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A long day but I made great progress. Perhaps cleared a third of the kitchenware/knick-knacks area. And - with luck, tomorrow the next third.
Anyways, the usual - a few dozen kitschy Salt N Pepper Shakers, coffee mugs, dishes, picture frames, etc, etc. The high point was discovering a 3-size pack of Spartacus Cock Rings.
Anyways, picture frames, by and largely absolute rubbish, but you notice the unboxed baby picture frames - "Sterling Plate" - ornamented with teddy bears, babies, etc, most still in the original box, unopened, I've found so far hundreds of these and have yet to see a picture of a baby in a single one.
They fall into the class of "Obligatory Rubbish" - that stuff we buy people when they get married, have a kid, anniversary, etc, etc. "Obligatory Rubbish". Nobody knows what to get them, nobody wants to look cheap, and so they buy them this tat that is just costs them money in storage before it finds it's way to the landfill.
Weddings, Anniversaries, with their customized engraved wine glasses, champagne flutes, nobody every uses them again, they're as disposable as a paper cup, only not as environmentally friendly. "Happy Mothers/Grandmothers/Fathers/Grandfathers" Day mugs and picture frames are the same. Single use to prove you thought of them, they appreciated it, then on their way to the dump. Don't donate them, nobody wants them.
Anything with "Eat, Pray, Laugh, Love, Grow, Hope, Charity, Etc." - be it plaque, coffee mug, picture - dump, dump dump. What an idiotic fashion that was.
Brand names, unless they're on the product they are selling - eg: Starbucks on a Coffee Mug, Nike Swoosh on Nike Sneaker, Louis Vuitton Logo on Louis Vuitton Bag or wallet - it's all bound for the dump. Companies that pin their brand on promotional gear - T-Shirts, Coffee Mugs, Travel Mugs, Key Chains, etc. - off to the dump with it. It would be kinder to the planet if you just burned your money.
And don't get me started on Easter, Valentines Day, Halloween & Christmas. So much rubbish manufactured for a single use only.
My rant for the day. Don't buy into this commercialism. If they can't eat/drink/consume it in the next 24 hours they don't need it. And that applies to everything. And we have to get away from gift giving because EVERYONE is getting it wrong...
Final Note - the previous rant on the resin angel child with bunny. I was having a laugh with a volunteer about it in the back when an employee came in, overheard us and told us some woman had discovered it and it moved her to tears. She loved it and bought it. And I know this to be true because I looked for it on the shelf today and it was gone.
Bloody hell. There's something for everybody, I guess.
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Unboxing, carefully wrapped kitsch. Far too carefully wrapped. Keepsakes, those vintage ceramic salt and pepper shakers made to look like pigs, pineapples, bananas, anything you can possibly imagine. Souvenirs. And - finally - a resin figurine, you know the ones, like the ceramic "Hummels" or Royal Doulton figurines, "Collectables", but done in China in a cheap poly resin, then painted and shipped overseas. Even they can't stand them.
This figurine, a child with wings petting a bunny rabbit in a flowery meadow.
WTF?!!
And I'm trying to think of "Why?" when it dawns on me that this is the perfect dollarama gift for the newly bereaved parent. "Yes, your little ... is now an Angel in Heaven ministering to the bunnies....". Like - WTF.
Anyways, the world is largely preposterous until you figure it out, then it's just...
Well, sometimes even WTF doesn't cover it.
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The restaurant, May Day, Slower than usual, dead, even, busy spells but nowhere near what we'd do usually. Busy in fits and starts, unpredictable.
I compare this to the thrift shop. My sales alone in a day equal the entire sales of a very busy day at the thrift shop - with double the paid staff, dozens of volunteers, the additional expenses of tipping garbage, truck, etc, etc. Even though the margins are great (it's all donations) they can barely be paying their staff, let alone the rent, utilities, taxes, etc, etc - AND subsidize the soup kitchen upstairs.
Anyways, as much as I loathe the restaurant it's certainly worthwhile for the money. The thrift shop - well, I'm not loving it either, especially since the transition from volunteer to "paid temporary staff member" - especially given that I've no days off whatsoever now - and can afford none - and those 3 days in the thrift shop pay me less than a day at the restaurant. The backlog is visibly clearing, 2, 3 more weeks, there's the jeep to register, insure, slight repairs, bills, dentist to be paid for, so - at the moment - grateful for every peso that comes my way. I'm piss broke and I'm not paying utilities or rent.
But, there's an idea for a way - once the backlog has cleared - to make this a damned sight more interesting. If only I can get Michael on board...
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#3 Times a Charm, so they say.
The new Jeep:
Stretching myself a little thin with the Camera phone and new jeep - have to wait a couple of weeks to afford insurance & registration.
Anyways, I like the brand, the engine's good - low KM - 180, 000, but the undercarriage is held together with structural rust. Which means off-roading will need to be a little more gently than I'm used to -
Meanwhile, everything according to plan...a little behind, but only a little, and by October - with luck - a proper place to live.
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And, finally, Ken in the kitchen showed my his new phone, a free upgrade from Ma Bell with a 2 year contract, and it spurred me to finally upgrade my phone.
You've probably noticed as of late that the photo quality has been a little off, and that is only mostly my fault, certainly not entirely.
So, head down for my free upgrade. I'm looking for a free upgrade to a Samsung S22 Ultra, which, I've heard, is a good phone as well as a great camera.
I'm hoping for a bit of credit on my old phone:
"It doesn't take the same quality of pictures it used to...." I tell them, but fail to drum up any sympathy. Long out of warranty....
And no one, I mean no-one, was interested even in the slightest in my "Etsy" page whereby I offer custom wrapped and protected phone covers.
***
In the end there was no free upgrade, a $900 credit against a $2000 phone, $525 up front, the rest pro-rated on the bills, and another $100 for the case because I damn well better not drop this one!!!
***
So far, I'm marveling at the quality of photos it takes (none so far because there's been nothing to take pictures of...), it's rather amazing and hopefully this is the summer in which I get more than a few great photos. The improvements in phone technology - every 2 years, are amazing. This I find impressive. My last phone, I was impressed, this one even more so...
We'll see. An ill-advised but long overdue purchase.