Humour a noob for a moment, I'm new to the hobby, < 12 months since I got my first machine, a non working Jamma cab. Now I have 6 and 3 in restore, still a noob pestering the world of arcade collectors on most of the forums.
In this short time I have looked at my cabinets and thought - why am I doing this? - Is this my midlife crisis? I thought you had sports cars or had an affair...I chose water damaged bug infested wood with mad art that could kill me if I touch the wrong parts inside...wise move grasshopper.
I've taken time out and repaired zx spectrums and relived my 8 bit console days too.
But I always come back to it. It's an infectious hobby, I suppose I got into it alone fumbling about in MAME, watched a few John's arcade videos, and the rest is history.
What gave me a reboot a few months back was having some friends over, childhood friends, they saw the arcade and we fired it up (3 machines), we were kids again, and that was a real magic moment. When I say infectious, one of my friends is getting his first machine this week, so we will keep each other in check and I know this will be gentle healthy competition.
I've never experienced a road trip / operator raid, but that seems magical. I have a story behind each of mine, the collections and the characters I've bought them off, blood sweat tears and money into some of them.
So, what is this noob saying...we're not children here, but we're still playing these games, we've taken long breaks I'm sure, but came back.
My advise here, get some friends over. Play, and that spark may come back that makes you realize why you do this, and should continue to do so.
