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Saturday, Nov. 30, 2002 / 7:44 p.m. ~My Kindness Is Its Own Reward~ Someone got to my diary searching for "forced anal entry". Now what does that say about my diary? Oooooooh, you want to know, don't you? Yeah, well, I'm not telling. Oh man, what a day. I'm feeling really worn out, like I've been up for hours or something, and I'm sore, my shoulders, my neck. That must be from sleeping on the sofa. Two years in a row now I've had this temporary membership card from Sam's Club (like Costco, but owned by Sam Walton, of Wal Mart fame and fortune), but two years in a row now I've not gone. I went at lunch with Lulu one day and was totally amazed, but I wasn't there as a member, I was only visiting, just picking up a cake for Veronica, last year, and flowers. Yes, almost one year ago exactly.... we had fun that day, Lulu and I. Anyway, I got a cheap membership through D., the Supervisor at work, sort of like a spousal thing. But clearly I'm not a spouse. This time I've been carrying the temp card around for about six months, almost, and today, well, today I went! Whoo hoo! I'm offically a member of Sam's Club. God only knows the exact ramifications. It's kind of scary, the not knowing part, but I went, I got my picture taken by a really crappy digital camera attached to a computer, or at least a person pushed a key on the keypad and took my picture and it looks really freakish, but I have a real card now, and I can go in and shop and spend lots of money on big jars of stuff! Giant jars of mayonnaise, even the garlic stuffed olives I love so much, and I thought I had to go to the Farmer's Market to get. Oh, no, if I want them in a giant size I can get them now at Sam's. Not everything is huge there, but a lot of things are, and it was fun just to walk up and down almost every aisle (not all, as it was wearing me out!) and gawk. Taking mental notes the whole way. Of course they don't bag your stuff, you can take it out in box flats, if you so choose, and that seems odd to me, as far as the meats and things are concerned. This makes me think, I didn't see veggies, must've missed them. But hams, turkeys, steaks, cakes, pastries, giant boxes of tampons, holy moly, I've got to go back! So, if I wasn't shopping, why was I there? Oh, what a short memory you have. I was there to buy a VCR. I was going to go to Best Buy, and back to Wal Mart, and maybe Circuit City, but I don't think they sell VCRs anymore, but I decided I simply must try Sam's, they're reputed to be cheapest for electronics. They had two VCR models. Two. A Hitachi for $70 and a Toshiba for $60. Since the one I had (oh no, I'm already saying 'had') for 16 years is a Toshiba I figured Toshiba would be the best way to go, and for $60 I couldn't pass it up. After I strolled around I grabbed a box from the pile of five million or so and headed out. That's all I bought. Can you believe it? I think I was overwhelmed. When I came home I stopped by the mailboxes to get my mail, of course, and I saw a note someone posted, a note saying, "Stolen Bike - 1968 - Old blue child's, Banana Seat, any info, REWARD". REWARD was written twice. Not that I was interested, but I'd just seen a nice looking bike by the dumpster when I took my garbage out...... So I came home, called the number on the note, which I'd taken with me, and left a message on someone's answering machine, said the bike was at the dumpster. Then I started thinking about it, a 1968???? Could be worth some money, best not to leave it. I called back, left another message saying I'd go get it, and I did, I went and got it, brought it to my apartment. It's on my porch right now, and it's niiiiiiice! A 1968 Schwinn Stingray. I took pictures, but they didn't turn out too well - I'll post one anyway.  I wish the pics had turned out better. It's nice. I can't tell if it's been restored or not, it looks original, and I love the seat, it's a sparkly blue. Sweet. Of course both tires are flat. I don't know if someone purposely vandalized it, or if some kid went joyriding and blasted out the tires and left it at the dumpster for garbage, but jeez, if it had been taken to the dump, yikes! I can't even imagine. Of course I got online just now to check prices, and Kovel prices something similar, a blue and white Stingray from 1968, at $150, circa 1998. That doesn't seem like enough money for this thing, but I'm curious to see what kind of reward this woman offers me. (it was a woman's voice on the answering machine) Then, I packed up my old VCR, and it felt like a burial, putting it in the original packing material, the original box, which I'd gone to major trouble to take from the spare closet. I felt so damned sad, about a stupid VCR, but this thing was around during a very important 16 year period in my life. Sixteen years is a long time!!!!! It's very dead though. It may be repairable, I don't know, but it's all cleaned and packed away. Very much away. And the new one is in its place. I need to figure out the channel programming, and test recording, test programming to record, but I got the clock set and I know how to play, pause, slow motion still, commercial skip, etc. Not too hard. I've even been watching the first tape of "GL"s that Mark made me! Mark, the tape quality sucks! The tapes may be cheap, but there's a reason for that. Still, it was nice for you to make them for me, very, very nice. I can't wait to try out one of my purchased pre-recorded tapes, i.e. "movies". I'm thinking "Goldfinger", after this first tape of "GL"s. I'm only here right now, online, to check prices on the bike. Majorly curious, really, nothing more........ REWARD, huh??? Oh, did I mention that my first VCR, the Toshiba M-5320 that lasted from August 30, 1986 to November, 2002 (yeah, I wrote it all down) cost me $461.92?! Imagine that. And today I spent $59.88 plus extended Sam's Club warranty for $4.99 (one year), for a grand total of $67.87 with tax! Wow. The whole experience wore me out. Leaving the apartment for the first time since Wednesday (!), going to Sam's Club, buying a VCR, rescuing a vintage bicycle, burying my old VCR, hooking up the new one, all of it, wow. Someone's calling me now, on the CallWave Internet Answering Machine, it's her, the bike owner.... I need to go call her back. She says I did a great thing. She wants me to let her know how much I need, oh crap, I can't let her pay me, can I????? No, I can't do that. It's not a problem, I would hope for the same kindness from a stranger if I lost something that meant that much to me. Gotta run. Cost of the War in Iraq
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