Gently loved pawn shops and antique stores. There was always a chance of finding something fascinating, something unique and weird that even the sellers were unsure what its purpose was. Those sort of things, either homemade or just so eclectic that its meaning was lost, were the ones Gently always found herself buying.
One of her favorite things to do was to buy strange contraptions and figure out how they worked. Take things apart and rebuild them. She thought about doing some sort of restoration business, but found the idea of just fixing something back into what it used to be was boring. Anyone else could do that: she wanted to do more. Instead, when she was done exploring an item and figuring out what it was, she liked to make it do something new.
Usually something on the dangerous side, and certainly far removed from useful, but where was the fun in making something someone else had already made? If she could completely change the existence of an item, give it a new purpose and use, then she felt like she had succeeded in her efforts.
To unwind from work, in a number of ways, Gently decided to go browsing. She liked to frequent all of the used stores in the area, though some had better selections for what she wanted than others. Mostly, though, it just depended on luck and the hope that someone had sold or donated something curious and weird in the last few weeks between her last visit and now.
She was walking down the street, one small bag in hand already, as she pondered her next stop. Her stomach was also starting to annoy her, and she probably could take a break for some food before hitting the next store. It just felt like she had not made enough progress, only hitting one location so far, to justify taking a break so soon.