oh make me over....

[gurdonark]

Today I did find time at lunch to go to the South Garland branch library for the used book sale. I decided to make this one a sort of inner contest with myself. I love that British show where they let 2 couples buy a bunch of flea markety stuff and then auction it at antique sales. The couples nearly uniformly overspend on the wrong things, and then get the oddest bang for their buck from the right things. The whole proceeding is presided over by an urbane man who seems well qualified to sell Yugos. So I decided to set myself a task. I bought a bunch of hardcover books, softcover books and ten cent sheet music. I spent the grand sum of 7 dollars and 10 cents on the treasure trove. The sale-able portions will now be placed on ebay. Just like in the show, I'm going to see if I can "make money at auction". I didn't even get
any prison-cell bird cages or wicker pillow fluffers or anything really absurd. Sunday I'll put my "finds" on auction, and we'll see if I'm able to turn a profit, or if instead I'm one of those odd couples from Ealing who couldn't make ten pounds grow even if they were deposited in the Bank of England. I'm pretty sure I'm a shoo-in for a 2 dollar profit, because I know the chess book alone will bring in 4, and the sheet music should bring in 1 dollar per song. But we'll see. I'll omit the junior high reader on Nebraska from the auction. Nebraska, I've always joked, is the center of the universe--because as with all good entropy, everyone I meet is coming from there, not going to there. I want to visit Nebraska, which I think may be my spiritual prairie home. I may never find out--but I do have the book now.

I skipped lunch to shop books and then spent SIX hours in a long meeting, essentially ending my Friday night. Monday night I must fly to southern West Virginia. Life is exciting, I suppose, but it is sure a busy exciting. But tomorrow we see friends at this Waxahachie thing, and that's cool. Waxa is only 30 miles south of Dallas, but it could be a universe away. I'm looking forward to a little Texas woodland and homes that don't look slice and bake.

I found 2 for 5 dollar throwaway cameras at the dollar store. Time to postcardx to my heart's content, not to mention making a piece of butterfly art for that mail art deal.

If I could save time in a bottle, the first thing that I'd like to do, is to save every moment away and then post it on ebay for a dollar or two...

Comments

[cathla143.livejournal.com]

Monday night I must fly to southern West Virginia. Life is exciting, I suppose ... </>


Yeah, Southern WV *can* be exciting ;-)

Going to Charleston or Huntington??? I lived outside Huntington for 7 years before moving to NJ. And I'm probably going to be moving back to WV (although a different area) in about 3 years to "retire".


Good luck w/ your money-making venture!

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

It's a little town way down south, almost on the border of everywhere, including Virginia.

[marstokyo.livejournal.com]

You are one odd duck. You know that? You're buying books at a library sale and then selling them on E-bay? Are you one of those people who comes to a yard sale at 6am before ANYONE to scoop up the best buys and then haggles with the seller to get the price down from 50¢ to a nickel?....you are very very odd. You've got a heart of 24K gold-- but you're very odd.

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

I've never yet haggled or early birded a yard sale, but isn't it funny how some people do? Nothing wrong with it, I suppose.

I probably am odd. You're probably right.

Re:

[marstokyo.livejournal.com]

Better to be odd, than strange.

PS

[marstokyo.livejournal.com]

Nebraska is over-rated.

In the market

[kelquestor.livejournal.com]

Let us know if you ever do preserve some time for sale with the other jams and pickles on Ebay. I'll definitely put in a bid.

And I'd pay good money for some kind of implement to spread it with too...

Re: In the market

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

The best implement to spread time I've found so far is a pair of hiking boots--time just seems to float along on a good quiet hike.

[procrastinatrix.livejournal.com]

I love that British show where they let 2 couples buy a bunch of flea markety stuff and then auction it at antique sales.

Blimey, I can't believe they make you watch Bargain Hunt over there. It's on TV even as I type. I watch it with a kind of appalled fascination, partly because I can't imagine how any producer could ever think David Dickinson is suitable material as a TV presenter (he's offendive on so many levels) and partly because that's my license fee money they're spending/wasting on all that junk

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

How nice to hear from you! What an odd thing these last few years have been. Our local Home and Garden TV cable network showed that people will watch almost anything about homes or gardens. Simultaneously, both our "public" TV and our cable networks got the "master" idea of importing your shows like Trading Spaces and Americanizing them. The Bargain Hunt thing is part of the tidewater. I think the logic is simple--they get produced in the UK because they cost less than half a pence an epi to make, and then they get licensed off here because they can be licensed for a song. It makes "Survivor" seem high rent. The Brit accents, I'm convinced, draw in lots of viewers, because we are all here enamoured of the Brits in all ways.

I hope you're doing well, and that you appreciate the international joy your odd TV license tax is bringing!