Silver

Silver remains in free fall.

It's like the universe knew I was finally getting serious about selling!!

Silver and Groundhogs

I woke up to find that I had sold a Webkinz Groundhog.

I spent a bunch of time researching the silver yesterday. It's harder than you might think. I'm not even sure what I HAVE!!

Is that a dinner fork or a lunch fork?

Why does the knife look so much longer than in the photos of the five-piece place setting?

What exactly are those spoons? Apparently, “teaspoon” is not an option!

Meanwhile, the price of silver seems to be in free fall.

Naturally.

TWENTY-ONE TWENTY-TWO

So at the end of the last entry, I was at $264.50. I just requested another disbursement from Amazon (having just figure out that I could request it instead of my usual habit of just sitting around waiting for it), so that's $39.57.

$39.57 plus the left over $64.50 = $104.07 !!

AND I forgot to add in that refund from The Teaching Company of $129.90, so that's $233.97.

We'll call that TWENTY-ONE and TWENTY-TWO with $33.97 left over towards TWENTY-THREE.

Ka-ching!

But I definitely need to do a better job of record-keeping. It was one thing when I was just throwing cash into my Viactiv container. But with the money pouring in from different sources (okay, slight exaggeration!), I need to track it better for my loyal readers. (Hallooooo out there...) It's all been making it towards my credit card debt, it just hasn't been making it into my final CAPITALIZED tally here very well.

I'll be better. I promise.

Today, I research that darn silver some more!

NINETEEN TWENTY

I realized that I also forgot to give myself "credit" for the two payments from Amazon for stuff I've sold:

$143.84
$72.56

For a total of $216.30.

And I have another payment for three more items pending! It sure does add up!

That is, it adds up if you remember to go in and click "confirm shipment", since you don't get paid until that's been done.

Oops.

Then there was $48.20 from PayPal for an eBay sale. That Kim Possible stuff.

So that's $264.50. Not quite enough to get to TWENTY-ONE!

TWELVE THIRTEEN FOURTEEN FIFTEEN SIXTEEN SEVENTEEN EIGHTEEN

Janet came through!

I got a check from the insurance company today for $644.21. And, boy, did I work hard for that one!

So $644.21 plus the $50 check from the "points" plus the $13 from selling the homeschool books leads me to say...

TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN

Although based on how long it's been since I've been able to title an entry in this way, I'd have to say I need to push a little harder!

Blue Collar Men vs. White Collar Men

SPOILER ALERT!! This post strays far from my usual topic.

I just had an epiphany. Totally out of the blue. Yes siree bob, apropos of absolutely nothing, totally out of the blue.

I think I may have just nailed a difference between blue collar and white collar guys when it comes to how they treat women.

After a pleasant first date, the white collar guy will tell his date, “I'll call you.” This is code for, “I had a pleasant enough time, but I'm just not that into you; don't expect to hear from me again.” (The fact that this confuses women is solely due to the fact that the words “I'll call you” sound identical to, well, the words “I'll call you.”)

The blue collar guy uses much the same approach, but he waits until AFTER you've got something going (or at least think you do) and THEN doesn't call you.

See, at the end of a relationship or even just a situation where you've had something going on without getting anywhere near bona fide relationship status, the white collar guy will have “the conversation”. Now, of course guys try to avoid “the conversation” at all times, and it's easy to see why. Recrimination. Tears. General unpleasantness. The real question is why women tend to endure them.

Anyway, “the conversation” basically involves the man telling the woman (go with my scenario, here!) that he's just not that into her, but hopes they can still be friends. If she is still young enough to not get what this means, the woman will interpret this to mean “we can still hang out now and then; we can still go to the movies”. Of course, what the guy is really saying is, “I plan never to see you again, but if we happen to cross paths on the street, please don't yell at me and make a scene.” It takes a while for women to figure that one out, but by age 25 or so, most of us have got it.

By contrast, the blue collar man just avoids “the conversation” altogether, leaving the woman to go about her business, thinking that everything is copacetic, that the status quo remains intact, until she suddenly realizes that she's alone on the dance floor, that she's the last one left at the party because nobody told her that the party was over.

Worse still, because she's still calling him (or texting or e-mailing or whatever), not yet having realized that those calls are not going to be returned, she eventually gets to have the unpleasant realization that she's just come off as somewhere between being desperate and being a stalker.

Once I had this epiphany, I realized that I'd seen this pattern again and again.

In my very early twenties (read young and naïve), I was three weeks into an intense relationship (I know, that whole thing was an oxymoron) with a blue collar guy. Abruptly, the phone stopped ringing. I had to literally go to this guy's house to find out that two days earlier he'd reconciled with his ex-girlfriend! Okay, I didn't have to go, but that was when I was still young and naïve. Today I would read the handwriting on that particular wall a bit more clearly, I think.

Bottom line though, a little common courtesy would have been nice. Decency is always in style.

It even applies in the non-romantic context. Remember Eric, the guy who lives almost smack across from me but is no longer my neighbor? Eric and his wife Nancy have always reminded me of Al and Peg Bundy, except that Eric and Nancy are always at least slightly tipsy.

Eric remains pissed off at me because I rebuffed his attempts at clearing things up between us by not returning his calls (ha! maybe I'm a blue collar guy!). The other day, I was taking a walk and had to walk right past his house. He could see me coming and, I kid you not, hid behind his van so we wouldn't accidentally cross paths.

Anyway, everyone in my “family” (using that word loosely) is pissed off right back at Eric now. When Maryanne happens to walk past his house and encounters Eric or Nancy, they won't even acknowledge her friendly hello. And Eric has also taken to pointedly turning his back on Dan, my ex-husband, who clearly has nothing to do with this situation.

