How do you cope with waiting?

Apparently, my MO is to go months on end without buying any dolls or anything related to dolls and then I buy ONE doll... And it opens the floodgates. While waiting, I buy eyes, clothes, wigs, shoes, OTHER DOLLS... ugh

 

Over the years I have learned to just forget about the doll until it’s getting close to the time it should be mailed, then I start getting excited and start the ‘official’ waiting process. I used to buy clothes, eyes, wigs, etc, but since it hardly ever worked out, I don’t buy anything until the doll arrives.

 

When l have to wait for a bjd l play video games, crochet and work on my diorama.

 

Just...wait? What else can I do (

 

Me? I either just wait and the time seems to take forever OR just forget about it until every once in a while gets reminded that I'm waiting for it and time seems to flow a bit faster and get a bit more excited? (The second part often happens when I buy more than 2 doll heads from different brands and because I'm bad a remembering things at times.).

 

Mostly I try to focus on my existing BJDs and work on their stories and making them clothes. I plan some amount of character and style for a BJD while I'm waiting for them, though that can change once they arrive.

 

Literally checking my email, my order, and the tracking number every other day. I tell myself I have to finish the face-ups for the dolls I have before the new one arrives. It's a mind game.

 

I usually focus on my other BJDs and buy stuff in advance (like clothes wig, etc.), so that I have everything ready when the doll arrives. I am pretty good at waiting until I get shipping notification, after that I am kinda impatient. Then I keep checking the carrier app/website several time everyday until the doll arrives.

 

I have highs and lows like a damn roller coaster until I calm down and wait for the shipping notification like a cat for a meal.

 

While I wait for a doll to arrive I look for inspiration on instagram on how I will dress her up, what style and color her wig will be, what faceup I will give her, I search names, I write a little story. I design the doll's personality and style and this helps with waiting.

 

The wait for the first was the worst, because I coped by buying waaaaay too much stuff on Etsy (it was the pandemic too, so I couldn't do much or meet anyone), resulting in a lot of "wasted" money! However, it was partially because I was exasperated by that wait that I found and bought another on Mandarake! (And the first doll came like a month later haha).

From then on, I don't really care about waiting. I definitely have enough dolls to entertain (read: plan for, sew for, knit for, craft for) myself with, that the incoming dolls can take their time arriving, I definitely am not up-to-date with my projects, so... yeah, of course I want them to come home as soon as possible so I could see their beautiful faces, but as soon as they come home my to-do list will get considerably longer, so...they'll come whenever, I guess? XD

 

I'm gonna be real- I actually force myself to forget the doll even exists. Anything I need to do to distract myself. Thankfully now I have a ton of dolls to distract myself with but when I only had a few then I'd fling myself full force into fandom or something.

Then when you get the shipping notice it's like "*gasp* omg a present for me?!"

 

I usually buy my dolls secondhand, so the wait times are very short. Occasionally I will buy a new doll in an artist preorder and the wait doesn't bother me then either; I work overtime every week and have plenty of other doll projects. There's always so much else for me to focus on.

But. The beginning of this year I was at my absolute busiest ever - I manage a restaurant and half the staff came down with Covid, so I worked long hours over a month straight with no days off - and I bit the bullet and ordered a longtime grail of mine. Totally not limited, something I wanted desperately but had been putting off due to other time-sensitive doll availability. And I swear I don't think I have checked a single order status so gosh-darn many times, not even for my first doll! My chill was zeroed, nerves frayed, patience dashed, and endurance slain. Because I was already dealing with a load of stress, I really hyper-fixated on this one doll and getting a shipping notice became my new obsession.

Fortunately, I finally got some days off from work long before that shipping notice came. XD In that time, I had managed to either order or commission her wardrobe, wig, and eyes and decide on a face-up artist. I typically take forever to "complete" a doll, but because so much was going on and I needed a serious distraction from real-life, this girl has come together super quickly! I guess occasionally it does pay off to be impatient.

 

Playing video games helps. I sometimes forget I bought a doll until I look at my SOOM and realize he's alone and then go "oh yeaaaaaah". Almost two months now....

 

I am currently not coping... I literally check my order page twice a day (I'm trying to be disciplined here, okay? T_T ) once when I wake up and once before going to bed. Thankfully I'm a busy adult with a job, and also a twitch streamer/ vtuber so I am not -constantly- thinking about the fact that DDE has yet to ship my parcel.

At one point in June I got a little desperate and went and placed a couple of small orders for clothes and accessories for my new boy... but that only made it worse xD I feel the itch destroying me this time around. At the same time it's a real good feeling because I've been sort of out of the hobby for a while and hadn't had this feeling for even longer. It just tells me that my excitement for this hobby is finally back.

 

I don’t do anything special. There’s nothing I can do about it, so I see no point in thinking about it too much.

 

There is no coping method for me. I am impatient and insane.

I have 2 boys shipped 01/07 that haven't arrived and I'm losing my nut over then. I check the shipping like 3 or 4 times a day to see if anything's changed and it hasn't and I'm not competent enough with sewing or face ups ir anything to adequately distract myself.

Poo poo

Edit: They arrived out of the blue!!! I am so relieved I can't even! I think I need like a day to recover from all this stress you guys! (Goes to lay down)

 

I'll start to shop around for clothes and maybe even plan out their back story!

 

I've been waiting for a doll since March. I have been planning which dolls I want next, purchasing outfits, and researching faceup artists.

 

I learned that the hard way.... I got a Resinsoul through DDE for my b-day around November and it arrived in May and my character idea for the doll definitely changed during that span of time.

Nowadays, I will look through second-hand market or in-stock dolls before placing any pre-orders.