Recently I came to the conclusion my life is a series of obsessions. The conduit to this conclusion was, ironically enough, my current obsession - online mahjong.

Happily, I can place the blame elsewhere, squarely at the feet of my Bike Boy, who recently got a new computer, which had a mahjong game on it. Within seconds, I was hooked, and nothing else was of interest - except the different layouts I could put the tiles into, and possibly changing the background to authentic seagrass matting.

And maybe Bike Boy isn’t the only one to blame. When I was little, I used to stay with my grandparents in Launceston quite often. That may or may not have been due to the fact I was a slightly rambunctious child, not unlike my own Divine Miss M, who now stays with her own grandparents in Hobart. Not often, but for long stretches of time, to make up for the lack of often-ness.

My grandmother, Mavis, had a social group of about six other women, who would go for walks, have morning tea, and also play mahjong - not online, but hey, it was back in the seventies. I remember being fascinated by the tiles, the tiny, tiny dice and the little coloured discs which I’m sure I used to put in my mouth (possibly swallowing some), and always wanting to play with the delicate little ivory stick included in the set.

That set is now one of my most prized possessions, along with Mavis’s coffee grinder, and a necklace she always wore when I was little, which I still love as much as I did when I was about five. Miss M now plays with it when I wear it, continuing a beautiful trend which will hopefully go on for generations. The delicate little ivory stick I mentioned before has been broken in half (I wonder by whom?), and there do appear to be several coloured discs missing, but the tiles are all there, still as beautiful as I remember.

Back when I still worked in television, a friend of a friend of mine was making beautiful jewellery from antique dominos and mahjong pieces. I toyed with the idea of selecting a piece of mine and having a necklace made, but the idea of the set not being complete broke my heart. When I pulled out the case the other day, I was overwhelmed by such an enormous sense of nostalgia and beautiful happy memories, I was really pleased I’d decided against the jewellery. Miss M and I went through the tiles and selected our favorites, and I told her about Mavis and her friends, incredible Neenish tarts and scones, and walks along the Tamar River with a bunch of older women who were really amazing people.

Sadly, the rules for non-virtual game are more than my brain can handle at the moment, so I’m going to stick with the Shockwave version of Daily Mahjong, and I’m quite proud of myself for sticking to my limit of only the daily ones, rather than look at my watch and realise I’ve played a thousand games (don’t laugh people - it could easily happen!).

So there you go, a little confession to finish the week. Possibly followed by more next week. I make no promises though!

Today I’m loving: the tiara I bought on ebay last night (and that sentence possibly includes two allusions to future confessions).
My beloved mahjong set