When You Are Obsessed

[Venefica vom Lehn]

... you go to events such as RingCon and afterwards start laughing again and again because things just reminded you of something terribly funny that had happened there.
... you start a discussion with another pupil during your history lesson in which ways the actual history you are talking about resembles Tolkien's works and try to convince him to read the Silmarillion.
... you get three LotR-calendars for Christmas and wish you had gotten the fourth one as well, so that you'd have all LotR-calendars available in your country.
... you dance around happily because your cousin gave you his old 2005 LotR-daily-calendar.

[Janet Petsche]

you know when you like it just a bit more than is normal
when you spend every available second reading and re-reading the books.
You try and find the jewelry worn in the movie.
You try and find a book that will teach you the languages spoken in the books.
You dream that you are in Rivendell while you sleep.

[Eliza Ithil]

ah, the jewelry. Yep, I have the Arwen pendant and wore it to the formal.

[Venefica vom Lehn]

... you go to your second LotR-symphony and just see the exact scenes in front of you even though your eyes are closed most of the time... *so beautiful*
... you only started eating mushrooms because Hobbits love mushrooms. *coughs*
... your main project for the summer is sewing yourself a good Hobbit-costume.

[Venefica vom Lehn]

... you discover a relation between your quoting Lord of the Rings and your miniature-golf-skills. (It really did help me to concentrate better when I was quoting the films. )
... you get a CD for your birthday and the first thing that comes to your mind when you read the name of the group - Amon Amarth - is that that's the Elvish name of Mount Doom.
... you sew yourself a sort of wristlet and then stitch "Hobbit" into it. All just because you were bored.
... you don't really know what of all your posters and postcards you're gonna put up in your new room, except for like half of your LotR-stuff - just have to have that!
... you spot, while watching the PotC2-credits, the name "Sala Baker" and tell your friends that you just knew - at least one guy from LotR would be in there! (Even if it's "just" a stuntman. )

[Niniel Sanders]

you spend weeks of your summerholiday Live Role Playing as the LotR characters.
you sew clothes for yourself that looks like the clothes that is desribed in the books
you discuss with your friends (who're just as obsessed) whether blue or red would be more fitting for a Rivendell elf.

[Eliza Ithil]

The name Amon Amarth, that couldn't be a coincidence. Are they LotR related or just secretly obsessed? Are they a German group?

[Venefica vom Lehn]

@Eliza:
I've just looked it up in wikipedia, didn't quite know myself, to be honest.
Amon Amarth are from Sweden. According to wikipedia, they claim to have named themselves after "a great warrior".
They aren't the only group with a name pointing at Tolkien's mythology, though. There's also a group I've heard of called "Cirith Ungol" and while researching for my English coursework, I also found a group called "Sauron".
Quite popular, those names.

[Niniel Sanders]

In 1968 a commune was made and many of the people who lived there are great artists, writers etc. today, and all of them changed their surname while living there to "Kløvedal" which is the danish translation of Rivendell. They did it because they wanted to represent the unity that Rivendell represents, a place where everyone could come and get help and a place where there was room for different political beliefs to be heard and discussed.
That's the only group of people I know of that uses Words from Tolkien's works.

[Emilor MacKinnon]

Even the music group LED ZEPPELIN made reference to LotR in one of their songs... "and Gollum, the evil one, crept up and slipped away with her..."
When I was in college, I had a beautiful poster, depicting a sketch of Gandalf and Gollum on my wall. I went to a military school, so every morning, I had to take the poster down for morning inspection, and then I hung it back up for the rest of the day, particularly when I was doing homework.

I wish I could say I was obsessed, but you guys know way more about the works of J.R.R. than I do!

All I can say is, when my cousin was 8, he read the Hobbit, and shamed me into doing so (I was 12). Now, I'm 35, and have never read the Silmarillion, though I've read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings a few times now.

Am I obsessed? Well, I always thought it was one of the greatest stories ever told, and now that the movies are out, I think it's some of the greatest movie making ever done!

How do you properly honor greatness? Something so original, and so perfectly concieved that there can be no imitation, to me that's greatness. Tolkien certainly achieved that. As did J.K. Rowling with the H.P. series!
Some people say there is no comparison, but that's kind of the point isn't it? These stories are incomparable.
That is so cool. My greatest dream is to be a student of Hogwarts, in Middle Earth. If wishes were horses....sigh.

