people wondering "am I alone". I wouldnt trade in the friendships for anything. However....
I have been collecting mainstream scenes of feet and tickling for about 8 years. I have been trading, buying (all mainstream....no tickling movie producers have been cheated in my trades
) all of that time. From poor quality, to high quality, I estimate I have about 8-10 hours of such scenes. I still tape TV shows daily; I still post on the boards, post alerts on the boards, do Google searches to bring some new info to the boards. We all still trade with each other, and now that I have clip making capabilities and a place to post them (thanks Jeff), I am literally posting some clips minutes after they air. Everyone appreciates it, I have a good reputation, great friends, and if someone wants to know about a celebrity, I can probably tell you anything that you would want to know about them.
Where does the question of productivity come into play?? Simple: Where does it end? When will I be satisfied? When is enough enough? I already have 10 hours, and this doesnt count the 8 hour tape I am in the process of filling up that is half full (average length of a mainstream tickle scene with descent editing is 30 seconds with about 3-4 seconds of actual tickling). I know if I quit posting clips, as disappointed as some people would be, they wouldnt quit being my friend. But I cant stop now, because I still need a Tyra Banks clip (hasnt happened yet), the Rosario Dawson scene from ET that it looks like we will never get again, a few shopping channel personalities I would like to get a clip from, etc. On the one hand, I have a happy marriage, a good career setup, a solid education; the mainstream stuff doesnt disrupt my life in that way. But in the time it takes me to scan through my tapes, there are certainly more productive things I could be doing. If I get lucky and tape something, it takes more time to save it to the computer, more time to edit it, and more time to convert to a version everyone can download. Nothing productive happening there, except getting the clip out.
I went through this with the foot scenes I used to do (and have actually started doing again; I have a seperate 8 hour tape that is about 3 hours in on that). I am embarassed to say that at one time I could look at a pair of feet and tell you who they belonged to (I used to see that quiz in National Enquirer and would chuckle because they would make it multiple choice...like I needed choices). Its not like I sit in a pile of VCR tapes and please myself once a month or something; I just have them to have....and would be disappointed if I lost them. Same with the gig of pics and clips I got on my computer.
But, like I said, I maintain a well paying job, my wife loves me...Im obviously doing something right. The way I try to keep it in perspective, and maybe this will help some other people......while other people find hobbies such as golf, tennis, reading, or sewing, I collect mainstream scenes. Its cheaper, actually take up less time, and doesnt hurt anybody along the way. In that respect, it is very productive. But if you arent keeping your priorities in order (job, significant other, children, bills), then nothing you do is productive anyway.