But I digress. A lot. (It's always fun to digress about Eric.)

So I encountered one of these situations with Eric. Non-romantic, of course, what with how he's married and, you know, there's also a serious ICK factor.

As a favor to Eric, whom you may recall is borderline illiterate, when he was attempting to get his handyman business going, I handled traffic on our Celebration Front Porch for him. As him. To be clear, I would pretend that I was Eric (with his grateful consent) and write people things like, “I can take a look at that for you. Give me call!”

I did this for about two years.

Then one day the system changed on the Front Porch and everyone was given a new password, something like *(&@#$^!. You know, the kind of password you need to change immediately. Well, Eric asked me for help changing his password to “oranges”. (Occasionally he'd go on the Front Porch himself, and then I'd really have my work cut out for me, trying to turn his ramblings into something comprehensible. Or at least literate.)

I did. A few days later, the password didn't work. Now, mind you, this during a transitional period when a lot of people were having password issues. So I called the Help Desk guy, told him the situation, and he helped me to change Eric's password to “oranges”. Again.

Two months go by. My communication with Eric becomes more and more infrequent. I gradually sense that something is going on. Then one day he finally (FINALLY!) comes clean and tells me that my services will no longer be required (not a problem, since I was just doing it as a favor anyway), he wants to handle it on his own and (here's the kicker), I was supposed to figure this out when he changed the password!

So he changed his password at a time when the entire community was having password problems, and I was supposed to figure out that this meant that he was “breaking up” with me.

Now I may be smart (okay, I am smart... and I can SPELL!), but I'm not a mind reader!

I'll tell you, I'll take the white collar guy's “let's be friends” speech ANY DAY over the blue collar guy's disappearance act. Classless. Absolutely classless.

To you women out there:

Always remember my #1 rule of dating: The only reason he doesn't call you is because he doesn't want to.

And ladies, I would love to hear your thoughts on my epiphany.

To you men out there:

Thank you for being brave and decent enough to be upfront about where you're at and forcing your way through the unpleasantness of “the conversation”. Ultimately, it's appreciated, believe me.

Survivors Come to Celebration!!

I saw Survivors!!

Today, Survivors came to town, along with cast members of Amazing Race and Big Brother, but who cares about that.

And there were a lot of them.

There was an autograph signing event, with all proceeds going to Give Kids The World (GKTW). Since Maryanne volunteers at GKTW, last year she worked this event, which was great because we are HUGE Survivor fans. I've seen every episode ever, and Maryanne hasn't missed an episode since she was old enough for me to let her watch.

When the last stellar season of Survivor ended, Maryanne announced, “Thursdays are pointless.” A sentiment which I shared!

Anyway, when Maryanne worked the event, one of her jobs was to have each Survivor autograph a photo of themselves to be auctioned off later. She grabbed one of the large signing mats they hand out and got herself some autographs at the same time! (We framed the mat.)

Well, this year Maryanne had to miss the event, since she just flew off to Germany. The plan was for me to go. So I went. I had been worried about lines, but Maryanne assured me that lines were not a problem, that you just paid your $10 and got into the area where the Survivors were sitting and got your autographs.

HA!

The event was from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. Picturing easy access (which of course she had had as a volunteer!!), I got there at around 5:40pm. They closed the line off right before me, but I was assured that the hundred or so people immediately in front of me were also not going to get in, since the Survivors were leaving at exactly 6:00pm for their next gig.

So there was a looooong line. And then the line snaked past table after table of Survivors interspersed with those irrelevant people. And I did not get in.

Fortunately, I was able to see the Survivors from the outside. So like so many others, I GAWKED! We were just a few feet from the edges of the table and there was no crowd, just a few gawkers, so it was easy to see in, but not so easy to spot everyone I wanted to see. Fortunately, at least some of the tables faced towards the outside.

I saw TERRY DIETZ, who graciously looked up and waved to me. Handsome man. And obviously very nice. And should have won his season.

I saw RICHARD HATCH (!!!), but mostly from the back and in profile. His head and facial hair are almost completely white now. Must have been all that prison time. But I still have enormous respect for his game. Well, not counting the stripping part. I mean, seriously! He's one of the best players ever to play Survivor. He doesn't need to resort to cheap Russell-like tricks to get ahead.

I saw RUSSELL HANTZ, after a fellow gawker pointed out where I could spot him from and told me that he had the bluest eyes. So I went to see Russell's eyes, which were indeed very handsome, if only they weren't connected to such a troll of a human being. He was wearing a black hat and a black shirt with embroidery on it.

He looked up, and I found myself calling out, “You shoulda won! But you already knew that...” And then I felt like a complete idiot because (1) everybody tells him that and (2) he should NOT have won because while he is the best player ever at the manipulative (arguably negative) part of the game, he has absolutely no clue how to connect with people in a positive way and therefore could not possibly win in the end because who would vote for him? Of course, Richard Hatch won under similar circumstances...

Russell just kind of nodded and immediately turned his attention elsewhere.

And Russell can never play Survivor again, not really. He'll be one of the first voted out every time, now that the others know how he plays.

I saw others. Eric. Todd. Natalie (who beat Russell) was sitting right next to him, chatting. That was about it. After twenty seasons, it was hard to pick out the people I knew, my favorites, from the minor players. Not to mention all those Amazing Race and Big Brother contestants in the way!

Anyway, I didn't spend $10 to get Survivor autographs, even though it would have gone to a good cause, because I couldn't get in. (Just thought I'd connect it back to my blog topic!)

And thank you TERRY DIETZ! You made my day.