(no subject)
I love shopping in thrift stores. Despite being a nervous driver lately, I will swerve across several lanes of traffic if I see a Value Village sign, and I will happily spend 4 hours making sure I've seen ever single t-shirt, shot glass, and picture frame at Goodwill. A lot of it is because I'm cheap, and nothing beats a $5 sweater (even if, as my mother would have me believe, someone probably died in it). But penny-pinching only takes you so far. After an hour or funny-smelling jackets and dusty curtains, the average bargain hunter is giving up and heading to Walmart.
But there's one factor that keeps me going back, over and over again:
The Hunt.
Because if you put in the time, and sift through the garbage that people donate to thrift stores long enough, you'll find it. The thing that is so awesome, you know there was no other possible way to find it. It's how I acquired the perfect-fitting peacoat, The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Ettiquette, my favourite red reading chair, and every other awesome second-hand objet I own. (And I didn't misspell "objet." It's supposed to sound all French and classy.)
Case in point (which is more fun to say than it is to type): I found the best thing in the whole world two weekends ago. I have a large collection of View-Master reels. About 80 of them. (I tried to take a picture of them all, but my shitty digital camera refused to see anything but a white blur. Just trust me.) So I'm always on the lookout for new ones. I'm usually willing to settle for Spongebob Squarepants, or Mickey Mouse, but sometimes I get lucky and find 1960's reels depicting the sculpture collection at the Louvre, or a trip through the Gran Canyon. And sometimes, the universe goes totally mental, and the perfect reel falls in my lap.
I'll give you a hint:
Okay, I'll give you one more hint:
I'm not kidding here. I seriously found all three View-Master reels for Michael Jackson's Thriller. (I just peed myself a little, I'm still so excited about it.)
Ahem.
Okay, so I got a little side-tracked there. The point I was trying to make is that I enjoy hunting for things, and the hope that even one of my finds will be awesome is enough to keep me happy through the searching.
The Monk and I just got a basic GPS unit. We got it free in a way that I can't really explain here, since it may get us into some trouble but it was totally legal and if you're my mom you shouldn't worry and FOR GOD'S SAKE DON'T CALL ME ASKING IF WE'RE STEALING ELECTRONICS. So, since it's basic, it's not really the kind you keep in your car to tell you to "Turn right here, drive 1.5 kilometres, and watch out for the kitten crossing the road." So, I do some research, and it turns out it's actually supposed to be really good for geocaching. I am intrigued. I continue to read about geocaching. I am awkwardly trying to get back to the past tense again.
So we tried it out this past weekend, and it happens to be something we both love. The Monk loves being outside, walking around, and being sciencey at the same time. I love that each trail ends with a treasure trove of cheap and unpredictable treats. And all we have to do is leave something behind in exchange. Considering that my whole life is devoted to collecting cheap and random things, that part won't be a problem.
And how do I know that geocaching is the perfect pastime for us? Because of Fate. You see, this is one of the things we found during our first day of geocaching:
Well, obviously this is my destiny.
But there's one factor that keeps me going back, over and over again:
The Hunt.
Because if you put in the time, and sift through the garbage that people donate to thrift stores long enough, you'll find it. The thing that is so awesome, you know there was no other possible way to find it. It's how I acquired the perfect-fitting peacoat, The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Ettiquette, my favourite red reading chair, and every other awesome second-hand objet I own. (And I didn't misspell "objet." It's supposed to sound all French and classy.)
Case in point (which is more fun to say than it is to type): I found the best thing in the whole world two weekends ago. I have a large collection of View-Master reels. About 80 of them. (I tried to take a picture of them all, but my shitty digital camera refused to see anything but a white blur. Just trust me.) So I'm always on the lookout for new ones. I'm usually willing to settle for Spongebob Squarepants, or Mickey Mouse, but sometimes I get lucky and find 1960's reels depicting the sculpture collection at the Louvre, or a trip through the Gran Canyon. And sometimes, the universe goes totally mental, and the perfect reel falls in my lap.
I'll give you a hint:
Okay, I'll give you one more hint:
I'm not kidding here. I seriously found all three View-Master reels for Michael Jackson's Thriller. (I just peed myself a little, I'm still so excited about it.)
Ahem.
Okay, so I got a little side-tracked there. The point I was trying to make is that I enjoy hunting for things, and the hope that even one of my finds will be awesome is enough to keep me happy through the searching.
The Monk and I just got a basic GPS unit. We got it free in a way that I can't really explain here, since it may get us into some trouble but it was totally legal and if you're my mom you shouldn't worry and FOR GOD'S SAKE DON'T CALL ME ASKING IF WE'RE STEALING ELECTRONICS. So, since it's basic, it's not really the kind you keep in your car to tell you to "Turn right here, drive 1.5 kilometres, and watch out for the kitten crossing the road." So, I do some research, and it turns out it's actually supposed to be really good for geocaching. I am intrigued. I continue to read about geocaching. I am awkwardly trying to get back to the past tense again.
So we tried it out this past weekend, and it happens to be something we both love. The Monk loves being outside, walking around, and being sciencey at the same time. I love that each trail ends with a treasure trove of cheap and unpredictable treats. And all we have to do is leave something behind in exchange. Considering that my whole life is devoted to collecting cheap and random things, that part won't be a problem.
And how do I know that geocaching is the perfect pastime for us? Because of Fate. You see, this is one of the things we found during our first day of geocaching:
Well, obviously this is my destiny.