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Am I obsessed?

When the memory of Christopher (a shimmering silver-white stallion) running right up to me, standing and snorting -- reminds me of Shadowfax running up to Gandalf -- instead of the other way around (it actually works both ways, so beautiful a memory, and I cry for the sheer beauty of it).

When I hear the theme song of the people of the horses - constantly - and it is not on the cd player.

When I realize that the clothing I made for myself, for SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) is SO reminiscent of what Eowyn wore and I didn't even realize it until watching the movies. (It's like I already belong there, and have the clothes that would fit right in!)

When I go to practice quidditch and realize I'm thinking about, or back in, LotR in between questions showing up on the screen. *oh dear I hope Talya doesn't read this!*

When I actually have a 'serious' conversation with my husband about how I couldn't be a hobbit because I would not wish to be without my sword (a hand-and-a-half sword whose name is Grace) and hobbits just don't usually carry or even have swords, even though I'd love to live in a proper Hobbit-house!

There is more but that will do for now -- in addition to agreeing with much of what was previously written.

[Brenna Westfeld]

You know you're obssessed when..

You consider naming your future children after characters from the books
You plan your "virtual" tour of Middle Earth with your friends, complete with the restaurants and inns you'll be staying at

[Niniel Sanders]

When you and your (obsessed) friends are talking seriously about the perfect location of a themepark for LotR, which attractions to have there, which restaurantes to have there, what to serve in the different places, what rights you'd have to get to do it, who you should talk to to gain those rights, what the geographic of the park should be (which things where), the different kinds of locations there should be, how to create those sights.

(and yes, I actually did all this)

[Venefica vom Lehn]

Niniel, make sure to tell us when you open that parc - I promise I will come!


... you buy yourself Hobbit-ears. And then a friend of yours suggests all by herself that you could get some of her hair to glue onto your feet for Ring*Con.

... you are totally obsessed with Ring*Con and even buy a chocolate advent calendar to count down the days till it starts!

... the first things you put on the walls in your new room are your LotR-postcards and posters.

... you love the landscape around your new home because it reminds you so much of Middle-earth - we got the rolling hills of the Shire, and whenever I look out of the kitchen windows, there are the foothills of the Misty Mountains with Fangorn in front of them. And that strange radio-tower thingy is Orthanc.

[Ravariel Aiwince]

Most things I'm guilty of have already been mentioned

...when your reputation among your classmates in school mostly consist of "That's the one doing Elvish in chemistry class"

...when you wear a lotr character costume you made for roleplaying (including elven ears ) whenever anyhow possible and never want to put it off again

...when you convince fellow riders that have little to do with lotr to go to a fun-gymkhana sort of thing centering around Middle-Earth and even make costumes for the whole group together with your mum

Hm, that's all I could come up with at first thought... I'll find more in time I guess

[Venefica vom Lehn]

... when you go through Berlin with your girlfriend and the first thing you take a picture of is the huge ad-thingy for the LotR-exhibition.
... when you two constantly say things like "That'd be lovely for Elrond, it's just his colour." and then go on to look for furniture for all the elves.
... when you go to the LotR-Exhibition in costume, spend 4 hours there and only leave because you're really really hungry.
... when you, even though you never had anything fan-girly-ish before, squeal loudly because you see that Haldir's sword and, right next to it, Gil-galad's spear are on display there, too!
... when you are sad that you're the only one in costume there.

And the new guy on my corridor asked me if it was me who put the LotR-poster up in the kitchen. He doesn't even know me, he hasn't even seen my room or anything, but he directly thought it was me! Am I starting to have an aura or something?

[Evanllyn Santerous]

You know your obbessed when...

You can write flunelty in elevn and read LOTR wiki for fun.

[Holly Muse]

When you mention the name of the book and all your friends groan because they know you won't stop talking for the next 10 minutes.

[Rosalin Wood]

You know your obbessed when...

your planing and trying to create your facade at home like the one of Rivendell. leaving leafes on the ground for example. Or if you design new clothes in elvish style and you like to run around with it in the daily routine.