Enquiring minds want to know
Would you spend $20 on this lamp?
At the end of December, as I was preparing to head home for Christmas, I struck up a conversation with a friendly maintenance worker while in the parking garage. We've built up a good rapport, and at the end of our conversation, he offered me this lamp. Apparently, someone in the building had thrown it out, but two of the three lamps still worked, according to him. I said "sure," and decided I could clean it up (it was covered in dust at the time) and give it away or something. He even gave me a pair of light bulbs.
I got it nice and clean. I think it looks nice, though it does have sort of a retro/deco feel to it. But sure enough, the lower lamp didn't work (the turn knob was seized), and the other two were very stiff. It seemed a shame to throw it out, but I had no use for it, and I couldn't even give it away. (I tried, but scottphyrebird had no interest in a non-working lamp.)
Fast forward to Sunday afternoon. I'm cleaning up the clutterheap you see at the right of this picture, and decide I need a bit of a brain break. I start playing with the lamp and going "hmm". I dismantle the lower lamp, take it apart, and find out how it works. I see the corroded/broken bit, and wonder how hard it is to get a replacement.
Finally, on Wednesday evening, while I was running other errands, I went looking for a replacement part. I couldn't get just the part I needed, but I could get a whole new socket for $6 at Canadian Tire. Seems like a bargain to me, so I buy it. Installing it is more difficult than it looks, since the lampshade is only large enough to fit one of my ham fists in when attempting wiring, but I get it done. Bravo! Working lamp! In fact, the knob was a lot smoother to turn than the ones in the other two lamps...
So I gathered up my loose Canadian Tire money and stopped in to the Tire again this morning on my way to work, and got two more sockets. I put them in tonight (it was a lot easier now that I had experience) and now I have a deco lamp that's as good as new! Net expenditure: $18, less $5 in Canadian Tire money.
Yes, this is my idea of fun and a sense of accomplishment.
I have a bit of a dilemma now, though. Now that I've invested time and money and pride in it, I don't want to give it away to just anyone. I'd want it to be someone who'd appreciate it, or at least someone I appreciate. I may even end up keeping it for myself, if I can find a place where it'll fit into my decor.
In other news, last night and tonight saw me continuing to declutter my apartment as much as possible in preparation for my parents' upcoming visit to celebrate Old Day with me. I was looking through more mementos from my past, pondering how it seemed my best days were irretrievably behind me, feeling wistful and a bit blue that I hadn't taken better advantage of them, and wondering what lay ahead, when I found a horoscope reading that I'd clipped from a newspaper some time ago. It's old enough that it's faded to the point of near-illegibility, but I can still make it out:
Don't waste your time reflecting on what you should have done in the past. Concentrate on your options and what it will take to initiate some of the ideas you have.
Unsurprisingly to you, I'm sure, it seems that this isn't the first uncertain point in my life. It's easier said than done, of course, but it's certainly food for thought.