Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Things That Make Me Say 'Huh.'

Tim took a stained glass light down and replaced it with an LED fixture. It's brighter and more in line with what is needed in that room. The stained glass one was pretty enough, a five light chandelier type, but we really didn't have any place to put it. We were going to set it out with a free sign, but really, it was awfully nice, in perfect shape. I got the idea to post it on one of the online garage sale sites. 

So I took a picture, posted it, and marked $20, which was a fair price, I thought. It had been an expensive lamp back in the day. 

Immediately, I got a response. A woman said she'd pay $15 and come for it right away. 

Since she was the first hit, I felt comfortable turning it down. "No," I responded. "$20 is a fair price."

There was no response. 

Several hours later, she messaged back. She could pay $20, if I'd hold it for her until 5 PM the following afternoon. Since she was the first one to contact me, I felt that the fair thing to do was to give her first crack at it, so I said that I would hold it, but that if she didn't show up, I'd go on to the next person on the list. I gave her my address.  I gave her my cell number, I told her to call if anything changed. I let the others know that the light was pending pick up but if it fell through for any reason, I'd go down the list. 

I was cooking supper the following night when I noticed that it was 5:15. She hadn't showed, so I went to get my cell phone to call the next person on the list. 

Much to my surprise, she had called me twice, the first call coming at 4:30. She was sitting out in front of my house. The second message came 15 minutes later. She was still in front of my house, and obviously I was not going to meet her, so she would like to arrange to meet the following week. 

A little surprised, I texted back. "I was cooking supper. My phone was on the charger. The door was wide open and the light was sitting right in the entrance way waiting for you. I figured you would just come to the door." 

She protested that she had called twice and messaged three times. 

"I still don't understand why you did not come to the open door." 

No response from her. 

(Serious question: does everyone carry their cell with them all around the house. I don't....) 

At that point, I thanked her for her interest and told her I was moving on to the next person. 

That exchange went perfectly. 


I got William signed up for the library summer reading program. I figure since he's already reading, this would 'sweeten the pot' even more. He gets a dollar for every book he reads, but he also gets a ticket for every hour he reads from the library which goes into a prize pot. If his ticket is selected, he gets a prize. 

 We picked up the book bag with all the information inside and sat down to read it together when we got home. 

It read, in part, "We suggest making a goal of how many hours you would like to read this summer and then break it down into manageable time slots to accommodate for all of the things that you have going on this summer. For example, reading 20 minutes a day for 5 days equals an hour of reading that will get you one ticket!" 

I stopped reading to do my own calculations. Reading 20 minutes a day for five days equals 100 minutes of reading which is one hour and 40 minutes. 


I was typing at the computer when Tim came out. 'Hey? Have you seen my gum?' I picked up the papers I was typing from, expecting to find a pack of gum. Instead, the papers stuck to the desk. I gave a little tug and they came away from a wad of gum. 

I stared in amazement, first at the gum, and then at Tim. "WTH?"

He laughed, popped the gum in his mouth and headed back out of the office. "Inflation, babe. Inflation." 

LATE EDIT: I knew there was one more. I just remembered it. While I was placing my ad on the on-line market place, I noticed another ad for a pair of pants. I believe they were bicycling pants or motocross pants, can't say for sure, but here's what caught my eye. They were in perfect condition but the zipper only goes half way up. 

Huh. 





23 comments:

  1. On line sales for items that are very cheap and the resulting people make me go "huh" a lot.
    Scary that the library can't do basic maths!
    Not quite sure what to think about the gum. Other than "ew"?!

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    1. He's never done that before, and I'm not even sure why the gum was put there, the goofball.

      Delete
  2. Do you sometimes feel you have stepped into another universe?

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  3. Even when you are selling new items, people expect to pay silly low prices.

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    1. To be honest, it would never occur to me to haggle with someone about a price. It's either worth it or it's not.

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  4. I've sold things online but now I can't really be bothered. I guess we don't really need extra money. Your experience reinforces that. It is very odd that the prospective buyer would waste her time with just phone calls.

    Having said that, I almost always keep my phone near to me nowadays, especially after Household Management indicated he was sick of my phone ringing and I wasn't there to answer it. I charge my phone overnight.

    One hour and forty minutes a week doesn't sound like a lot of reading to me.

    I'd expect you to hear the word 'inflation' more than once from Tim in times ahead.

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    Replies
    1. It's not a lot of reading. William is reading an hour a day, minimally. He's enjoying his book, and he wants that dollar.

      Delete
  5. I don't know what it is about Marketplace and the people that buy stuff there but your experience is very stereotypical. I have gotten to the point where I write in the add, no negotiating, no delivery, no holding. First person with cash who shows up gets it. If you do decide to negotiate, the price automatically doubles on the spot. You would be surprised but some still try to negotiate, ask me to deliver or hold it for them.

    I guess I wouldn't expect math to be a librarian's strong suit!

    My grandfather used to chew a piece of gum for days at a time. I assumed it was something he picked up from the depression era. I'm lucky to go 10 minutes before spitting it out which is why I never buy gum.

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  6. Math is not my strong suit either, but I know how many minutes are in an hour.

    I used to do something called 'free cycle'. If you had something to give away, you simply advertised it. If someone needed it, they would message you. I got rid of a lot of stuff from the hoarder's house that way. What was frustrating though were the people who wanted it desperately...but then never showed. I just took to putting things on the curb with a free sign. The things are usually gone within the hour.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I mostly use Marketplace to just advertise something for free and sit it on the curb. But occasionally, there is something of value that I want to dispose and the only way to do so is to advertise on a place like Marketplace that gets more views.

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  7. I am too cautious to have strangers come to my home to buy stuff from me. You have done this often, tho, so you know what you are doing.
    You should email the library about their error so they can fix it. Glad your grandson is a reader!
    I don't chew gum because years ago my Mom said I chewed like a cow when I was chewing gum so that was the end of gum chewing for me! :)

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    Replies
    1. I live in a small town so I know a lot of the weirdos. Many of them are relatives. (Bahahhahhahaaaaaa!)

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  8. Did you let the librarian know? That's pretty embarrassing.

    No offence, but that gum, that's gross:)

    I have a very loud ring on my phone because I don't carry it around the house with me, but I know you have a much larger house. I don't understand people either.

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    1. No offense taken. It was gross.

      I didn't let the librarian know. It is a mistake, and correcting it would require reprinting the letters, a waste of paper.

      Delete
  9. P is frequently advertising unwanted stuff to sell on the local classified ads websites. I hate it when he does that. We can get all sorts of weirdos and I really don't want them to know where we live!

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  10. Experiences like that are what make me seriously question the value of selling things online. It's easier to just give them away and be done with it!

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    1. The more I think about it, the more that I question whether she was actually out front. I think she was trying to guilt me into holding it for her for a week. Might be wrong, but I've never had someone come to pick stuff up and NOT come to the door. A bit wacky.

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  11. One advantage of having an Apple Watch is that it will ring if my phone isn’t handy.

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    1. My phone is an android, but that Apple Watch sounds like a handy thing. .

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  12. Yes, I carry my phone in my pocket always, except overnight, when it charges. If I fall down, I want someone to come pick me up. That includes the local EMT's.

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