Tuesday, April 02, 2013

3711 Baked beans?

Tuesday, March 2, 2013

The art to April Fools’ Day is to come up with pranks that aren’t in the least
cruel, but are funny and interesting. It CAN be done, but
being mean is easier,
and dumber.
-- Ian Osmond --

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The past few days I've been having a problem with excessive underarm odor.  Washing doesn't seem to make a difference; neither does antiperspirant.  My clothing quickly picks up the odor and retains it.

My activity level hasn't changed.  There's no sweat, I'm dry.  The only thing that has changed is that I am eating a lot more fruits and vegetables and a lot less meat.  (Except beans.  I don't like beans and rarely eat them.)

I don't understand.

What's really weird is that it doesn't smell like normal perspiration --- it smells like beans.  Barbeque baked beans.

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I'm eating more veggies because I've discovered a farmer's market.

It's not really what I, a country girl, would normally think of as a farmer's market - a weekend affair, outdoors, with booths manned by local farmers selling their own produce.  It's actually like a large grocery store, indoors, open every day, heaps of produce in huge bins, and they are selling a lot of stuff that couldn't possibly have been grown locally at this time of year.

At the A&P, blueberries are ridiculously expensive, like almost $5 a pint.  At the farmer's market, although prices fluctuate, I have been able to  get a quart of blueberries for less than $2.  Everything is so much cheaper, and so much fresher, and there's a huge variety, some stuff I'd never heard of before.

I've found that what I buy there is ripe, and lasts longer in the refrigerator, possibly because it's handled/bruised less.

Last trip I bought two pints of blueberries, three apples, two oranges, two baby eggplants, a huge bunch of asparagus (about 40 stalks, took me five meals to eat it all), baby bok choy, kale, carrots, two large sweet onions, big brown mushrooms, ruffled tree mushrooms, snow peas, two small zucchini, a cucumber, five little things that look like sweet potatoes or yams, but they're dark red on the outside and creamy white inside, baby spinach, five tomatoes "on the vine", a loaf of poppy seed filled bread, a loaf of chocolate-filled bread, and I've probably left something off that list.  My bill came to less than $25. 

That was about 10 days ago, and I haven't finished it all yet.  I'll have a stir-fry for lunch.

Oh, and in the back they have a polish deli, with pickle barrels!  I bought some half-sours.  I LOVE half-sours, and they're difficult to find anywhere these days.

Daughter is worried that I'm not getting enough protein, but you really don't need high quality protein (like meat or beans or soy) more than once or twice a week, and I get enough lower quality in the yogurt and cheeses I eat every day.

Seems like with all that chlorophyll I shouldn't smell at all, let alone like barbeque baked beans.

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Becs:  http://www.yelp.com/biz/route-9-farmers-market-inc-south-amboy.  They get crowded after work and on weekends, but reviewers say it's still worth it.  There's an excellent Thai restaurant next door.
.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

3710 If I should suddenly disappear...

Sunday, March 31, 2013

"'Wrong' is one of those concepts that depends on witnesses."
-- Scott Adams --

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I may have started a war.

I bought a pin (brooch) on eBay, item number 380599269925.  There was a photo.  The pin looked nice.  The enlargement looked like the pin probably needed a good cleaning. 
Item picture

Other than the title, "Grandmas estate beautiful flower brooch", there was no further description of the particular pin.  The seller claims that the items he/she sells come from Grandma's estate,
All items are in 100% great
shape - crack & chip free! All of her lovely things are
100% guaranteed to be loved.
I list 500 - 1000 new pieces of her jewelry from her
stores and estate every week. She loved to collect
jewelry.

and so on.  500-1000 items per week?  From Grandma's estate?  Well, it does say "stores".  Maybe she sold jewelry.

There were only two bids.  I got it for $1.25, plus shipping.  I also bought another pin from the same seller.

He/she combines shipping.  From the description,
1 ITEM @ REGULAR COST

2 - 5 ITEMS $4.50
6 or MORE, PRIORITY MAIL
However, later in the description,
1 item shipped @ regular cost.

2 - 5 items for $3.95
6 or more will be shipped Priority Mail.
Hmmmm.  So how much postage will I be paying for the two items?

Most sellers have eBay automatically calculate combined shipping.  When I looked at this seller's invoice, shipping had not been combined.  So I sent an email asking for a new invoice with combined shipping, pointing out the discrepancy in the two versions in the description, and saying that I expected to pay $3.95.   (The description, by the way, is a contract, and under contract law errors are to the detriment of the party who drew up the contract.)

