raspberry swirl

well, i tried to make a posting yesterday - but blogger unceremoniously crapped out on me.

this week has been a roller coaster ride introduction to the world of craigslist.

if you think that ebay is cutthroat, you have likely not tried to make an actual purchase for a sought-after item on craigslist. and neither had i, up until this week.

oh sure, i have browsed the list for things like motorcycles and real estate, but i had never tried to buy danish teak furniture for my house.

the short story is that the *amazing* arc lamp that i had made a verbal contract to purchase was sold to someone else, right out from under my nose. the seller was totally disorganized and unapologetic... going so far as to even ask me if i would still like to come and look at his other items. i said “no thank you”.

the good news is that i bought an adorable swirly glass fruit bowl that will live on our new coffee table. blue glass + teak looks lovely. for $5, i couldn’t go wrong.

lief is clearly the hero of the week. he scored a cherry-coloured chair (which i intend to take over as my official knitting perch) and an orange swedish light fixture (it’s huge!). for those of you who know what my couch looks like, you will understand why the light fixture is *such* a good idea.

what i have learned this week is that if you want items from people on craigslist, you must do the following:
- check the list every hour.
- if there is a phone number in the posting, call *right away*. emailing is a waste of your time.
- tell the seller that you will *buy* the item. don’t tell them you ‘might want to take a look’.
- tell them you have a truck or transport to pick it up.
- be prepared for disappointment.

i am going to have to lay off the craigslist-crack for the next week, methinks. my nerves are shot. i am at the point where if i see a listing that says ‘danish teak’ i just say “i want it”, even if i clearly don’t. it’s like when you have been in value village for too long and you start thinking that buying a tube top made of towel material would actually be rad and ironic. just walk away.

the saga shall continue...

blogger is being assy, so i will have to post pictures of the previously mentioned furniture items in a later entry.