I love scavenger hunts.

I also love puzzles and riddles and games. I was thinking about certain things that I would like to own but not pay full price for, and I feel like I'm on a long term hunt for these things. The short list includes, at the moment: two Linkin Park CDs, Hybrid Theory and Meteora, and the book Fight Club. There's a ton of other CDs, too, but those two stand out as the most necessary in the short term. I used to own Fight Club, but I loaned it to someone, and of course, never got it back. Anyway, I am constantly looking for used CD stores where I can buy the CDs used. I refuse to pay full iTunes price for CDs that old when I should be able to find them used. I'm also in the market for a used copy of Fight Club, and therefore check thrift shops and used book stores as often as I can. Do not tell me that I can find such things on eBay or CraigsList or even Amazon, because I don't want to hear it. It's a hunt, and the hunt is almost as great as finding what you're looking for. There are rules, and purchasing on-line is a clear violation. It's like a scavenger hunt challenge against myself.

I remember when I was in school, probably Jr. high through college, we used to do scavenger hunts. There would be a list and a time frame, and whoever found the most items on the list, won. There were also photo scavenger hunts, which were fabulous. I miss things like this so, so much. We would do a 2 hour hunt where you had to run around the neighborhood knocking on doors and asking people for the basic, everyday stuff on the list. Only one item per house, and everything had to be given to you by someone. No trips to the quickie mart or anything like that. We would have month long, really obscure hunts in high school, sometimes where everything had to be found or purchased, if at all, from a thrift shop. I remember one where there was a pink rubber glove involved - Rocky Horror-style. You would not believe how hard that shit is to find. Last week I did the Twilight riddle on line, and it was so very much fun for me. It was like an on-line scavenger hunt. I want more such things. I want real-life scavenger hunts back.