Weekend Update 2007-10-15

We managed to get a lot done this weekend, and not kill ourselves in the process, which is pretty good for us. Saturday, I put 7 sets of Avon bottles on eBay, which was pretty huge. I have somewhat of an assembly line going on for getting this done, because there are lots of steps and detail to capture. When it comes to selling stuff on eBay, these particular items are a pretty big pain in the butt. You have to gather together several bottles that have something similar about them, unbox them, determine whether the bottles are full or empty, write down the item and information about it, photography the set, box them back up, and find a shipping box that will fit the set, which can be like playing tetris. Then you have download the pictures from the camera, write up descriptions of the set including all pertinent detail, upload the photo and write up the sales description. Then several potential bidders will ask a million questions about the items, some of which will require you to go back and unbox the items, recount them, weigh them, etc. The question they ask is always the one that I didn’t think to write down. Then when the items sell, you have to figure out how to combine shipping if required, pack the shipping box so nothing breaks, address it to the correct person, and haul it all to the post office. Yeah.
I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel on this project – which is to say, all the remaining bottles are unpacked and grouped on a table ready to start in on the process. I think I have about 10 more sets to run through the whole line, which will take perhaps one or two more weekends. I’m hoping to have it all cleaned up and finished before Halloween.
On Sunday we did a lot of organizing upstairs of the bathroom, hallway, etc. I’m very happy with what we accomplished there, too. There’s still a lot to do, but we’ve made progress. I think we’ll have cleaning and organizing most of the winter, but by spring I hope we’ll be done and ready to spend most of our free time with friends instead of around the house trying to manage our stuff.
UPDATE: I re-read this post and realized I sound like giant whiner, and that it sounds like we did nothing but work all weekend, and that I plan to do nothing but work for the rest of the winter.
When it comes to the Avon bottles – I volunteered for this project, so I’m not complaining about doing it at all. I’m just noting that there are lots more steps than I originally thought, and more steps than other eBay sales, so it’s hard to keep track of all the detail. Also, we did do fun stuff this weekend. We ate at Elbow Room and shopped at the mall, among other things. We just also managed to get a lot done, which I’m very happy about. And we’re going to be doing lots of fun stuff this winter, too.

Continue ReadingWeekend Update 2007-10-15

links for 2007-10-12

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Happy 20th Annual National Coming Out Day

Last year, I recounted the story of what I was doing on the original National Coming Out Day 20 years ago… so I’ve already blown that anecdote. You’ll have to go read it; it was good. October 11th, 1987 was a great day for me.

So officially, I quit lying about my sexual orientation over 20 years ago, and I’ve been an “out” proud, happy, gay person for more of my life than I was “in the closet.”

So happy National Coming Out Day! (Hurry up and get out of the closet, all you self-loathing, lying bastards!).

Oh, sorry. Ahem. Welcome, newly openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people!

National Coming Out Day
Continue ReadingHappy 20th Annual National Coming Out Day

links for 2007-10-11

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links for 2007-10-09

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Weekend Update/eBay Listings

Friday night: picked Stephanie up from Tune Tech after work because the clutch on the Honda is having problems again. Fortunately, it appears to be under warranty. With Phoebe’s battery dead, we’re down to one vehicle – the trusty truck.
Saturday: Spent the morning helping with neighborhood cleanup by driving the truck up and down the alleys picking up branches and trash and hauling to the designated area for wood chipping and disposal. Then sped up to Bonge’s Tavern to meet the family for dinner, since Dad’s getting ready to head out to Payson. Stopped by his house, which is now Todd and Denise’s house. Then sped back downtown to pick up presents for our friend Lori’s birthday party, then sped down to Southport for said party, where we had a blast and stayed until 1:30 a.m.
Sunday: I got up and puttered around the house cleaning while letting Stephanie sleep in because we were out so late. At 11, we went back out and helped finish up the tree branch gathering for wood chipping. Went to Elbow Room for lunch, then came home.
To continue the ongoing decluttering efforts, I decided I’d try to finally get finished the stuff I promised mom I’d do four years ago and sell the rest of her vintage Avon collectable bottles on eBay. (The 200+ bottles I’ve been carting around since then.) I photographed and put together 5 different lots of Avon for sale and posted them, which took about 5 hours to do, although while posting the actual items, we watched
Lot of vintage Avon Bath Toys (Disney/Peanuts)
Lot of vintage Avon Kids Soap Sets & Soap on a Rope
Lot of vintage Avon Bottles Guns & Western
Lot of 13 vintage Avon Bottles Cars/Vehicles
Lot of 9 vintage Avon Bottles Cars/Vehicles

Continue ReadingWeekend Update/eBay Listings