Z/Web

Today was a long day. Again simple things turned out to be much more complicated. I started by cleaning and moving garbage and empty boxes out to the garage. Then I tried making some phone calls I’d been putting off. I needed a phone book but it took me 30 minutes on hold with Verizon to learn that I have to pay $18 for one! Forget that. The phone company makes obscene amounts of money on those yellow page ads and they expect me to pay for a book? That’s insane! I flat out refuse to do that on principle.

I’d noticed the metal medicine cabinet in the main bathroom was rusted and in poor condition, so I decided to replace it. And I figured I’d get one for my master bath as well, since there isn’t one in there and I like being able to keep my contact lens stuff hidden instead of scattered across the counter. I also had a list of stuff to get a Wal-Mart, plus I need groceries as I’m going to be making dressing for Thanksgiving dinner at my Aunt and Uncle’s on Thursday. So first I went to the big hardware store, only to discover they don’t sell medicine cabinets. Another hardware store was the same. They sell toilets and showers and bathrooms, but no medicine cabinets! So I had to trek all the way out to Lowes, which is on the other side of town. There I was successful, finding two nice white wooden cabinets that fit in nicely with the decor of my house. I also got a few other things I needed, and got some good info on drapperies (something I know little about but need).

I also stopped at a couple furniture stores. Yikes! Beds that costs $5,000! A coffee table for $800? A $4,000 entertainment center? That’s a different world than I live in. Even if I could afford it I don’t know that I’d want to pay that kind of money for such stuff. I mean, it’s not like it’s unique hand-crafted art. I did find a coffee table I like for $250 but I hate that I have to pay $50 for delivery. They’re just milking it. Delivery ought to be free or at least really cheap. It’s not like I live far away. How much could it cost them to have a full-time guy driving a truck around dropping stuff off? Oh well, maybe I’ll wait until I need never items. I could rent a U-Haul for $20/day and do several pickups on the same day.

Then it was off to Wal-Mart, where I again overspent. But stuff there is so cheap it’s like you have to buy it! For example, I wanted to buy a knife block or a magnetic strip thing for my knives. I couldn’t find either of those, but instead found a knife set that came with a wooden block. The scary thing is that the knife set came with 45 pieces including twelve steak knives, a half-dozen other knives, plus kitchen utensils and more… all for less than ten bucks! I’d been prepared to pay $10 for a knife block alone, but here I got it plus a ton of knives. Crazy. I did get a lot of useful stuff, though, like a clock for the living room, a cabinet mount electric can opener, a tablecloth, and more. In the end, it was almost seven o’clock I was too tired to bother with the groceries. I’ll have to do that tomorrow.

After dinner I put together a CD cabinet I’d bought long ago but never assembled and put my CDs in it. Then I tackled the medicine cabinets, getting them installed in each bathroom. Finally things are starting to look more organized. Tomorrow I need to do more trash cleanup (there are still bags and piles of packaging lying everywhere, then vacuum and clean so the house will be ready for guests on Wednesday. It’s looking better and better, though I’m still missing some important things like drapes, molding, slipcovers for the sofa and loveseat, and other details.