He/she changed the invoice, with $4.50 for shipping.

I was pissed, but decided it wasn't worth fighting over $.55, since eBay complaint forms don't address this problem, so it would be a pain to report it.  However, I didn't pay immediately (I usually pay within minutes).  The seller obviously uses the exact same template for every item, changing only the photo and the title.  So I waited to see if new listings had been corrected, or if they still had two different shipping offers.

Hmmmm.  The seller did not bother to fix the problem.

After several days checking to see if the seller had decided what to charge, and seeing no correction on new items, I paid, and waited for the pins to arrive.

One pin was beautiful.  The other, also described as "beautiful", was pure crap.  There was no silver plating remaining on the base metal (yeah, silver, even though the photo looks like gold-tone), except for a tiny spot on the very tip of the leaf closest to the flower.  From the photo, it looked like the enamel on the blossom was ok, with silver edges on the petals, and spots of dirt here and there.  In actuality, the enamel is mostly gone, large areas of pitting on the petals.  The thing is pure crap.  Junk.  I'd be embarrassed to put it up for sale.

So now it's time to leave feedback.  I am certainly not leaving a positive.  That leaves neutral or negative. 

I did a little research on this seller.  He/she purchases those large volume lots of scrap jewelry on eBay, lots usually listed as "for parts and repair".    I suspect he/she is reselling what other sellers consider crap.  And it appears that "Grandma" is eBay.

The seller already has a slew of Negs, many complaints of buyers having to pay two-way shipping for crap.

He/she does accept returns.  Most eBay sellers will refund the item price if you aren't satisfied, but do not refund the shipping, and require that the buyer pay the return shipping - UNLESS they sent the wrong item, or it was grossly misrepresented, then they will accept those costs.  This seller says the buyer has to pay to return the item, and only the bid will be refunded.  No apparent shipping refund just because you don't like it.  So if I return it, I will end up paying the two shipping costs for a piece of crap.

After a lot of thought, I left what is only my second negative feedback in 16 years and over 3800 purchases on eBay:  "Photo is deceptive, no description, pin is crap, I refuse to pay return postage."

The seller freaked.

He/she has formally requested through eBay that I change my feedback, and sent this note:
hi there
if you not happy with an item just email me and i will be more the happy to refund you there is never a reason for bad feedback .. i will be more then happy to refund you and you no need to send back .. if your worry about shipping price back.. that is fine. all i care about is everyone loveing her things
not in it for the money. the kids get that
so pleaseee fix my ratings and email me i will be more then happy to refund you
god bless
scott and the twins
  

"Her" things?  Oh, well.

So I went to eBay's feedback change page, and checked the box that said no change, feedback is accurate.  It's interesting that the seller claimed to eBay that I had contacted him/her and said I'd left the Neg in error and I wanted to change it.  All the more reason not to.

So why am I worried about disappearing?  The seller has my address.  He/she lives about 20 minutes up the road.

I have already moved the van out of the driveway, so it won't be associated with this address.  Unfortunately, I can't disassociate MYSELF from this address.
.

3709 Stolen quotes

Sunday, March 31, 2013

When it comes to thought, some people stop at nothing.

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I found these on DanSix4Smith's Facebook whatsis.  I don't know whether he wrote them, original to him, or whether he finds them, like I do with my green quotes.  Whatever.  I like them.

The most important decisions are not to be made with the mind; they are to be made with the heart. So when you have an important decision to make, check in with how you feel, not how you think. The heart speaks truth, while the mind can get confused from the many thoughts and programs the world expects you to assimilate.

Everything changes when you start to emit your own frequency rather than absorb the frequencies around you, when you start imprinting your intent on the universe rather than receiving the imprint from existence. In other words pay attention to your attitude & ways before you point the finger or blame someone. You control your thoughts & emotions not others.

When you strike out, you always strike in. Any weapon you use to strike, - clenched hand, angry voice, closed heart withholding love, - is double-sided with one edge always cutting deep into yourself. Sometimes a weapon is necessary, but use it wisely, and remember that the cost of using one are your own wounds.

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. Worrying, you get stuck going over the same things over and over again without making any progress. Instead, spend some time with nature to calm your mind and feed your soul.

Your body speaks the truth. When in doubt, ignore the thoughts in your mind, and pay attention to your body, - it doesn't lie.

Everyone has their own rhythm of living, - for some it's faster, for other it's slower. When you are forced to live outside your own rhythm, it is exhausting. Remember to keep coming back to your own rhythm.