Confessions of a One-Track Mind

What's the worst case of "buyer's remorse" you've ever had? What were you hoping to get out of your purchase but didn't?

Boots. I spent an unholy amount of money on eBay for what looked like an adorable pair of boots. I hadn't/haven't had a pair of boots in years, and these were cool. I was looking forward to being a genial badass in these strappy little cognac ankle boots.

Alas, they didn't fit over my Clydesdale ankles. I still have them, though. Hope springith eternal....

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I always thought you could find practically anything on eBay, but maybe not. Or maybe I'm just not looking properly. I have one of those heavy-duty desk top tape dispensers. Trouble is, it's missing the little spool you put the roll of tape on.

Searching "tape dispenser" does not get me replacement spools, although I was highly amused by the leopard-print Swarovski crystal studded number for $199. (As if I'd spend money on *that*, even if I HAD $200! Some people apparently have way more money than they know what to do with. Want to adopt me?)

Nothing relevent under "spools", either. Perhaps I can improvise with used thread spool and a dowel, something like that? It seems wasteful to chuck out a perfect good dispenser for want of a five-cent part. Although, first I'll have to locate said dispenser. I just happened to think of it as I was rummaging around looking for some tape.

I have EIGHT, count 'em, EIGHT bags of trash ready to go to the curb tomorrow. My bedroom is somewhat improved (Still can't get to the closet!) and my office shows more floor space than it has in about a year.

Still, I need to get cracking on the living room. I called GK to thank her for yesterday's gift, and she said a visit down sometime this month is still a possibility. Woohoo!
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It rained all day yesterday, and I had a digestive upset pretty much all day. Had to make a caffeine run, and just scooted up to WinnDixie...didn't even feel like going the extra mile-and-a-half to WalMart...two school zones in that distance, and just NO.

Got back with some cheap sustanence and checked my mail. Was momentarily puzzled by the sight of a puffy manila envelope in my mailbox. I couldn't think of anything I'd ordered, other than that skirt last month, and I've had that for a while. The return address told the tale: It was from dine, though I still couldn't imagine what it was.

Got it open and discovered THIS:


which I'd recently lusted after while it was listed on eBay. I'd written it off as pie-in-the-sky, and was astonished and thrilled that it landed in my mailbox. Thanks again, Dine!

Of course, now I need to summon the energy to clear off my dining table so I can install it. Wasn't up to it yesterday, and I'm still lethargic today; I got up, had breakfast, took a shower and washed my hair (as they're predicting ultra low overnight temps tonight and I badly needed a good scrub), watched The Dog Whisperer, and fell asleep for another 3.5 hours. A sleepless night tonight is a foregone conclusion.

Had some odd dreams in the course of said nap: First one was of running into Jensen Ackles, who was in a stage version of "Rocky Horror", and wearing a Riff-Raff wig: Long, scraggly, thinning. He reminded me that we'd met before, around Christmas-time, something about bowling with his sister? IDK. I hadn't wanted to bring that up, as he meets so many people, and I thought it would seem gauche. But he remembered me, and we chatted plesantly and made plans for a get-together at a later time.

The other was something about being in a building that was partially used as a church. Something about selling a set of Barbie-type fashion ice skater dolls on eBay to settle some debts that Castiel was really responsible for. (The girl doll was blonde and wearing a glittery red ensemble, the male doll was wearing something that looked like Chippendales Go to the Icecapades.) He didn't seem to think it was a big deal, but I was exasperated because they were worth a lot more than a hasty auction was going to bring in. The owners were making a sacrifice for him, and he was indifferent. I left and went up to the second floor. I planned to go up to the attic, where I had a sanctuary, but I realized several people from the church had seen me, and I didn't want them to follow me to the attic and find it, so I went into an open room where I could say I'd gone up for the view from the window there.

Here's hoping I feel better over the weekend so I can make progress on the dining room....

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We're getting rain, which is welcome after several consecutive weeks of sunshine. I'm not complaining about sunshine, since the temps have been mostly in the 70s. But it's been very dry, and they're talking about the danger from wildfires, so...rain is good.

I'm trying to get my sleep schedule somewhat normal---I'm still not over my interrupted sleep on Saturday---didn't sleep at all last night. Went to the food bank early, came home, caught five hours and still feel like refried shit. Hopefully, though, I'll be out for the count by midnight tonight.

I've been lusting after a tablecloth I saw on eBay. Granted, it's not everybody's cup of tea, but I like orange. And I think it would look great centered on my round dining table over a solid green cloth I have. (Of course, it would help if said table wasn't a foot deep with stuff....) What do you think?

I need to get cracking on my CAYN WIP...that's less than a week away. My neurons aren't firing, though, and I know I'd only frustrate myself with Fried Brain Syndrome if I attempted it.

Must not nap...must not nap....

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What does it say about me when the dropdown for tags beginning with "eb" are ebay and ebola?!

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Called out from work today because I just plain feel like crap. Woke up hurting so bad I didn't want to move. Have had cramps all day and very little energy. Done: fuck all.

The success of the meme-o-licious Four Character Factoids From My Own Personal Canon. has been the bright spot of my week. So far, I've done House and Chase, Jessica from SPN and Abby from NCIS. This has been lots of fun and given me a chance to cough up things I doubt I'm ever going to write on a larger scale.

Yesterday, I hauled out the gramophone cylinders and went through them. There are 76 or the freaking things, and hopefully, I can reap some gold for them from eBay. missybrat is supposed to be coming by tomorrow afternoon when she gets off work, and bringing her digital camera so I can get pix to post for listings. (I'm thinking three lots of 25 each. And a spare.) It's too bad I have no way to play them, as some of the titles sound interesting.

Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day.

I'm glad that this year I gave myself "permission" not to post every day. For the last two years, I was determined to post, regardless, which was really stressful during cable outages and the like. It also led to an awful lot of bitching on my part---sorry, y'all!---because I needed a topic and The Latest Shit at Work was the only thing I could think of. Or I'd cough up a joke or a picture or a meme---not that there's anything wrong with that, but it always seemed forced to me.

There's not a great deal to catch up on as far as the last couple of days go. Thursday and Friday, there was a website snafu for one of our partners---they had a sale on shirts, announced on the site as, "ALL SHIRTS, $12.99". The price wasn't appearing correctly in the shopping cart. There were no conditions on the website, so I made a lot of high dollar sales and sent a lot of emails to the credit department saying, "Credit this customer the difference, promo not working." Y'know, that's one of the things I lovelovelove about my schedule---Sundays are when most sales end and Mondays are when all the fallout hits, so I avoid all that! I'm mildly curious as to know whether they're going to honor it on all brands---they usually have conditions---or whether I will walk in to chaos on Tuesday, but sufficient unto the day, etcetera.... My numbers for this week should be fairly awesome.

We had a fun presentation today at church in honor of President's Day (which technically is next week, but whatever). A presidential trivia quiz! There were some great trick questions and fab facts---I got 18 out of 25 questions---although we weren't being graded!---and even came up with a bit of arcane knowledge of my own: Grant's given name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. It was unofficially changed when he entered West Point, because the registrar thought it might be embarrassing for him to have to use the initials H.U.G.; he combined Ulysses with Simpson, Grant's mother's maiden name.

My lawn is mowed! This is a great relief, since all I need is for Those Neighbors to get snarky and turn me in to Code Enforcement again. I definitely cannot afford that shit!

Did not get with J today for the simple reason that I haven't had time to get anything together for eBay sale since our talk, plus I need to write a description for the listing. I'll be sure to give y'all the details in case I'm selling something you can't live without!

I'm pleased with how much I got done today. The throne got moved around as I swept and slid and tossed things. Prior to today, there was a pine credenza next to the couch with a lamp on it. Now the credenza is beside the front door (in a row with all the organizers holding my craft stuff), there is a low end table holding the lamp, and the throne is beside the couch. It's a little crowded---NOT a lot of room between the throne and the china cabinet---but it's oh-so-much-better than it was. I had to pitch quite a bit to get the credenza moved, go me!

Called J. about selling stuff on eBay---we were going to do it last year with my LeSnobbi bag, but I got with her mid-March and she pointed out the time frame involved to list it, get payment, and transfer from PayPal to my bank, and it wasn't going to work. I should've started sooner this year, but it's hard to get things together when nothing is accessable. Anyway, I'm going over there Sunday after church with the first load of stuff. Go, me.

I also found time, between bouts of cleaning, to work on start The Novel. The format I've got allows for sporadic, bite-sized pieces, so I won't be worrying about chapter length, and could, if I were so inclined, not write it in order at all. Go, me....

In about an hour, GK is going to collect me, and we'll pick LambiePie up from work and go out for seafood. (I may get that salmon after all!) She used to date GK's bro, DrBizarre, and she's a pal, but we kind of lost touch during my tenure with H.W.S.N.B.N. and I'm looking forward to this. These days, I see her even less often than I do GK, which is sad, considering GK lives 1500 miles away and Lambie is up in Canaveral Groves.

Lunch with ang5fam was yummy and productive. She introduced me to a very nice Mexican restaurant I'd never visited before, and I had delicious, spicy chorizo quesadillas. We discussed the hows and whats of selling some of my stuff on eBay, and I'm enthused by the prospect. I have so much odd stuff kicking around, and I'm sure there's a market for some of it. Maybe not all of it at once, but enough to help pay my property taxes and start accruing new car money---"new" being new to me, but still.

Was absolutely delighted when J showed up at church today. She's a delightful Crone (I mean that as a term of respect, for those of you unfamiliar with Wicca), whose attendence is erratic, due to a long drive and health issues. I've been concerned, because I tried to contact her after Fay, and the number I had was disconnected. I made sure to get her current number for future reference!

Upon looking closely at yesterday's purchases, I discovered with glee that the tone-on-tone blue skirt I got was NWT, and that The Avenue originally had it priced at $39.99! It was all of $5 at Goodwill, and I've paired it with a teal top from GK's last package and a multi-colored necklace of big, chunky wooden beads.

Meanwhile, my brain is blocking out the scenes of a Christmas fic I have in the works.

I'm so happy! There's a jacket I've spent a whole week stalking on eBay---the problem being, I had to work, and so was unable to swoop down and snipe as is my habit. (Yes, I'm one of those. I love you, too.) So before I left, I placed a whacking great bid and crossed my fingers. It worked!

I'm now the proud owner of this:


I have a denim blazer, which is at least ten years old, and looks it, and I've been yearning to replace it. I was thinking of something cropped, but when I saw a denim pea coat, that was all it took! (Because I've also been hunting for a leather jacket, and I was looking for a pea coat or hipster: this is perfect!)

I still "need" boots....